I said it before, I’ll say it again: nearly all of us conform to the sociological norm and rest comfortably within the cultural box society demands of us, because, ultimately it’s too much effort to really be an outsider, a free thinker and doer due in part to the social consequences of being, well, different. Let’s face reality; most of us are sheep most of the time. Here’s round two of ‘what the flock’ just to further drive home the point.
Most humans end up being garbed in sheep’s clothing most of the time. For some further examples:
Sales
Black Friday, Cyber-Monday, Boxing Day (post-Xmas) – There are sales and sales days; then there are SALES and SALES DAYS. There’s something extra special about those SALES and SALES DAYS that drives your average mild mannered person-in-the-street into a raging maniac. “All’s fair in love and war” should be updated to “all’s fair in love, war and sales shopping”. Strike first, strike hard and strike often. It is pure road rage only in the department store isles. The name of the game is doing unto others before they do it unto you. Let’s just say when shoppers hit the SALES, the sheep turn into rams on steroids! But a sheep by any other name is still a sheep. Baa!
Women’s Magazines
There are serious newspapers and then there are the tabloids. There are serious magazines, and then there are the magazines for the average great unwashed bored out of her ever-loving mind female, usually just plain Jane housewife whose idea of a good time is playing the pokies and whose IQ is struggling to reach triple figures. Porn sites probably contribute more towards human culture than what passes for titillation for the female masses, where any similarity between fact and the written word is purely a matter of coincidence. Yet these ‘true confessions, celebrity scandals, who’s sleeping with who, how I lost 100 pounds in one week’ magazines sell by the millions each week, every year. Readers, you are being fleeced. Baa!
Celebrities
Just taking one example, and examples could be numbered in the thousands, there’s a certain female celebrity, Kim Kardashian, who seemingly gets more coverage, more press stories, more interest accrues to her than the POTUS. For the life of me I can’t figure out why this person is important and why anyone gives a damn, yet millions do. I’m stumped, other than to conclude the obvious. Only mindless sheep would think this person should rate more than one second worth of their time, if that. Baa!
The Royal 2013 Brat
Within literally 24 hours of the announcement that, what’s her name, the Topless Royal, oh yes, Kate, was in a family way, not only did the whole Internet light up and explode like some super Fourth of July fireworks display, but the first Royal Baby 2013 Souvenirs were on the retail shelves, ready to be gobbled up for all those Royal Lovers, oops, Lovers of all things Royal to take into their homes, no doubt to gather dust like all other non-eatable Royal kitsch, oops, knickknacks. What does this tell you about the nature of the human species? What does this tell you about the nature of human priorities? Baa!
Clothing Doesn’t Make the Man - The Suit and Tie
There are just certain occupations where certain items of attire are mandatory, usually for safety reasons, like batting helmets for baseball batters and the mask, chest protector, shin-guards, etc. if you’re a baseball catcher. Ditto shoulder pads and helmets in gridiron football. Hardhats are common sense if you’re a miner or construction worker; ditto bright safety vests if you work outdoors, say road construction, and need to be highly visible. Some professions do require uniforms, as in the military. However, many occupations require certain ‘uniforms’ that actually contribute bugger-all to the ability of that person to perform the job in question. I refer in particular to the civilian white-collar worker, who, if male, is just about required to wear a suit and tie, or at least a jacket and tie. Why? The ability to perform the function you are employed to do has nothing to do with what you wear. Your ability comes from whatever mental and physical abilities you have. Okay, you could perform equally well, in theory, in your birthday suit and in a tuxedo. Eliminating those extremes, you do your best work when you are attired in what is most comfortable. I would suggest that a suit and tie is not that attire; a clean open collar shirt and comfortable pants would suit 99.9% of those otherwise required to wear the suit-and-tie ‘uniform’. Given white-collar workers just meekly dress according to what fashion dictates, instead of wearing that conductive to productivity enhancing comfort, well, all sheep wear wool. Baa!
On the Run
What is it about our society that the sheep have to do everything as if the butcher were after them? I mean they eat on the run; they are not content to let the escalator take them up or down, they have to shove past you, gaining maybe five whole seconds – so where’s the fire? They talk on the run on their mobiles, they text on the run, and while they may have the runs, at least they have to stop and smell the roses when going to the loo. And since they are paying attention to anything and everything except the direction they’re headed in, let’s just be thankful they aren’t behind the wheel of a car! Oops, in fact that’s exactly where all too frequently they are. Driving or otherwise, it’s a sin to waste a moment not doing something, and you should probably feel guilty for sleeping! Baa!
Family Ties
The basic philosophy here is that if it was (or is) good enough for Mom and Dad, then it’s good enough for me – they can do my thinking for me. I mean many offspring usually settle themselves, at least initially, relatively close to where they grew up. Offspring often tend to follow in the same employment-related footsteps as their parents; like father – like son. If your parents were of this particular brand of religious faith, odds are that you will be too. If Mom and Dad drove W, used X, smoked Y, drank Z, chances are you too will be a WXYZ person. If your parents had particular interests, say fans of a particular sports team, well it’s likely you will root for that team too. The same applies to their politics; it’s your politics too. If your parents attended a specific type of educational institution, the odds are you will follow suit. All of the above of course isn’t set in concrete, but moe often as not, because of family ties, you’re a sheep. Baa!
To be continued…
No comments:
Post a Comment