Why did you abandon the mainstream?

[randomness]

(a placeholder for a more substantive post)

In many ways I was never accepted by the mainstream. By virtue of the combination of my race and upbringing, I was always going to be the "other". So in contrast to many of my friends, who appear to have consciously chose the subculture, I ended up here because integrating into the mainstream was problematic.

And there are many mainstream assumptions which I think are completely fucked-up. That tends to reinforce my decision. Not that the particular social niche I find myself in is lacking in fucked-up assumptions, but perhaps there aren't as many, or at least there are fewer which impact me directly.

I'm still thinking about this.

Comments

[evilbunnymayhem.livejournal.com]

Oh... and one other thought-
no matter what social niche you find yourself in... I find it both interesting and comforting that it's nothing new. Societies have had all kinds of social cliches for eons. Perhaps it's human nature to separate individuals into smaller groups based on similarities, likes, dislikes and belief systems. It could possibly be a way to create family structures as adults once we've grown and left those of childhood... or if you want to read even more into it- to find the family structures that were never there as children. Wow... hmm... I could keep going with this but I best stop. This is your post after all.
We should chat tho. This is really a deep topic to ponder.
:)

[r-ness.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure that I find it comforting that ostracization is age-old, and in fact predates humanity.

I recognize it has a social function, and it's certainly interesting, but I'm not comforted by it.