Threat of otherness in the midst of passive non-conformity
People struggle with non-conformity. While many lash out at preaching deviants. Passive monks are also dismayed. Doing nothing at times is consequential.
Unknowingly annoying someone through passive harassment is uncontrollable. It is asking people to be self aware of doing nothing. The passivity is going against the grain. Reading a book in conversational crowd is one such example. Reclusive from the group on a park bench meters away from the social scene. Opting not to engage the norm is abnormal. While it does not account for animosity the discomfort felt by excluding the self from the group is perceptively dangerous. The group’s synergy is hallowed. Upon realising they cannot forgo what they have internalised. Once the problem staring them straight in the face is accepted it is verified as a problem. Where is the unison, why the separation.
It takes one’s arrogant individualism to mess up the entire dynamic. There is a time and place for everything. Norms people are expected to follow. A failed expectation brings uneasiness and frustration. The higher the expectation the greater the anger. Frequent deviations may warrant unrested animosity or calming disregard. Either choosing to rebuff or repudiate. It is a fine line depending on the speaker and situation. Circumstances generate varied responses. There is a way to act and a way not to act. The monolithic vision creates binaries on how one should act. Acting out of line requires a lesson in discipline. The level of offence determines the offended’s next step. If he approaches and if so how he formulates his rebuke.
Ironically, the deviant is not acting any malice. He is doing what he wants. What he finds comfortable and enjoyable. He may be an impersonal introvert. Shy with bad people person skills. While this person may escape the wrath of the offended, the extraverted outgoing individual choosing to do otherwise hurts more. It is analogous to the good person who does good naturally and the wicked person overcoming his nature to do good. It works both ways. We praise more for a greater accomplishment and scorn more for a greater disappointment. The expectation is a measuring stick circumstantial and factorial. The principled individual, the upholder of norms will be the first to retaliate. He will perceive this irregularity as an attack on societal address and not a fluke. Its consistence will batter his head with needless shame lacking admiration.
Postulated norms with no listing, more or less arbitrary are sanctified by such folk. There is a consistent way of acting since youth. If this is the theme, it must be correct. It also intuitively seems off. To sit in the corner reading while others are conversing is suspicious. It is its own call of rebellion. The sidelined reader hopes people will stare at him and mess up. He hopes to shake up the norms. To mess with the codified order with his blasphemous alteration. He need not say anything. Actions speak louder than words. His actions are screaming watch me and follow me. As the only irregularity in the scene he is painted as rallying a new cause. To confuse everyone and dismantle the progress made thus far. He is perceived in a negative light, vermin out to bring chaos.
Ill-will is forced upon him. His difference speaks magnified volumes of disgusting evil. That is the only possible answer to breaking from the norm. Surface examination is the final analysis. Preconceived cinema stalks the offended’s brain constructing narratives concerning the reader’s intentions. He must be clouded by false hopes. While most will simply ignore him seeing him as a nuisance, some will build vile feelings in their hearts. Feeling a need to make comedic or nasty comments. His peace of mind is breached by snowflake egomaniacs. He is unable to live as he pleases. His deviation is a stain on the normative portrait. He must concede his own comfort for another’s sanity. His deviation bothers them and is his fault for his insensitive lack of conformity. He wished to be left alone but instead of agreeing to his wishes they trample him with emotionally stressing sensations.
Deviation is breaking away, forming a new world. A reality embracing adaptation. They despise change wishing for things to remain the same. Accepted norms are not easily altered. They are so embedded in the collective psyche. Each person matures with the same list. It is the irregular who is the outlier. The outcast trying to force others to fit his lunacy. He sits there quietly doing his own thing. He is happy in his own world. He cares little for universal norms. This positivistic formality is nothing short of propaganda. It is mere accepted opinion. He feels no need to comply. He disagrees and that is that. There is no scientific conclusion nor objective methodology. It is a way people do things but there is meagre justification. He displays his disagreement in choosing to do otherwise than what the situation calls for. Yet he does not perceive the binary outlook capturing the offended’s mind. He does place things in boxes. It is not a child’s game where certain blocks fit into certain holes. He embraces the complexity.
Resisting conformity angers the proponents. Pushing their dogmatic agenda on others. Dissenters are not beloved but benign. He does not wish to be accosted for his actions. He has acted in a way that suits him. He does not see the box so he acts in his comfort. He is not infringing on anyone else. The offended should ignore instead of reacting ferociously. Their childish stampede is unconvincing and ungracious. The offended see a war to defend while the reader sits in tranquil silence. When he is pounced upon, he merely ignores them. If they bother him, he will move. He does not feel the need to be threatened by immaturity. He is not hurting anyone so he should not apologise. His passivity is his choice. If that bothers others that is their problem. They need to strengthen their own convictions and mature a little. A youthful attire baked in disgruntled harmony is weak minded. You do you as long as it does not infringe on the other’s liberties.
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