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(*) (*) * (*)~*~(*) HOE E'ZINE RELEASE #884
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~ 0 0 ~* *~ 0 hOGS ~ "The New Clique"
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~ 0 0 ~ ~ 0 eNTROPY ~ By: Ugliness Man
* 0 0 * * 0 * 10-23-99
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Reading zines, both print and online, as well as rants and
commentaries posted to newsgroups and various other internet forums, I see a
wide variety of topics. Decriminalization of drugs, the mistakes made by
those in office, vegetarianism, gay rights, corporate idiocy... and being a
part of this scene as much as I can be, I, of course, have my own opinions
and views on things, and I often get ideas in my head of things I want to
write about. So I was trying to think of something to write about for this
page, and I was munching on some candy. It was the new M&M's variety, with
the cookie center. I got to thinking about how it's basically a rip off of
the new candy called Astros. Then I got to thinking about how a lot of
other candy products, as well as fast food chains, coffee shops, and
countless other industries, are constantly stealing new ideas from each
other. I also got to thinking about the cheesy concept of Aero's "limited
edition" cappuccino bar. With all this thinking, I figured I was on to
something, and intended to write something about all of this.
But something was wrong. Almost instantly, I started thinking about
how it wasn't "cool". It's not angry enough, it's not very anti-social. I
found myself almost wanting to post a message to alt.anarchism and ask them
if they thought it was too lame of a topic to write about. This is not a
good thing. In the zine culture, at least the "alternative" and
anarchist/anti-social variety, it should be an "anything goes" spirit.
Instead, we sometimes find ourselves looking to each other for permission
and validation for our thoughts. Should we? I don't think so. This is one
of the symptoms of the clique attitude that "alternative" culture is so
opposed to. We're supposed to be trying to destroy cliques, not form our
own.
We're all guilty of this. Both ends of it. No matter how liberal or
"alternative" our friends are, when we're hanging around with them, just
chatting, we will sometimes censor ourselves and decide not to say something
that's on the tip of our tongue, for fear that our friends will think we're
less "cool" for wasting breath on something so insipid. And on the rare
occasion that someone forgets themselves and says something like that, they
receive a look that says "that's just not cool"... or even worse, someone
will actually say it out loud. Eventually, we all learn to shut up and act
as we're expected, adhere to the rules. It all comes around full circle,
and we become the clique clones.
It's a double-edged sword, though. Part of the core of this culture
is complaining about how boring, banal and insipid we find television and
mass media, not to mention politicians and teachers. So would it not follow
that we force ourselves to avoid that? To be honest, I really don't know.
Maybe we can use our boring stuff to combat that of the mainstream. Next
time your english teacher requires you to write a stupid essay, take my idea
and complain for 5 pages about how M&M's ripped off Astros. Just a thought.
Okay, so it's not a very good thought, but it's mine and I'm proud of it.
And isn't that what it should be all about? Say whatever the hell
you want! All of it! Yeah, some of what you say will end up being crap,
but that's okay. If you train yourself to hold back, the good stuff might
not ever come out. And no matter what others try to tell you, there is good
stuff in there that has to come out. Interesting, I started out pondering
the evils of the candy companies, and now I've come round to something
totally unrelated. SPEAK YOUR MIND. SPEAK THE TRUTH. If you really want
to, start your own zine. I haven't yet seen one print zine that I thought
was boring (I've seen plenty of crappy ezines, tho). So what's holding you
back? The cliquesters? Educate them, or cut them down, just don't give in.
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( *(c) hOGS oF eNTROPY pRESS* HOE #884 ~ BY: UGLINESS MAN ~ 10/23/99 )