Social Conditioning my ass!
November 6th, 2001, 12:29 p.m.

earlier / later

I went to a local coffee-house/bar/performance venue last night to watch some local acts and help support a group aimed at shutting down the School of Americas. Needless to say, in my four years in this town I have never been to this particular locale. I thought maybe I'd meet some interesting people, learn something, and hear some good music. I heard some outstanding music (I only wish I could remember their names), I met a few people, but most of all ... I learned something ... I found out who are the types of people who hang out at this particular coffee-house: Angry lesbians and guys who play in dark folk bands.

Not that there's anything wrong with being gay, but I haven't felt so out of place since I did that movie with Jackie Chan: "Aging Martial-Artist and Dorky White College Student Kick Some Ass".

I swear everyone in that place was so gender-confused you'd need Superman's x-ray vision in order to establish what sex the person you just bumped into was.

Not only was that an interesting item in the colour of the crowd, but the fact that they all pull that "I want to look different" neo-hippy/hipster/beatnik attitude was quite amusing. Not amusing because they feel that way, but amusing in the sense that they ALL look like EACH OTHER. The new classic cliche of being a non-conformist conformist was in full effect last night and it was bloody hilarious.

In this group of pseudo-intellectual shorthaired hippie wannabes, I was the nonconformist: clean hair, deodorant, polo shirt, jeans, and black shoes.

Not that I am, in any way, affirming or berating social dissent, but it's just so utterly amusing that these people are blind to their own benign nonconformist conformity. Do they not see that EVERY other female in the joint has a haircut JUST like their's? Do they not see that EVERYONE else has mismatched socks JUST like they do? Do they not see that they look like everyone else ... down to their tattered, smelly hemp bag??!?!?!?

The social mores that 'birds of a feather flock together' even holds true for those who believe they can break through THAT "social conditioning".

This in mind, I realized something: the only difference between the crowd last night at The Common Grounds and the crowd over at the Pi Alpha EatMe frat house was that the crowd at the frat house has more money.

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