The clique that thinks it's not

I have noticed an interesting little clique that I never had before thanks to those social network sites. By clique, I mean a group of people that all think alike & respond predictably to certain things. Many cliques even dress alike. Internet cliques might, but it's hard to tell. The one I've noticed is the group that hates everything more than 5 people like. In school you probably knew the kid. He or she hated everything that was popular. It didn't matter if it was good or fun or not serious, they HATED it. Now, they would say they didn't, but rest assured, if they went to the effort to point it out, it was because at some point it pissed them off on some level. They were the kid that listened to obscure music & watched obscure films & would make smart-ass remarks about anything you liked. They call things stupid & routinely comment on the stupidity of anything popular. Nothing popular can be good or smart or intelligent.

Now, that one kid you knew has access to the one kid I knew & the one kid from here & the one kid from there & now, it becomes very clear, that these people are indeed their own clique. You post something & know exactly what they will say & you know they will feel the need, an aching deep seeded need to speak out about how absurd or idiotic it is. They usually call groups names & stroke their ego about how unique they are. How they are an individual & don't follow trends. How the "sheeple" or masses are so beneath them.

From what I have been able to determine, these people make up about 4% of the population. That 4% are very loyal to each other on networking sites. If you ever try to just light-heartedly blow them off, be assured, the whole 4% will post something passive aggressive indirectly or directly at you & try to make you feel as ignorant & stupid as they can. It's a given. It WILL happen 100% of the time. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is a sure as death & taxes.

Sadly, many of them don't understand that they are as transparent as a high school cheerleader. I know, I am totally stereotyping & it's wrong, but just play along. Most of these people have depression problems, mental health problems, esteem issues & live alone or they swing to the other extreme & are party whores. Still, they are very lonely people. It makes me sad for them. They can't let go & lighten up. Everything is so grim & depressing & mankind is a horrid blemish on the universe. Doom & gloom & the whole world is stupid.

I hesitate to reveal this, but everyone likes an obscure band. At least one. Everyone has a favorite obscure movie. Everyone thinks something is stupid. Most people just let it go. Going around with an attitude of superiority does not make you superior. Looking down on everything does not make you cool. Well, maybe to the 4% clique it does, but that isn't any different than any other clique. Deliberately, whether consciously or subconsciously, berating everything popular doesn't make you look smart. I'm not saying you shouldn't feel that your opinion doesn't count or that you're wrong, if you are a 4% person, but I am saying it won't help you feel better about yourself or make friends or create lasting relationships.

I understand not playing the game & not wanting to go with the crowd. I get it. It's the aggressive attacks on those who think differently than you I don't get. How is that any different than the high school bully? Honestly, I don't think it is. In fact, I know it isn't.

I had 3 main bullies in school. One was a girl two grades ahead of me that used to push me into lockers & call me a dyke or queer. She was one of the popular girls. Queen bee. Made other girls do her bidding. One was the girl whose grandma lived across the street. She was a cheerleader that used to tell me I dressed like a boy & was weird for getting grass stains on my jeans all the time & called me tomboy like it was something bad. The last & possibly worst one of all was one of these 4% kids. This guy never let up. I liked hair bands. They were stupid. I was stupid for listening to them. They didn't write real music & he hated everything about hair bands & made a point to tell me every opportunity he could. It was 1986 for gods sake. He listened to the Dead Milkmen & the Dead Kennedys. Bands that wrote their own music. I'm fairly certain if they had ever played them on the radio in the top 40, he would have instantly stopped listening & called them sell-outs.

I liked Van Gogh. Van Gogh was stupid. Everyone likes Van Gogh. It didn't matter to him why I liked Van Gogh. If I liked Van Gogh it had to be because everyone else did.

I liked stickers. Stickers were stupid. Why do people put stickers on things? It's stupid. Everything I did or said or liked was stupid. I couldn't have a decent conversation with this dude no matter how hard I tried. It was always a passive aggressive barrage aimed at me & society. Jesus, man. Really? Stickers piss you off?

I always imagined he got up & the sun would piss him off first thing off the bat. Then the stupid flavor names on the toothpaste would piss him off. Then the ridiculous brand name Eggo would piss him off. I could hear him, "Why don't they just call them waffles. It's what they are. The name Eggo is stupid." You get the point. Luckily high school ends. I went on to have a wonderful time in college & make many friends & had a whole lot of fun.

It's funny...if popular culture didn't exist, I wonder, what would he like? Popular culture is what made it possible for his kind & his clique to exist.

I guess I just wanted to share my opinion & vent a little. I do feel sad for these people. It seems they can never just enjoy things for what they are. Everything in their worlds is always so serious & has to make a point or statement. There is no room for fun & silliness. Fun & silliness is for fools. Well, I hate to say it, but we are each fools at one point or another. Try not to take life so seriously. Love each other & spread some positivity. We have enough pessimism & hate & negativity in the world without 4% of the population always trying to be sticks in the mud.