beth

Because of the band t-shirts of course...

Farren

Gurdur, you keep threatening.... but I don't see any action

Gurdur

Oh, I would have thought the action here would have been hot enough for you; surely you don't want me to add chili sauce to that, now, do you ?

Farren

Lordy Gurdur, you do parade your medals, don't you?

Yes, you were right, I didn't bother reading the entire thread properly and by the time I realised the chain of reasoning the thread had moved on somewhat and it just seemed intrusive to add my retraction, so here it is.

But I can still do this



(imagine little hands flapping alongside my ears)

Gurdur

Lordy, you've been parading your mistaken moralizing on this thread and making false accusations on another thread, haven't you ?
You know, I far would have preferred a better, more friendly basis with you.
But since you have chosen to try patronizing me on one subject which you were mistaken (language), attempted mistaken pseudo-moralizing on this thread, made completely false accusations about me on another thread, and you still can't be bothered researching anything before making such wild claims, let alone the way you ignore friendly overtures, and you obviously prefer abuse to well-reasoned argument, how about I simply treat you accordingly ?

AquaVita

Guys, take it to another thread, or PM. Your tiff has nothing to do with the issue in this thread.

Farren

Aqua, for the record, I don't have a tiff, hence my lighthearted

Luiseach

[ASIDE]The odd thing about adolescence is that it is a relatively recent 'invention,' or category of experience.[/ASIDE]

Getting back to the OP for a moment...

I actually had a great adolescence, mostly because I was stubbornly independent.

The only depressing thing about it all was having to go to school every day...the boredom, the busy-work, the bad decor, the sound of slamming lockers, the smell of disinfectant, the vacuous cliques, the popularity contests, the pep-rallies.

High school, especially during the senior years, seemed endless. I see now that it was all just a means to an end anyway, for me at least. I wish I knew that then, though. It would have made the wait that much easier.

So although I despised secondary school as much as I despised junior high and elementary school and kindergarten, the growing sense of freedom and increasing independence I experienced were super. I must add, though, that I learned more on my own as a teenager than I ever did through the offical, government-sanctioned curriculum (although jumping through the hoops was necessary to get on). Such are the joys of local libraries and parents who buy you as many books as you wish.

Regarding the issue of what people think/don't think about teenagers:

My attitude then was 'Who cares?' As an adolescent, I was mostly oblivious to generalised opinions - positive or negative - about adolescents.

Regarding the issue of stereotypes::

Stereotypes are a sign of stereotypical thinking. Independent thinking is, to some extent, characterised by the ability to resist stereotypical mindsets...to eschew the cliches.

Regarding the issue of conformity/non-conformity:

LadyShea put it well, I think:

I remember this kid at high school who once wore a t-shirt that read 'Be different. Act normal.'

Darwin26

...geeeepers victims are people too ya know... and everyone gets to be one ... somewhere along the continum...at least once or twice...
Some victims are willing, others are unwitting
some are doormats, some are battered

some turn to lend a hand to the next...

and others seek revenge.


I donno 'bout the icons ... Titney Spears and what is around today... we had the Beatles and Elvis...

me thinks } passionately, you take what you like and leave the rest... compassionately you know, a little bit of the rest lie in you...

Division By Zero

Certainly true.

From those four self-descriptions, though, I really can't tell whether Cynical-Chick is a typical "I hate the mainstream just because, so I'll do THE OPPOSITE!" sort of person (though that long and relatively insubstantial post about the victim mentality of society is telling). I certainly don't see the eccentric individuality you mentioned (and three cheers for anyone who describes themself like that!), but I don't think I have enough information to conclude that she's a stereotypical anti-culturist.

Not that I don't know people like that. My brother's girlfriend, for example, loves to proclaim loudly to others that she is extremely odd and a true individual. As far as I can see, though, she just fits a different stereotype. Is Cynical-Chick like this? I dunno.

Personally, I'd say I'm a weirdo. I don't dislike the mainstream because it's mainstream; I dislike the mainstream because I think it's stupid. My taste runs contrary to what most people like (or at least what most people claim to like). I have equal disdain for the deliberate anti-mainstreamists, who are really just the flipside of the coin. Merely asserting all this doesn't mean much, though- you'd have to know me in real life. A good friend of mine fits all of those "anti-mainstream" categories you mentioned (though his Hot Topic shopping doesn't include those stupid goth chainmail pants or whatnot), and he's as bizarre a fellow as I've ever met or likely ever will meet. Not an eccentric textbook-checker, no, but certainly an individual.

Despite her victim post and reluctance to defend its flaws, I'm willing to give Cynical-Chick the benefit of the doubt for a while longer. If I turn out to be wrong, hey, this is just a message board- it's not like I married her.