Why I hate labelling...

(n.b. i lost steam half way through... but who gives a fuck!)

Society is obsessed with constantly critiquing and re-evaluating itself. We are all aware of past and a current burrowing class system that burdens our nation. If you did some research you’d more than likely find that 90% of people would love to see class systems removed from consciousness, but you know what that would be, that would be a lie, you faux-moralled bastards of a nation. As you are all aware, labels are everywhere from the uncreative and over-exhausted use of ‘chav’ to the misguided use of ‘emo’. These labels somehow derive from youth cultures, a thing of the past that was used for young rebellious teens to create an identity for themselves, to strive away from their mundane parent culture and find something that makes them feel different.

Different: a word that has become an unachievable optimist’s dream and the pessimist’s critical masturbation. Most of society today is either concerned with how to make themselves break away from the pack, for their own cultural capital or for the simple idea of feeling special. For once I am here to defend the optimist. Imagine if it’s possible, a 14 year old. We’ve all been there, struggling to decide who the fuck you are, whilst having to put on any type of show not to be found out for what you really are. Erving Goffman calls it ‘Dramaturgical Discipline’, the ability to create a persona that is accepted by the masses, and fully disguises any signifier of true personal feelings.

You know what Goffman was doing whilst he was making these criticisms, living a lonely life as a participant observer research, sure what he said was true, but what’s wrong with a facade? Isn’t it all right for people to assume a collective identity in order to feel something special, to dress a certain way, listen to a type of music and perform their lives according to a set of shared ideals? Even the deepest Marxists would struggle to reject all forms of that dream. People like to put each other in pigeon holes; they even love to label themselves. A label which is more than often grossly over-exaggerated.

This is also the reason why the liberal democrats fail every time. Oh yes I went there. A sadomasochistic nation that when it sees the right option it chooses to ridicule and condemn the simplistic choice of equality and fairness, and instead chooses a government (party irrelevant) that is going to piss us off. Not because they have been tricked by false promises, but because we enjoy having a shit time. We love complaining. We get joy out of criticism, this article right here is giving me pleasure in the way of criticising the critical, in a nasty fuck spasm of a paradox. We can’t just accept people on honest face value, we have to re-access every aspect of scandal, personality and even truth. This is why we are about to go into a disgusting time under the conservative party, is the nation aware that it’s going to be shit, of course they do- but it’s the type of shit they feel like complaining about at the moment. It’s easier for the left and labour to criticise under the right, in fact we enjoy it. Has anyone watched the daily show since Bush left office? No fucking way, because satire does not exist without the bad guy, and we love moaning about him.

Except the bad guy comes in different forms, from the leaders to our peers, we are sure to separate and destroy any chance of fulfilment. I’ll use myself as the case study. An average fucking bastard. I’ll always be average, average background, average height, weight- you get the picture.

I’ve constantly been on the borderline between the alternative and the mainstream. I’ve never been accepted by either. First of all is the narrow-minded mainstream, which I believe I separate myself from, those who choose ignorance over diversity and find solace in the masses. Then there’s the pretentious cultural capital wankers who are so obsessed trying not to have a status, they become so elitist about everyone else’s tastes they’d shoot their own mother if she listened to Klaxons. They are the middle class bar-proppers, the super skinny jeaned with Fred Perry shirt and every essence of the Nu-Mod.

I try to source my musical taste from a range of different genres, I trawl the internet for new and upcoming bands on a daily basis, and my iTunes collection is large enough to keep you listening for a massive 14 days straight. Yes, 14 days of music that can diversely represent my life. But what do I get from both sides of the spectrum, ‘Arctic Monkeys’. Yep, I’m defined by one of my favourite bands, simply because they’re now firmly in the spotlight for all to see and criticise. From the masses I am the ‘rocker’, ‘the alternative’, the ‘mop-head’, I am the different. But from the elitists perspective I am the wannabe who is trying to be different. That is who I will always be. I haven’t spent my teenage years being ridiculed by the underclass /no-hopers only to get to university and receive a grilling from a bunch of pretentious wankers too busy worrying about ‘what Sebastian is doing listening to crunk’; to think “fuck it, I’m having a good time let’s roll with it”.

This is not a call for change; it’s a call for self-reflection. Take a good look in that translucent mirror and realise that if you spend your entire life obsessed with status, you're going to live a very narrow minded life- with people who are just as wanky as you.

So I hereby demand you have a pint with a tramp, fuck knows he'll have something more interesting to say than mark kermode ever has.