Rev Roger, Sermon #80: Pull Your Head Out of Your Ass

[The Johnny]

Im not sure if my thought process is tainted from thinking about typifications so much lately but...

There lies a danger in mentally getting stuck in a role in the sense that you cannot be anything else...

It would be like self-stereotyping... "I am X, so i must do Y, because of Z; this is what i am and this is what i must do"...

A person can choose to be a one-dimensional entity which becomes the one and ultimate point of reference to all they do and think...

Maybe this has to do with "duty" and "responsibility"... certain roles demand certain things of myself... but is doing that role correctly betraying myself?

To what point does the role become an imposition instead of something one assumed itself?

[00.dusk]

Im not sure if my thought process is tainted from thinking about typifications so much lately but...

There lies a danger in mentally getting stuck in a role in the sense that you cannot be anything else...

It would be like self-stereotyping... "I am X, so i must do Y, because of Z; this is what i am and this is what i must do"...

A person can choose to be a one-dimensional entity which becomes the one and ultimate point of reference to all they do and think...

Maybe this has to do with "duty" and "responsibility"... certain roles demand certain things of myself... but is doing that role correctly betraying myself?

To what point does the role become an imposition instead of something one assumed itself?

I think that the key is to disrupt the role you play in minor, innocuous ways. Don't BECOME it, keep yourself aware of it with the little tortures that keep the parasitic memes away.

Construction workers don't quote pop songs out of context, rephrased ever so slightly to sound like sage words of wisdom. Not even only once in awhile. Office workers don't keep an Einsturzende Neubauten symbol scribbled on their post-it notes that are important.

It's those small subversions that keep the parasite from getting an internal hold, I think, while seeming like harmless quirks to the ones who are already part of the botnet.

[The Johnny]

Construction workers don't quote pop songs out of context, rephrased ever so slightly to sound like sage words of wisdom. Not even only once in awhile. Office workers don't keep an Einsturzende Neubauten symbol scribbled on their post-it notes that are important.

It's those small subversions that keep the parasite from getting an internal hold, I think, while seeming like harmless quirks to the ones who are already part of the botnet.

I think that turning a blind eye to the small deviances (or subversions if you may) that people make in their everyday life, is just reinforcing and perpetuating the stereotype.

If you expect someone will act a certain way, you might just incite that someone to act that way because they might just get tired of being falsely accused of something they didnt do, so might as well do it.

Although i think the process by which we stereotype ourselves is way more complex than the process by which a person stereotypes someone other than themselves.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

The simplest way I can describe it is this:

I am employed as a maintenance supervisor in a refinery.  What I AM is a human being. 

[00.dusk]

The simplest way I can describe it is this:

I am employed as a maintenance supervisor in a refinery.  What I AM is a human being.

STOP BEING REASONABLE 


But you're absolutely right.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

The simplest way I can describe it is this:

I am employed as a maintenance supervisor in a refinery.  What I AM is a human being.

STOP BEING REASONABLE 


But you're absolutely right.

I get a boot out of being introduced to people.

"Roger, this is Paul.  He's a safety technician."

"No, he's a person who makes a living in industrial safety."

Paul - or whomever - usually smiles.  My boss gets agitated.  But my boss IS a plant manager who, while being a really nice guy, is only mostly human.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Sometimes, wearing a uniform is appropriate.  A soldier, for example, must maintain focus on what he does at all times.  It is dangerous to himself and to others to step outside the uniform, in training or in combat.

[P3nT4gR4m]

One may, if one were so inclined, build a collection of uniforms, to be chopped and changed, perhaps even mixed up, more or less at will. It's like dress up. It's like make believe. It's as real as doing it any other way. Don't let them convince you otherwise. Whenever you hear "You can't X because you're Y" Do not listen. It's fallacy. It's just another stupid uniform talking at you.

[00.dusk]

Sometimes, wearing a uniform is appropriate.  A soldier, for example, must maintain focus on what he does at all times.  It is dangerous to himself and to others to step outside the uniform, in training or in combat.

This has my mind gears turning. I may have to go to bed before I can say WHERE they're turning, but there's something that steps beyond mere "simple to understand" truth when it comes to this.

Here's something, so that maybe we can try wetware cloud computing since these fuckers have wetware botnets:

Aren't ALL jobs where there are people at risk jobs where the Uniform should take precedence? An example from my own life: I receive an SSI check because I'm only barely sane enough to hide the true depths of my madness from the Powers That Be Exceptionally Dumb. This month, some stupid bastard fucked up my check, and I may not get it at all. Now let's say he fucked it up because there was some distance between What He Does and Who He Is -- i.e., he was not fully "in character" -- he was not living the Uniform. That could, potentially, lead to me being right back where I was, which (for many) would be just as bad as murdering them, if not worse. Granted, I'm not actually living that situation yet. I'm lucky enough that it was only my state check for some 20-odd dollars. But this dumb jerk -could- have ruined my attempts at getting back on somewhat stable footing.

