I hate people. People are stupid. People are nasty. People are greedy. People are vile. People cause war, are selfish and watch X Factor. People take life for granted and don’t appreciate the world around them. People are awful creatures and should be exterminated mercilessly.
The world is full of dullards. Every day more and more people are living up to stereotypes by becoming one conglomerative clump of similarity and predictability. Very few people have a unique and interesting taste in life these days, and those that do have to cower away in fear of being cast a freak, as anything different is poisonous and will spread like a disease. In a society where we are all “equal”, it strikes me as odd that difference is tolerated so frivolously. Look at the recent article for the Daily Mail by Jan Moir; if we tolerated people who were different, not only would this article have not been published, but it would never have been written in the first place.
I guess one problem is that people place too much value in what other people think of them. Your £400 designer jacket or sports car will only give you a false sense of grandiosity; there is no actual importance behind any of these objects. Yet still, people go out of their way to make their credit card stretch to buy these things. What are you expecting to happen when you buy these things? Everyone in the street to look at you in envy, faint or have their jaws hit the street as you walk by, just like the adverts? No. The most that will happen is that a couple of people will notice and silently mutter “Oh wow” before continuing with their day, while everyone else ignores you and labels you as pretentious as they pursue their own ego-driven journey into the latest and greatest fashions. The fact of the matter is that no-one gives a crap about anyone else but themselves and the people who appear in the media… Or at least that’s the impression I receive.
Now, when writing this, my girlfriend picked at me because she thought I was being hypocritical. She argued “You have a fancy iMac and an iPhone and have put them in your signature on some forum I saw you on. You’re being a bit hypocritical” – just like that. And do you know what? I turned around and punched her in the face for arguing with me; her superior. Ok, I may have made that last bit up, but I was challenged non-the-less. My argument is that I don’t have these possessions for the sake of having bragging rights. They’re tools to make my life easier and allow for me to follow my creative ambitions. I much prefer them over the alternatives available because I find them to be more functional for what I want to do, rather than because I think they look good or have some sort of street value that will reflect on me somehow. In short, I didn’t buy them because of the logo but because of what they do. While I may have “shown off” my possessions, I didn’t do it for a reaction but to help people know a bit more about me; You wouldn’t sign up to a forum discussing health issues without letting people know what problems or expertise you have. By stating the fact I had an iMac and an iPhone, it helps me connect to people who may share similar interests and opinions, and talk about something I’m passionate about. It’s no news that I’m a geek and love talking about gadgets. The difference between me and someone who pays £300 for a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes is that the person buying the shoes could easily buy a pair of shoes for £50 or less that do exactly the same thing and won’t make you cry when you step in something foul. There are no functional differences in the Jimmy Choos than there are in a pair of Nikes (Could I edit HD video on a £200 Netbook?). These expensive fashion items are purely for the sake of showing off, saying “I have money”, when in reality they were probably bought on credit because the owner has no real money of their own.
But I have become sidetracked. When I stated that the problem is people placing too much value in what other people think of them, I meant that by doing so we match our own expectations to what we believe everyone else’s to be, as opposed to becoming superficial about our lifestyles (although it is a matter of grave concern). Even when it comes to things of actual importance, this idea shows clearly. Look at the number of people who have to keep their beliefs to themselves in fear of others thinking badly of them. Personally, I am a vegetarian; I have been all my life and I have no intention to stop in the future. But for me, I am almost afraid to tell people of this fact because I know how people will take it. Even if people try and say something nice about it, they’re usually saying something because they think it’s weird and feel, well, sorry for me, as if I’m a bit wonky in the head. It’s almost like by saying something nice to me they are placed on a moral pedestal similar to that of giving money to charity or helping a disabled person climb stairs. And all this is about my dietary habits! Imagine what they would say if I turned around and told them I was a vegan, homosexual buddhist who spends his spare time participating in period reenactments in order to raise money to combat the effects of global warming on seals in the arctic. I would probably be invited to fewer gatherings than I already am. (For the record, I am none of those things. But if someone as perfect as myself can subliminally label a persona as bizarre or odd enough for me to use it as an example of someone who would be considered odd and bizarre, let alone write a disclaimer to disassociate myself with being that person, then surely someone who is more intellectually challenged and open to narrow minded impressions than myself would think such a thing too, actively or not.)
Another observation I have made is that because we can’t be honest about ourselves to other people in fear of what they’ll think, it often causes us to have a natural reluctancy to do things that could be looked upon as bizarre, or leave us open for potential ridicule. In the end, we’re left with a society where most people don’t aspire to be anything more than being “like everyone else”. Whether that’s being like peers or celebrities, we’re constantly just trying to be like the people around us. Depending on where people look to, some want fame and money, most often without putting any hard work in. Others just want children, shelter and not much else, sacrificing any life goals for insignificance like everyone else. In a world where people feel like they’ve acheived something by meeting “celebrities” (as the lack of a better word for “People who were on Big Brother once”), is it any wonder? We’re unimportant people who worship and idolize equally unimportant people who are only regarded as important because they’ve either done something every other human being can do with a bit of practise, or have sold themselves and ruined their dignity by brown-nosing their way to the top (You’re honestly telling me that Lady Gaga hasn’t shown her “Gaga” to people in order to get a bit further in the music industry? I bet a large number of these so-called “pop stars” have at one point in their careers. If these people weren’t using themselves to extend their fifteen minutes then surely their promotional imagery would be a bit more… tasteful?).
On the other hand, maybe I’m just being bleak and pessimistic. Maybe my lack of faith is the very thing stopping me from seeing the light and realising what I’ve been missing. However, the fact of the matter is that I can see the things I’m missing and I don’t want them. I see things like iPods and Dominoes Pizza and want them, just like everyone else, but I see things like “Big Brother” and Celebrity Jungle Testicle Eating “I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here” and put a mental restraining order on myself to stop myself from going anywhere near them. I don’t want to associate with the likes of these; I want to rip the mere memories of their existence from my brain with a very sharp and merciless weapon. Some people call me a kill joy, but I just call myself sensible. It’s the same with Football and every other mindless drivel that becomes something that’s taken more seriously than life itself. When there are people who cry themselves to sleep over the results of these things, have pointlessly heated arguments with each other over their contemplations and observations of these forms of “entertainment”, or can use the indulgence of it as a valid excuse amongst people such as bosses and teachers to reasonably excuse themselves or justify their absence from work, it’s time for the world to slap itself in the face and assess what actually matters. I’ll be perfectly happy living my life without all this fuss and hubbub. Maybe, one day, other people will be able to as well… Or not. Maybe I might wake up tomorrow and find that it has all become clear. Who knows?
The people who are hailing the Rage Against The Machine thing as if it’s the second coming of Jesus are people who probably would have bought the X Factor single anyway. They only bought the single because they were told to, rather than because they like the band (hence why I didn’t buy it).