I recently read this article which said that economists nowadays define progress, not as how well-off the people of a particular country have become, but by how much happier they have become..
Health has been replaced by 'Wellness' and surveys pertaining to one's state of emotional well-being - every couple of years, is the norm in that great weird, whim ridden country - the US of A!
Weird stuff is happening even on the political front in America, a Democrat Senator's being in hospital could result into a serious tipping of the scales..if he kicks the bucket, the marginal victory in the house of the Senate for the Democrats will also breathe its last..
On the one hand, the country boasts of nudist colonies and same sex marriages, while on the other, some of the Episcopal Churches break away because they do not endorse either a gay man, or a woman (straight or gay) to get ordained. God, if he exists, must lie in these contradictions..
Enough of all this boring stuff..I have been suffering from a writer's block all this while, but it is more of laziness actually. I know very well that given a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen), words will flow like booze at IIM B and the rest, as they say, shall be history.
The reason why I have picked up the gauntlet today is to talk about this particular trend that has been part of my life from it's earliest..my association with people that nobody else wants to associate with..
In other words - weirdos, outcasts, the-much-hated and the so-called whackazoids find their way into my circle of friends..
(I strongly believe I am not hurting any sentiments out here. The people who have been referred to, are all too well aware of how the populace views them and they choose to not care. That is what makes them special in my eyes and draws me towards them. I consider such eccentricities to be their USP.)
These people intrigue me - what makes them tick, what makes the others hate them..are questions that I seek to answer - subconsciously..on a superficial level, I just like to talk to these people..and as early as I can remember, my dialogues with my friends seem to be peppered with phrases like "He is not really all that bad" or "We are really wrong about that person" etc etc..
What is life, if not an exploration of the oddities and the eccentricites? Public opinion is the worst measure of a man's true worth and this thought is weird, coz if everybody did believe it, it wouldnt be true anymore :)
I hope I continue to meet many more of these outliers - they make life much more interesting and delighful..they have their own agendas, their individual 'Schools of thought' and way-side paths to tread upon..I too harbour these delusions about myself..on the road less travelled..that's where I want to be..
7 comments:
well, in the process of meeting new odddities.. remember the ones u knew earlier... :-)
Well, I'm glad you've posted after quite a while. There are two very different issues that struck me here:
One, about nudist colonies/same-sex marriages and extremely conservative societies coexisting. Rather than co-existence, we're seeing a shift from liberalism to conservatism. For the most part, American society's been among the most liberal in the free world. We're seeing, though, a growing conservatism creeping in (strong in patches, but pervasive nevertheless). In fact, a very strong voter base in predominantly Catholic central USA was responsible for Bush's 2004 victory, pleased by his pro-life views on abortion. Another popular point of view is that American society is turning increasingly to religion, given their heightened perception of threat (post 9/11, of course!)
To matters more at home, I'm not too sure how well your "outlier" friends are going to react to this article. Although I do get what you're trying to say, I'm sure too that some of those "outliers" are reading this post. I wonder how they'd feel being described as "weirdos, outcasts, the-much-hated and whackazoids", however accurate that description might be. But more than that, perhaps they value your friendship because you accept them for what they are, and leave it at that. Things are a little different when you say that you associate with them to see "what makes them tick, what makes the others hate them" - that is, see them as specimens and case studies rather than "people" just like you and the rest.
No offence meant!
- Rahul.
I agree with you, it does seem like I am making guinea pigs outta them :) But that's not true, I might have started talking to such people because I was curious, but keeps me interested is the fact that they are different and that is what the last paragraph is all about..I like that difference, I celebrate that difference and I even liken myself to them in the last line..
And I do not think that people who fall into this category will be much surprised seeing themselves being called 'much-hated'..they know it already, they chose to not care and that is what makes them special..
I have put in some clarifications in my post..the italics :) My favorite literary character in the whole world and the ideal man of all time is - Howard Roark..I guess, that should explain it all..
Mr. Roark... well, that explains a few things! :-) Hope your friends find that convincing too!
Keep posting, Shreya!
"Public opinion is the worst measure of a man's true worth" - cant agree more with this.
Post a Comment