On Normality...

Well what brought up this topic was that I learned that someone (no names) has a... well I suppose hatred would be the best word for goths and punks. They see people who dress this way as being good-for-nothing people, going nowhere in life. In fact this person inspired my poem "What You're Missing" of a few nights ago which is about goths (in case you didn't figure that out). To me, I can compare this position to that of a racist. A racist believes that people are worthless because of their skin color. A, well let's call this person a clothist, beleives that a person is worthless because of the clothes they wear. Well, let me take a few examples of people who I'm sure you all know (and like) to prove this wrong. Sidney. Sidney's bright, she's in college, she's not failing and she's an awesome artist. Vicki. I suppose many people think vicki's stupid, but I know her well and she's not. Heck she can give me lessons in somethings (stupid biology and calculus) and she's got plans on going to university (and I think she'll make it too). So I've got two people who I know really well who break the stereotype that this person has suggested. If you want to call me a goth (and I don't, I just like wearing black and silver, but since this person focuses on external looks, she'd probably consider me in the same catagory) then I break the stereotype too. I'm not saying that all goths and punks aren't worthless, probably some of them are. I'm just saying that not all of them are. It's like... it's like racism. Not all black people are bad. Some of them are really great people. But some black people are also really bad people. Just like white people and every other color of people, there are some great, some terrible and most just average. It's like that with goths and punks too... some of them are great, some are terrible and most are just average people. Sexism, same thing. Women and men, can be equal and should have equal chances and equal rights. Now take care here... I say EQUAL rights and chances, not superior for any side. The mistakes of the past are the mistakes of the past and we shouldn't be paying for them. This goes for all matters of discrimination... there's equality and then theres equality. Equal chances means just that... not refusing to hire someone (for example) just because they're a woman. Now if they don't have the skills needed, that's different. Otherwise, you're hiring a woman over someone else because she's a woman and that is discrimination against men. Like hiring an incompetant black person over a competant white person. Same deal, it's discrimination pure and simple. I find that most people seem to think discrimintation only happens against the people who've always been discriminated against. Well I say that some people take that idea too far and begin to discriminate (perhaps unconciously) against the people who've never really been discriminated against. Maybe it's a sortof revenge mechanism, maybe it's out of fear of being sued, I don't know. To me, if you can prove that the person you hired was more qualified than the person who didn't, there is no case against you. Anyways... right, this is about normality and goths. Sorry for the tangent. So this person discriminates against goths because of the clothing they wear without really getting to know the person. This person claims that these people aren't "normal". And this is what I have an issue with. How do you define normality?

My point is that you can't define normality. There is no universal definition for it. Everyone believes something different about it, a thousand people have a thousand answers to the question "What is normality" and every one of those answers is different. Some people even don't believe in normality. And by that I mean that we (for I am among these people) believe that normality is an illusion of the human mind, nothing more. It can have effects upon society and is therefore a useful thing to know about (as you can predict some peoples actions if you know about normality) but we don't believe that it SHOULD have any impact on society. Whether or not it does is, unfortunatly, outside of our control. There seems to be a trend however, which is running towards people believing in a "normal" person. I disagree with this (not that it exists but that it's a good or neutral thing) because it encourages (and in fact requires) conformity. Confomity is a bad thing in my opinion as it reduces creativity, it destroys individuality and, quite frankly, would make the world a very boring place to live in. If you've ever read Brave New World, you know what I mean. Huxley's world was a very boring one for most people and I'm sure that none of you would like to live in a world like that. (Well, not without the effects of hypnosis and conditioning at least, as well as soma.)

So why do people believe in this? I don't know, to be honest. Ask one of them one day.

But people believing in the idea of normality doesn't piss me off as much as something else. Believing in normality doesn't do the world much harm. Believing that people who aren't normal are worthless does and it pisses me off. For instance, to bring back racism, to say someone is worthless because they're black is absurd. To say someone is worthless because they're a woman is absurd. To say someone is worthless because they're non-normal is absurd as well. Look at the number of historical figures who were considered non-normal. Galileo, Darwin, Einstein, Churchill, Trudeau, etc, etc, etc. In fact almost every historical figure you can think of was considered not-normal (Though they're called "eccentric" but it means the same thing.) So perhaps non-normal people are even more likely to grow up and do something worthwhile? The evidence suggests so, if history is to be believed and if this is so, then it makes even less sense to say that people who aren't normal are worthless. Not to mention the fact that peoples dress does not reflect at all upon their mental or physical capabilities. I know some very bright people who are goths and if you want to consider me goth (and some people do... I don't but whatever) then I break the stereotype as well. I know some people who dress really fancily, they look all smart and everything... and they're dumb as toast. Clothing does not reflect upon a person's capabilities... it reflects upon a choice, a taste, a preferance. It is a manner of expression. If someone wants to dress goth or punk, then that's their choice. Personally I love the styles and I'm sortof half-goth myself (though, as I said, some people think I'm all the way there... whatever). If you don't, alright. You don't have to wear the clothes. But you have no right to say that those people are worthless JUST BECAUSE of the clothes they have chosen to wear. Now if you know the people and they are worthless, that's different. But you can't say it just on the basis of how they dress.

My brother showed me a comic on Newgrounds a few days ago, called "You are a fucking moron" where they go explain (And exhaggerate) the stories of various famous people and call them fucking morons. Well, to this person who hates goths (I call them Clothists):

You... are a fucking... moron.

(along with the rest of the clothists out there.)

You honestly don't know what you're missing in some of these people. And if you never give these people a chance because of the clothes they wear then you are going to miss meeting some very interesting people in the world.

Alright, thats the end of my rant. Tomorrow (or whenever I post next here): Freedom (How much is too much?)