conforming against conformity

[TMA_1]

What I dont understand is how so many people fight against an establishment, and establish their own cliques to do so. At the college I go to, there is a certain hangout spot for these kids who feel "cast out". They try to piss people off so that they can mock those people, saying that they are just battoned down by conformity.

Many of these kids wear shirts with crosses on them, and an "no" sign over it. I have asked one of them why he fights so adamently against christianity. (he didnt know I was setting him up) he said it was because they were so closed minded and so bigoted. He said that they always have some sort of annoying mission to attack people.

He is right in many ways, and I told him so. I asked him though why he himself has an agenda to fight against those with agendas to his disliking. By him fighting against christianity and "the majority", and rallying people to his cause, he is in a sense creating his own counter conformist group. there are so many of these cliques and personality cults, and they are even worse than gerry falwells or pat robertsons. They are worse because they fight others when they need to fight their own demons. Nothing wrong with fighting against ignorance and stupidity, but dont act the fool to defeat the fool. It is just silly. anybody else notice this stuff?

[Scrinlord]

Ya, that is true. It gets kind of annoying at times, but then again, it also makes sense. Most of these kids are not fighting against conformity itself, they are fighting against a specific kind of conformity, or conformity to a certain standard.

It is not the idea that bugs them, it is the specifics of what the conformists want.

[Egeides]

Some of the more conformist I saw (always doing what is socially right around, etc.) were exactly the ones who showed and saw themselves as non-conformists. In fact, they were conformists to an anti-suite-and-tie type, simply (which was formerly identified as "conformist"). Sometimes, there seems to have groups of conformists anti-conformists that all wear basically the same kind of things, same styles of hair, etc. :D

I think it simply is a stance of "non-fixed". Some do not agree with certain things and are reacting to them, are grouping with people with these kind of ideas/styles, and then conform to what is "correct" within this line of thaught. Good will perhaps, but conformism anew. It's part of the counter-culture phenomenons.

[Acriku]

Good point Scrinlord, those people are fighting against things they disagree with, and if conforming is an efficient way to express that and to gather people with the same opinions, then why not?

[Caid Ivik]

I've mentioned this dialecticts of conforming in one thread. It mirrors functions of politics of whole history. First looks more for ancient times, it was brilliantly defined by Sun-C' and we can see much of it in Aristoteles' work as well. Conformity came after middle ages, when the number of players on the world battleground was too big. I don't have to say, that there is no better politologist of this new age than Macchiavelli...