The individualist is KINDA dead.

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Neesa

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Jan 29, 2009
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I fixed the title, somewhat. Whatever, have a nice day.


I'm going to make a very bold statement which I hold dear to:
There is no such thing as creativity and individuality.

Speaking of one who has been called an 'unique individual' or 'different' more times than I've been called my actual name, my statement has good merit to it. If you look at social websites, like Myspace, you can see a clear example of how being an individual is dead. Simply because 'individualist' tend to float towards people that are 'like them' in order to stay in their comfort zone. What you wear, how you blog, what you listen to, shouldn't define you as a person. It's suppose to be a self-expression of your inner self. But if we're so busy trying to emulate others, how the hell are we being individuals.

Prime example, through most of high school, I got dirty looks and comments from individuals saying that I'm trying to be white; wearing what the white kids wear, listening to what the white kids listen to.. But now it's okay to 'look white' because it's become a Hip-Hop look because of artist such as Kanye West. Big fucking deal that he wears plaid and Ray Bans. How many others have been doing it before it became an acceptable trend amongst the music world. Namely the African American community that looked down upon people in their own race that refused to stick into their set box of Hip-Hop, R&B and baggy jeans. No thanks. Granted that many other artist in, say Hip-Hop have tried to step out the box and start trends in order for others to be themselves, but was quickly faded and taken under the tide of mainstream.

Being an individual shouldn't be solely based on one's outward appearance, but on one's thoughts and mentality. What happened to people telling the world to go fuck off? During the punk revolution, they were the prime examples of making a statement (sorry to sound stereotypical but it was the first thing that popped into my head). Going against the system, being their own person regardless of what others have told them. Now, stupid kids have taken what was so pure and true in the past and made it into a fashion statement. Fucking punk kids. I hated them in high school.

Scenesters, emo kids, hipsters, hip-hop(sters), conservatives all have to put on some sort of costume in order to appease others. Trust me, I've been called a scenester more than people have spelled my name with two S's. Granted I do like the style, I'm not going to let my skinny jeans and plaid shirts take over my mindset. I'm still Alneesa Marie under these clothes. I refuse to be another stereotype. I'm not gonna come off as some jerk ass scene kid that goes to shows and spew about music and fashion. Then blog on Myspace and rant to all my friends from the 'group trains' to feel like I belong. Fuck that shit, man.

What happened to appeasing ourselves. Being true to our real selves? There's no such thing as a ground breaking individual. Not to sound rude or racist, but the only reason why some people might think that President-Elect Obama is a ground breaking person is because of his complexion. But what about his views? His opinion? That is what should really matter. How we think makes us different. Granted that there will always be someone that will agree with you, but it only takes one to start the ball rolling.

But what are we rolling now? Not a damn thing. Revolutions are dead. Change is nothing more than a fleeting feeling to soothe the masses from the stagnation that we've been some comfortable in for years. It's depressing really.

Another thing that bothers me is how it's okay to be in an interracial relationship. You know when it's becoming accepted over a vast majority when Hollywood incorporates it in their shows/movies. How many people have been going against their parents' wishes? Their friends' wishes for self love? This is my point exactly. Instead of making yourself happy, we're forever trying to appease others around them in order to avoid rejection or possible alienation. But y'know what, sometimes as an individual, we need to break about from human acceptance and start practicing self-acceptance. I'm sorry that I sound like one of those 'self-help' people, but it's the only way that we as a world can change. One individual at a time.

It's time we re-vamp ourselves. We need to break apart from all the little cliques, and socially accepted friends and start marching to the beat of our own drummer... Not to the beat and auto turner that's being shoved down our throats by T-Pain and Lil' Wayne. What happened to creating ground breaking artworks by artist like Salvador Dali, Edward Hooper or Jackson Pollock? Or even creating classical pieces whose vibrato (fixed by the lovable Tea) and staccato echo through our minds? There are great artist in different areas of the visual and performing art world. It just seems like we're too busy emulating them instead of finding our own. I guess it's somewhat hard since everything has been done in the past. Where has that stroke of genius that they once felt flee to?

