Biker. Anarchist. Thug. Hippie. Artist. Beatnik. Dope Fiend. Gangsta. Rebel. Wigger. Tattoo Junkie. Redneck. Goth. Skinhead. Hacker. Activist. Punk Rocker. Emo. Survivalist. Everyone of these "nonconformists" has an immediately identifiable stereotype that must be conformed to to be included.
"Look at me! I'm different. I'm terminally unique. Stand in awe. Be afraid. Tell your friends about me. Leave me alone!"
Yeah, I'm unique, just like everyone else. The system is broken, so I'm going to fight it by ostracizing myself into a smaller broken group. Makes total sense. Uh, what was I rebelling against again? A life of quiet desperation? The Machine? The System? The omnipotent "They"? Hey, lets smoke, party, overeat, and drink just to spit in the eye of those who foolishly believe in self preservation and the sanctity of life. We'll show them dumb bitches!
Who is the Ultimate Non-conformist? The Gray Man. The Survivalist's protagonist who blends in with the crowd and is both unnoticed and unmemorable. He who draws no attention to himself while going his own way. The guy who never makes a target out of himself while covertly working under the radar. The one who no one realizes is armed and dangerous (literally or figuratively) until its much much much too late.
There are two types of motivation in life; moving towards something or moving away from something. Both are goals, but if your goal is only to move away from something, you'll often find yourself lost. If you don't know where you are going you will probably wind up some place else.
I was recently wondering how many Doctorates I would have if I had applied to my education all of the time, energy, and money that I had put into smoking for over thirty years. Not that a formal education is worth more than 20% of what you invest in it. Who looks more ridiculous, the eight year old smoking a cigarette because it he thinks it makes him look cool and grown up, or the forty year old smoker who still thinks it makes him look cool and all grown up? FIIKLFO.
Well so much for today's meandering rant. I'm going to go play with my Barbies now.