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Second part of the Masque
May. 2nd, 2005 10:21 amOkay, this is part two (or three, or four) of the verbose mental spillage that comprised the bulk of the last entry. To have read the last entry before beginning this one is probably wise, considering I’m picking up my pen right where I left it.
So, after having described the habitual mask-wearing and shell-hiding that I normally do, I realize that the metaphor can be extended outward toward groups and whole societies. Reasoning by example to follow, perhaps with stereotype. One should know by now to always carry salt when trying to digest the meat of my prattle. I’ll use Japan as an example, not that I couldn’t do it to America, but that I think Japan might be an easier example in some regards. And I’ll probably get to America anyway before I finish.
So, Japan is a society with an extremely stratified social hierarchy. The degrees of separation between people are fine, sometimes only hairsbreadths apart. Yet even the smallest of these differences dictates an entire system of behavior. It’s not just the mask that matters, but also the decorations and possibly even the colors of the decorations. At the same time, the society “permits” (even though I suspect that according to the laws, it’s definitely not permissible) men to molest women in view of others. (Again, stereotypes are possibly present.) As well as several other more X-rated ideas from what I’ve heard. The dichotomy is striking. A society that gears itself so much towards knowing your role has this entire other segment that one would expect not to exist in polite society. The masks have taken over. There is extreme conformity and extreme rebellion, all at once.
This plays out here as well, in our society. The pressure to wear the mask is considerable, and it’s what we’re taught to do right from the beginning. That’s what makes the people who don’t wear them, the kinds of people that flaunt more than mere eccentricities, but true alternatives, so different. They draw attention to themselves by being themselves. Both good and bad attention, from fellows and fundies, naturally. At the same time, they garner respect, even from the people that don’t agree with them, because they’re out in the open.
Then, there are the Impostors, the posers, people who want to screw up enough courage to actually take their masks off. There have to be a lot more of them than I conceive of, because I can see my own indecision and they hide theirs well enough. (The obverse of that statement is also true. Others see their own indecisions and think I’m confident.) We’re the people who go to the conventions and admire the cosplayers, but think that we’d never have the confidence to actually do it ourselves. We’re support troops because we don’t think we can lead, or we’re afraid to do so. In some people’s cases, it’s because there’s a very real threat of reprisal, both from the OBEY crowd and from the people who are open about their hatred of others. All the more kudos for those who do it anyway.
Pervy tells me that I haven’t had my rebellion yet. I agree. There wasn’t much there at home to adopt as a rebellious cause, which may have slowed things down a bit, and there was also the hostile climate at home. There was no community, really, that I could see and associate with. Even now, though, were I to go for the rebellion, there’s not a group that I can handily identify with and work from there. Self-definition would definitely be a large part of it, (Q: What do you do with a jack of many trades and master of none? A: Make him a librarian. He’ll probably do the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people.) as would associating with people of the mindset that can appreciate, expand, and contest the ideas I put forward. I don’t have an earth-shattering revelation to give. I just have interests. (Sen-Sen interjects: That may be the best revelation of them all. As you said, to treat people as people may be the most revolutionary act you can commit. Don’t think too hard about it.)
Defining oneself by saying what one is not is still a poor substitute for defining oneself by what one is. I’ve had enough of definition by negation. Now it’s time to find a name for myself.
So, after having described the habitual mask-wearing and shell-hiding that I normally do, I realize that the metaphor can be extended outward toward groups and whole societies. Reasoning by example to follow, perhaps with stereotype. One should know by now to always carry salt when trying to digest the meat of my prattle. I’ll use Japan as an example, not that I couldn’t do it to America, but that I think Japan might be an easier example in some regards. And I’ll probably get to America anyway before I finish.
So, Japan is a society with an extremely stratified social hierarchy. The degrees of separation between people are fine, sometimes only hairsbreadths apart. Yet even the smallest of these differences dictates an entire system of behavior. It’s not just the mask that matters, but also the decorations and possibly even the colors of the decorations. At the same time, the society “permits” (even though I suspect that according to the laws, it’s definitely not permissible) men to molest women in view of others. (Again, stereotypes are possibly present.) As well as several other more X-rated ideas from what I’ve heard. The dichotomy is striking. A society that gears itself so much towards knowing your role has this entire other segment that one would expect not to exist in polite society. The masks have taken over. There is extreme conformity and extreme rebellion, all at once.
This plays out here as well, in our society. The pressure to wear the mask is considerable, and it’s what we’re taught to do right from the beginning. That’s what makes the people who don’t wear them, the kinds of people that flaunt more than mere eccentricities, but true alternatives, so different. They draw attention to themselves by being themselves. Both good and bad attention, from fellows and fundies, naturally. At the same time, they garner respect, even from the people that don’t agree with them, because they’re out in the open.
Then, there are the Impostors, the posers, people who want to screw up enough courage to actually take their masks off. There have to be a lot more of them than I conceive of, because I can see my own indecision and they hide theirs well enough. (The obverse of that statement is also true. Others see their own indecisions and think I’m confident.) We’re the people who go to the conventions and admire the cosplayers, but think that we’d never have the confidence to actually do it ourselves. We’re support troops because we don’t think we can lead, or we’re afraid to do so. In some people’s cases, it’s because there’s a very real threat of reprisal, both from the OBEY crowd and from the people who are open about their hatred of others. All the more kudos for those who do it anyway.
Pervy tells me that I haven’t had my rebellion yet. I agree. There wasn’t much there at home to adopt as a rebellious cause, which may have slowed things down a bit, and there was also the hostile climate at home. There was no community, really, that I could see and associate with. Even now, though, were I to go for the rebellion, there’s not a group that I can handily identify with and work from there. Self-definition would definitely be a large part of it, (Q: What do you do with a jack of many trades and master of none? A: Make him a librarian. He’ll probably do the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people.) as would associating with people of the mindset that can appreciate, expand, and contest the ideas I put forward. I don’t have an earth-shattering revelation to give. I just have interests. (Sen-Sen interjects: That may be the best revelation of them all. As you said, to treat people as people may be the most revolutionary act you can commit. Don’t think too hard about it.)
Defining oneself by saying what one is not is still a poor substitute for defining oneself by what one is. I’ve had enough of definition by negation. Now it’s time to find a name for myself.