God, we really need to have a complete mental wipe and start all over from scratch. Cause the times we're living in today seems to be nothing but total bullshit.

/rant
 

sky14kemea

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Jun 26, 2008
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i kinda get what you mean XD
i dont follow the normal fashion and music, but i dont directly go against it and listen to metal and stuff, i just listen to what i like, and wear what i feel comfy in :p
i dont care if that doesnt make me individual anyway, i just like having fun
 

Galletea

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Sep 27, 2008
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I totally agree with you.

I'd say more, but you already covered anything I could add. So, just a bump of approval I guess. :D
 

Badger616

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Apr 22, 2009
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Individualists are everywhere, you just don't see them because what you see are cultures or fashions that have become widespread. If you saw somebody on TV who is a completely unique individual, chances are they are gonna be emulated. The media doesn't focus on the individual. Also, you've gotta remember that some people like being the same as everyone else, they find being accepted into a social group more rewarding than finding or expressing any form of individuality.
 

ElephantGuts

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Jul 9, 2008
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I agree with what you say, but consider this: people nowadays are still a lot more unique than back when the majority of the population were peasants/serfs/slaves and lived and died completely uneventfully. Sure, they didn't really have the ability to be different from everyone else, but what happened when they did? More often than not they were stoned to death or burned to death or some other such thing.

Overall, things are much better than back when anyone who was different was labeled a witch, heretic, spy, or simply foreigner and killed for it. Back when a country could launch a full out invasion/genocide of a foreign land just because the people there were different.

Things can't be perfect. Just be glad we're still advancing at all.
 

Agayek

Ravenous Gormandizer
Oct 23, 2008
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TLDR

In highly social settings, you are very right, at least what you said in the first couple paragraphs. People don't want to be different when surrounded by legions of people exactly the same.

This does not mean individuality is dead. Yes, it is not a highly held social value, but it exists in plenty of places. If there was no individuality, everyone would dress, talk, act and think the same way. That simply doesn't happen, thus in the grand scheme of things, you are wrong. Everyone is unique from every other, regardless of whether they want to be or not.

Edit: Realized I was really bored and read your rant.

1 thing I noticed: Dali and Mozart or whoever you mentioned in your thread being creative and whatnot, people back then had the exact same groupthink mentality people of today do. We are not that different from the ancient Greeks, or Romans, or Renaissance people.
 

Axeli

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The irony of individualism is that everyone else is an individualist too.
 

Grounogeos

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Mar 20, 2009
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I see "true" individuaists as people who don't give a rat's ass about whether or not they're popular, or socially accepted, or any of that bullshit.
 

Captain Gamer

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Apr 5, 2009
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The Individualist was my favorite superhero...

Seriously though, I do agree with everything here if only for the reason that all of these thoughts and observations have gone through my own head and the heads of the people I associate with.

Fair warning now, better hunker down for when Bargaining and Depression come around. The former might be quick, but the latter is a doozy. You'll be that much closer to starting up your own relevant efforts that are above internet forum rants and pipe dreams such as national/global mindwipes.
 

Not Good

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Sep 17, 2008
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Welcome to Ecclesiastes.

I hate to be repetitive (I've brought up this book before) but whenever anyone keeps getting pissy about being an individual and being unique, I tell them to read Ecclesiastes because not only is this from an unlikely source, The Bible, it also deals with these feelings of lost individuality and originality with the coming years.
 

DI7789

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Aug 30, 2008
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"You're unique, just like everyone else" -Anon

Individualism isn't dead, its just hidden. Unfortunately, most attempts to be original nowadays are met with "Its been done before", and for just about everything possible, it has. Also, people are afraid to be individuals now because they're afraid of being ostracised by their 'friends'.
 

H.R.Shovenstuff

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Sep 19, 2008
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Hohoho wow that is a long post.
I agree, of course, but you've only stated what everyone already knows to be true.
 

sgtshock

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Feb 11, 2009
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While individuality is certainly not popular, it's no deader than it's ever been.

