May 27, 2008
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Internet_Island Topic #35
Internet Island Topic Post #35: What makes you unique?
35.1 What makes you unique?
Am I unique? I thought I was just plain nuts. Seriously or surreally as the case may be. But in all honestly, people tell me I am crazy all the time.
- I don’t care about money. This confuses people.
- I don’t care about sex or about finding a significant other. This bothers people more than my disinterest in money.
- Some people think I care too much about the environment. I think people don’t care enough.
- Some think I care too much about making other people laugh. But even they fall before my silly ways.
- Some people think (and say) I need therapy. They (and when I say they I mean she) are just jealous of my clownish skills. They wish they could be as amusing as me.
- Sometimes I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind just to see how other people will respond. Usually they are confused, but sometimes they take my insanity and run with it. Yay!
- Sometimes I play at being obnoxious simply to diffuse a tense situation. If every annoyed party is focused on me, they can’t possibly resume their interpersonal aggressions.
- Most of the time I like plants and animals more than people. Plants and animals are just nicer than most people you meet. It makes me wish I could stop eating rather than eat animals or plants… but I think Breatharians are just a little…. um not quite right.
- I like books more than I like most people. Books don’t insult you, and if they do, you can stop reading. If I had an unlimited supply of books, I would be quite content to spend the rest of my days alone on a deserted island.
- When I die, I will either be reborn as a tree or not come back at all. I’m not sure which. On the one hand, I like the idea of coming back in a form that contributes more than it consumes, but on the other hand… I think I’m done here and I don’t need to come back.
- I can be one of the most patient people around, except when confronted by someone who wears their ignorance like a badge of honor. I have no patience for such people.
- I’d rather have a horse than a car, but you can’t ride a horse to work.
- When I die, I want my books to be given to the smallest library that can be found. Or, if by the time I die I have enough books, I would like a library to be opened using my books. That’d be one interesting library! heh
35.2 Why is “whomever” unique? (Pick somebody who is unique and write about them.)
Everyone’s unique in their own special way. Some people are just… more comfortable showing how unique they are. I admire people who are not afraid to show how little they think of conformity for conformity’s sake. For instance, Gandhi. A person who is willing to stand up against the majority is a rare bird indeed, especially at great personal cost. Beyond that… you don’t hear of too many famous people who advocate the drinking of urine. But we shouldn’t hold that against him. It’s not like he was hurting anyone with this belief.35.3 Is uniqueness a trait to be favored or derided, and why?
This is really a question of how much is too much… I mean, Ozzy used to go around biting the heads off of small helpless animals. Back in the day, this was a time honored means of entertainment, but that went out when they did away with sideshows and freak tents. How much uniqueness can the human race stand? Not a lot, actually. The majority of humanity does not like anyone who stands out too far from the norm. I never would have been “lynched” in jr highschool if people were inclined to embrace their odder peers. But statistically, the greatest leaps forward have come from the fringes… from people who thought outside the confines of society’s closed minds. People like Tesla and Einstein were unique in their genius… some might have called them mad… but because their inventions were beneficial, their eccentricities were tolerated, mostly because they could not be swept easily under the carpet.Tolerance, that’s the key… if society can’t tolerate the oddity in their midst, they usually end up missing out on a lot of cool new ideas. If Tesla had been given his due (and Edison a kick in the rear), we might be a lot more advanced than we are now. Some scientists believe creativity in general is a form of insanity, a way the mind rewires experiences to create new ideas and possibilities. Even the dullest intelligence harbors a kind of madness, causing the mind to veer off in new directions with little provocation. So then genius becomes some kind of super-madness, and geniuses and savants of all walks of life should probably be locked away for the safety of the only slightly less mad. While it might be a good idea, since many extreme geniuses seem to skip over the little things like maintaining a proper diet and you know… hygiene, it would be better for all involved if society embraced their geniuses, if only to give them a firm connection to reality.
No one in their right mind (haha) should ever deride someone for being “unique.” It’s the unique perspective that inspires and conspires to improve the human race and its understanding of existence. Of course encourage the genius and free thinker within reason… someone has to bring them back down to earth or they may asphyxiate in the thin aether above the clouds. But no one should ever be discouraged from looking up. And no one should ever be discouraged from dreaming.
May 27
The Ludi Saeculares continues.
In the year 1948, Morning Glory Zell was born in Long Beach, California. She is a priestess and vice-president of the Church of All Worlds, and is a practitioner of Celtic Pagan Shamanism.
The 13th day of Epipi is the Ceremony of Horus the Beloved.
Comments (11)
I find you refreshingly unique and we’d probably belong to the same support group: Humor as an art form diversion.
this was a unique question… i might deside to answer it… although i say that to a lot of questions and never get around to it. i like your idea of coming back as a tree. they have to be strong and without fear… to stand in the same spot for decades with humans traveling around them knowing that in just a whim a human could deside to turn them into paper or pencils or a house at any moment. i heard one time that when humans got near trees they actually shake. it could be measured. i doubt its true but it just makes you think when you get near one after hearing that that maybe it knows your there even without a brain. in fact maybe it can feel more because there is no brain.
Sometimes, I wonder if the question, itself, is unique to the Latin West, at least upon the era of The Enlightenment with its’ call to individualism.
I think tolerance is one of the highest virtues to strive for, individually as well as collectively, although sadly, I do not often hold out hope in the latter.
Good entry this day.
Blessings~
I am reminded of an Alice Cooper concert I went to. There was a Gravitron ride and an opening act of a couple of vaudeville-type folks with an axe, a watermelon, and a bed of nails. As for unusual – yes, we have to think outside the box to thrive. My mother always taught us that if people called my siblings and me weird, we should thank them. I think we were usually smart enough to get ourselves ignored instead of ridiculed, but it just goes to show you how highly oddness was prized in my family. I have been blessed.
Don’t sound that nuts to me…sound kind of wonderful. whispering…about the plant and animal thing…could we just eat people? yelling…ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE! I always wanted to ride a horse to work. Became a cowboy and did just that.
What makes me unique? Me unique? Li’l ol’ me? Not that any would notice…….would they?
A very unique post.
Nice entry =]
I deeply enjoyed your entry and the grasp that you have on who you are and why.
Great post.
Oh great entry! Answering each question was an amazing feat! Much energy!~Jeri
Dear Candace,
As usual you really delve into the details. A wonderfully complete response. My apologies for not commenting earlier. I did read your entry last week but it was from work, and I couldn’t respond properly. Thanks for participating, and thanks for tackling all three of the prompts.
I just love your links. Drinking urine, geeks (in the original sense) and Breatharians (a practice of which I had not heard till now) I give you five stars and a recommend. Your personal “uniqueness” list is very well compiled as well. Bravo.
This prompt has generated some great entries, but there haven’t been all that many of them. I posted mine this morning. Thank you again for participating in the Internet Island, and for your usual enthralling posts.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool