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In having (yet another) delectable conversation with my roommate this morning, I've come upon a few conclusions about American society. I'm interested in ways to combat these things, but I guess just a loose list of identification is gon' do for now.
1. We value plastic stuff (faces, junk, phones) and trash people.
2. We elevate assimilation and poo-poo on individuality, unless it falls within acceptable capitalist confines "you can make some, but you'll never make more than me".
3. We gaslight victims "you're still upset about this?" and offer no useful safety net in society to help them thrive, and then drive it home with a "why didn't you leave sooner?".
4. We're reactionary "OMG! Those poor hurricane victims!" turns into "quit loafing in your FEMA trailer, haven't you figured out those boot straps yet?". We'll pour money into the Red Cross the day of a disaster, and get mad at them for not having their lives turned around by next week.
5. Our individual values are based on amassing bullshit "things".
6. We're told that aging for women is incomprehensible and that becoming a Stepford Wife is ideal. If you don't "keep up" you may be replaced by a younger model, and nobody will have compassion for you.
7. Financing plastic surgery "nips and tucks, Botox, etc." is acceptable but refinancing a home or vehicle is low-rent.
8. We don't REALLY want our neighbors to have a living wage and get off welfare - because that would mean we would have to re-value society and OURSELVES. A city worker making $15 an hour doesn't want to admit that they fear asking for more, so they'd rather shit on an Arby's worker who wants to get off assistance and raise their kid without three jobs.
9. We elevate white men to be heroes for mediocre things while de-valuing and "hiding" accomplishments of minorities and indigenous people so that supremacy remains an undercurrent of our systems. Our history is full of it. And sometimes it appears the country was built upon this principle.
10. We identify as "temporarily embarrassed millionaires" instead of someone with more in common with those in homeless shelter, while financed to the gills on everything we "own", flaunting these in "humble brags" on our social media. This is how you get "Regular Joe" taking up for coal mine operators shirking safety regulations in news posts.
11. Women will contour their faces and refuse to leave their houses without makeup because they've been taught that the face they were born with wasn't enough to take to the gas station or grocery store.
So....
Let's change this shit, peeps.
Start small. Go to the store without makeup. Quit buying magazines and tuning into "channels" online that make you feel insecure, fill your feed with cat videos. Stop looking at that neighborhood mom as competition - she might make a great friend if you drop the fears and insecurities. Celebrate an accomplishment in history to which you were previously unaware. And for God's sake, stop buying plastic shit at the Family Dollar because you're bored.
Okay, so that last one might've been for me... I'm the one sometimes buying useless plastic junk. I hate being a hypocrite, so today, I will not participate in capitalist bullshit, how's that?
Enough for Tuesday. Go forth and be weird, people.
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