On the other hand, I can't IMAGINE letting Bureaucracy become Who You Are. That isn't soul-sucking, that's when there's no soul left and something slippery and dark from below the Sub-Basement of the Universe has crawled inside and made its nest. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

The question is, should this man or should he not wear his Uniform? (Also: should I or should I not stop posting until I have slept a little?)

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Aren't ALL jobs where there are people at risk jobs where the Uniform should take precedence? An example from my own life: I receive an SSI check because I'm only barely sane enough to hide the true depths of my madness from the Powers That Be Exceptionally Dumb. This month, some stupid bastard fucked up my check, and I may not get it at all. Now let's say he fucked it up because there was some distance between What He Does and Who He Is -- i.e., he was not fully "in character" -- he was not living the Uniform.

No.  A fireman must live the uniform.  A bureaucrat must simply demonstrate a bare minimum competence level.  To ask more is to state that EVERYONE should be the uniform, because a case could be made for ANYONE.  Being the uniform is not the same as paying attention to what you are doing.

[00.dusk]

Aren't ALL jobs where there are people at risk jobs where the Uniform should take precedence? An example from my own life: I receive an SSI check because I'm only barely sane enough to hide the true depths of my madness from the Powers That Be Exceptionally Dumb. This month, some stupid bastard fucked up my check, and I may not get it at all. Now let's say he fucked it up because there was some distance between What He Does and Who He Is -- i.e., he was not fully "in character" -- he was not living the Uniform.

No.  A fireman must live the uniform.  A bureaucrat must simply demonstrate a bare minimum competence level.  To ask more is to state that EVERYONE should be the uniform, because a case could be made for ANYONE.  Being the uniform is not the same as paying attention to what you are doing.

Point made. And I'm kicking myself for not seeing that.

[Cuddlefish]

On "uniforms"

Running around nude is ok sometimes, depending on who you're with/where you are.

Usually, it is a social expectation or a matter of basic safety to wear something, be it casual or practical. What that something is depends on your situation.

But, it is also expected that you change clothes every once in a while, because eventually you'll start to stink.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?

There's been some serious backsliding in this here church.  Once the haven of those who could laugh at adversity until their sphincters popped, the home of a breed of mutant that wore NO MAN'S UNIFORM, there seems to be a little bit of the old Grey creeping in.  People are running around with causes.

And we all know that there is only one "cause", and that is Chaos, in all her forms and glories. 

Of course, people will deny their uniforms, even as they straighten their collars and brush lint off of their epaulets.  "This is just one side of me", they say, "There's lots more, but I don't choose to express the rest at this time".  And so they click their heels and smack their heads on the backdrop in an effort to march off into the glorious sunset.

Fact:  Once you've put on a uniform, you tend to filter everything through it.  You become what you espouse...A two-dimensional being that sees only the things that their uniforms allow them to see.  Then they fuck off to Facebook or whatever, because they can't get Discordians to stay interested in that topic forever.  And may Eris have mercy on what's left of their souls.

Are you ONLY a scientist?  Are you ONLY a professional in your field?  Are you ONLY a student or a home maker or an artist?  Have you BECOME that uniform?  "Of course not", you say, "It's just what interests me."  But if your interests have narrowed to ONE THING, then WHAT THE HELL IS THE DIFFERENCE?  You have indeed become that uniform.  In fact, it's really hard to see you, because the uniform pretty much covers you up entirely.  One day, there'll be nothing BUT uniform.

Fanaticism on ANY topic is the hallmark of The Pink.  Among myriad other sins, it is boring.  It's not funny, and believe me when I tell you, your sense of humor may be the only surivival trait you have left.  The Machine™ can - and will - take everything else, but it can't touch your sense of gallows humor unless YOU LET IT.

I can't MAKE anyone see the light, here.  I doubt I can even convince anyone...The uniform has its own defense mechanisms, and the biggest weapons in its arsenal are DENIAL and BUTTHURT.  It whispers to you, it tells you that if you take off the uniform, you will have BACKED DOWN, and this may make you LOOK WEAK, and that may adversely affect your standing in "the tribe", whatever you may conceive that to be.

Right-thinking Discordians know, of course, that the strongest person is one who can change his or her mind, one who isn't afraid of changing course, who can ADMIT when they've strayed from the path...And who doesn't have some sort of phobia about looking "silly".  You look silly all the time.  Taking a dump looks silly.  You look silly when you sleep.  But you look silliest of all when you try to never look silly.  That's pomposity, and there's nothing sillier on Earth.

That uniform won't save you from the coming Weird Times™.  I doubt much of anything can...But there's no sense getting all SERIOUS about things you can't do anything about.  Laugh a little.  No, scream your laughter until your vocal chords come out...BRAY SPITTLE AND LAUGHTER IN THEIR UNCOMPREHENDING FACES UNTIL THEY FINALLY BRING YOU DOWN.

Beats the fuck out of ulcers.  And it beats the fuck out of pretending you're something you're not.  In short, it beats being Pink.

Or Kill Me.

MOTHERFUCKING YEAH GOOD GODDAMN SPEAK THE HOLY!