30 years ago, people would probably laugh in your face if you weren't down with the hippy movement. 60 years ago, people would probably laugh in your face if you didn't wear leather jackets and hair gel. And 500 years ago, if you weren't a god-and-pope-fearing conformist, you'd be burned at the stake.

It's the people who are individuals who go ahead and become successful. When they do, people start copying them, and it isn't so individual anymore. Thus the cycle continues.
 

Fightgarr

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Dec 3, 2008
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Yes to others there is no such thing as the individual because there are so many sub-cultures that they can pigeon hole one into. The key is to just stop caring when people pigeon hole you. If you always care that people like to put things into little categories then you will be very sad quite often indeed. People are people, and people like to identify things, its their nature. "Individual" is a strange concept, it brings to mind that other people are just part of this strange mass that is "them".
My mom says I'm an individual.
 

Neesa

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Jan 29, 2009
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To start off, most of the rant was from observations from school (even in college) and what was considered "the norm". I just never understood when status quo was cool. I thought that trying to be above the status quo was somewhat a desirable goal. Not just for people that are artist, but for people that change (save all the Obama mottos please). It just seem so hard to get an individual to break out of their comfort zones. From the cubical worker to the scene kid that goes to shows every Friday, it's hard when everyone seems to be a cookie cutout of the last big trend. I guess getting shunned and look down upon can be hurtful.

Why I total broke out my Gameboy Color to play Pokemon blue. TAKE THAT DS:i!
 

Gruthar

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Mar 27, 2009
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I don't think individuality is dead. Most of the things you've ranted about tend to fade with age, or at least that's my observation. I got shit about how I dressed when I was middle school and high school. I haven't changed much, but I don't hear a peep from anyone anymore. Even though I am a nerd by all accounts, I didn't and still don't associate exclusively with fellow nerds, nor have I ever done anything purely for the sake of popularity or appeasing my peers. I know a few people who are the same, so I'm not a singularity in that respect.

My bigger point is that once you get past all the bullshit and angst of being a teenager and everyone has to get a job or go on to higher ed, things start to change. For one, you start meeting people based on their professional and recreational interests, and I think it's in those two areas that individuality begins to express itself. None of the people I know now are alike. We may share certain interests like video games, cars, guns, etc. but come from very different backgrounds, and usually have very different opinions on things. They're not going to change to appease me, and vice versa. Facebook and MySpace for those that I know is not so much a soapbox or journal, but rather a tool to set up events or pass along information easily, trivial or not. I guess what I'm saying is that you can't take one person and just label them as part of the X or Y trend because of one of their characteristics, when oftentimes there is so much more that that person cares about and engages in.

I see the cliques, the meme bandwagons, clothing styles, and I'm glad I never really cared that much. Most everyone grows out of that stuff.
 

ame.kiri.yuki

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Feb 11, 2009
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Continuing on what Fightgarr said, I find that I have a lot more fun with life when I stop trying to classify myself and others. I am who I am, no more or less, and in that I am indeed an individual. Of course, then others come in and say how similar I am to someone or something else. As we are not tentacled eldritch abominations (as far as I know; raise your tentacle if you are), of course we'll have some similarities to others, but that's easy to ignore. Similarities to others do not make us anything but who we are, they're simply a way of looking at each other and ourselves.

^The point of that mess was to say screw everyone else, live for yourself and don't worry about what others think of you.
 

Neesa

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Jan 29, 2009
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Secondly, I didn't say specifically that YOUR individuality is dead. Hell. I don't know 99.9% of you and I never will. So kindly pull that "I'm offended" wedgie from out your ass. I'm not trying to flame anyone and make anyone seem as unoriginal as slice bread. Simply stating and ranting about an observation that has been taking on for centuries.

Yeah, I know it's not gonna changes since it's a vicious cycle. Guess expecting the impossible is a bit steep.

Gruthar said:
I see the cliques, the meme bandwagons, clothing styles, and I'm glad I never really cared that much. Most everyone grows out of that stuff.
It's always good to grow out of things, but sometimes people don't grow out of that stuff. That's the hurtful and scary part of it all.