A Unique Sheep

The Unique Sheep: Ironic Non-Conformist Ego's of the Flock? 

I've got an ego; we all do, but mines got class! Such amazing social ego. I'm unlike anyone else folks, look at me! Doesn't it smells like brain fart? Though mine does reek of masculinity because I'm rad. I don't want to ramble on about ego too much, but rather explore our fascination with individuality, because, well . . . I just think egotism is behind these self defining postures that people make. Oh, yeah, I want to explore how irrational we are as a species.

Along with ego, our best bits all tie together, somewhat like bondage, your nice bits turn blue and you just want to hurry up and get to the crack. We are wrapped up in ourselves to the point of distraction; hardly noticing anyone elses eccentricities or f***wittery, until we laugh at the other goof-balls on Gogglebox or Britain's Got Talent.

I'll start this of with a simple true life example of mine, then, I'll break it down. Once, my holier-than-thou religious cousin refused to let my mum inside her house, she called her evil; the presence of the nefarious hand of the dark lord Satan was clearly recognised and evident by this biblically informed relation of mine. 

Then again, that's a bad example, she might have had a point!

Then again, it is kinda funny how they both my mother and my religious relative make out they're normal. Here's a better example of irrational human behaviour: ass-hole bleaching. Contorting yourself in front of a mirror to bleach a little unseen hole just for the pleasure of enjoying secret knowledge, that you've got a flawless anus—it doesn't seem the norm, but it's a thing! I promise you, I know people who do it for that very reason. I can imagine Lorraine Kelly having a pristine ass-hole. None of this stands out as ego yet; irrationality granted. Let's move on! 

. . .. .  

Shaving off your eyebrows and then pencilling on new ones is the holy grail! It's the ultimate example of batsh***ery in the form of vanity. Also, why do people risk the knife? Transition, transform into more than one gender identity, become a reptile person or an alien. Without a doubt, we absolutely know surgery addiction can transform anyone, you could potentially become another Jocelyn Wildenstein. 

The social-media Sues and Facebook Steves of the world, might stake their mental diagnosis into their online profile presence to come across as unique, or special (you could claim to believe in The Elves). However, not even that truly defines an individual; posting Fifa playing skills can be just as impactful, given the vast amount of statistical information that informs our diagnostic classification manuals. A mental illness hardly makes a three legged purple sheep of anyone does it? 

Like many others, I've been a unique sheep then I realised I wasn't alone entering into that irony of decorating myself with the fashion retailers drapery, just try and be a little more different than the rest. I did bling up once to break the mould, had a tattoo but realised everyone else did—maybe it's a teen thing? 

The actual endeavour to be unique comes with that inner guidance system that makes sure you don't go too far, because, in secret, it's all based on a framework of what's acceptable. Donnie Darko fits the unique sheep character in his movie of the same name. However, Tyler Durden from fight club is non-conformist and not a regular unique sheep who wants to impress the flock. There's a subtle difference between a lone wolf and a unique sheep. A unique lone wolf has to be worth looking into, would that be Logan, The Wolverine? 

However, my focus in this blog is on common people, real-life inbetweeners who try to be non-conformist, unique, by following all the norms and behaving like 'as they really are' despite how some of these people adopt new behaviours to fit in. 

Individualism, like what we see with emo's or those rocker-types, laughs in the face of social acceptability, right? Then again, no emo wants to be ostracised for not adhering to the dress code of the peerage, do they?

Okay, in conclusion, we are the most advanced species on the planet. No argument there, but I can't help but wonder whether our advancement's are by-products of some strange Darwinian fluke. People might appear egotistical in their self 're-inventions' and plights for attention, but it's not always ego, but something else. I guess labelling others as egotistical is an egotistical act itself? We are all human and imperfect aren't we? 

I can't end this without shining some light on our irrational fears, like spiders, you know where this is going. Around 55% of women and 18% of men are needlessly afraid of the little blighters! (Watts, M. & McKay, D. 2016). This extends to fear of clowns, coulrophobia. We had a global clown phase! I conclude without a doubt that we are an irrational species. 

Can you convince me otherwise? 

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Reference:

Watts, M., & McKay, D. (2016). Fear of spiders questionnaire: Psychometric properties and correlation with spider stimuli. Journal of Anxiety Disorders [Online] Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0887618516300147