03 May 2018 - Graham
previously: against the news
A stolen epigraph:
This is at bottom the only courage that is demanded of us: to have courage for the most strange, the most singular and the most inexplicable that we may encounter. That mankind has in this sense been cowardly has done life endless harm;” - Rilke
from The Snow Leopard, by Peter Matthiessen via epigraphs by phoebe pan via laura olin’s newsletter
Thoreau thought rather poorly of the man who, as soon as he wakes, asks:
“Pray tell me anything new that has happen to a man anywhere on this globe”–and he reads it over his coffee and rolls, that a man has had his eyes gouged out this morning on the Wachito River; never dreaming the while that he lives in the dark unfathomed mammoth cave of this world, and has but the rudiment of an eye himself.
It’s important to note, Thoreau was just as grumpy about the coffee as he was about the obsession with news. And I drink a lot of coffee. So let’s not pretend he approves of my lifestyle more than anyone else’s.
Unlike Thoreau, my mom thought my argument went too far, but she also approaches the news with a great deal of skepticism and filters out a lot of junk. Similarly Jeff writes,
There are still valuable resources (propublica, lawfareblog) doing good work as well as some individuals (see David Fahrenthold at WaPo and his investigations into Trump’s businesses for example) so as long as individuals use critical thinking and analysis they should be able to stay informed without being manipulated.”
So you weren’t alone if you disagreed with me, but I still think I’m 100% right.
Ross reminds me that April was national poetry month. Here’s one of his:
the light
divinity is the light
always
but sometimes
some light
finds a way
to illuminate
something greater
for me
it’s the trees
when their leaves
find the sun
just so
perfectly
caught up in everything
And here’s one from Brennan:
Sympathy Dart Frog
I have to hire
a sympathy dart frog
to sit, and wait, in the palm
of my hand
to mutter the things
that feel strange for me to say
and so that I can effortlessly hand
to strangers this frog
when they are crying on the train, and
my body language
will convey something about
the universal nature of human suffering
instead of something about the
prevalence of human apathy
Ross also recommends June by Alex Dimitrov. Here’s an excerpt:
I would like to say
something to everyone I see (an entire
city) but I’m unsure what it is yet.
I thought hard about giving up on this topic because talking about basic-ness easily devolves into shallow sexism. The term “basic” is shorthand for “basic bitch” and it’s only halfway applied to men, aka bros or Chads. But I have decided to forge on because I have a strong sense that DC suffers from an epidemic of basic bros, and I want to figure out what exactly I so dislike about them.
Basic isn’t a well defined term, but it generally describes an odious and vapid conformity. It is nearly always an insult, including the “I’ll call myself basic before anyone else can” move. And it only functions at a distance. Once you try to understand someone, it’s nearly impossible to think of them as basic.
The meaning changes over time. In college, basic was north face fleece jackets (not guilty, but not by choice), polo shirts (guilty), and sperrys (guilty) or uggs (not guilty). The pumpkin spice latte (not guilty) was the key signifier circa 2014, but they’ve become passe even for the basic.
Based on dozens of hours of anthropological observations and interviews conducted from behind the counter at Q and 7th St. NW, I have concluded that basic in DC currently includes (but is not limited to) the following:
The conformity is a function, at least in part, of instagram, where we try to cultivate our brand in the mold of a small set of highly followed tastemakers who favor certain forms of homogeneous semi-luxury consumption, especially travel and food (both things I love).
Still, isn’t all fashion conformity? Hipsters end up looking the same because they’re trying to be unique in exactly the same way. And the hippie’s reflexive rejection of social standards was just as simple, and as easily commodified, as the basic bro’s acceptance. At least Chad is honest about his attempt to just fit in.
But this is unfair to fashion and too generous to Chad. Yes, fashion is always an attempt to distinguish one’s self as a member of a group. Like all art it is never original–it always relies on what came before. As a result, art changes only incrementally, which means making it is often very hard and unrewarding. But that doesn’t excuse us from our duty to create and remix. Basic is boring because it fails to contribute new combinations or new perspectives to the collective project of making culture.
Basicness is social striving by an already very privileged class. And thus it seems to demonstrate an ignorant and selfish enjoyment of privilege.
I may also find basicness to be gross because it is conformity to the mainstream and I presently find that mainstream icky. Consider, for example, the bro who dresses as if he were still living in the frat. I’m much more concerned by this basic bro than by the modern valley girls because the bro has a aura of violence. These bros must be aware that their style and manner align them with a group of people with a reputation for sexual assault. Does this mean they simply aren’t worried about people thinking they are date rapists? Or given the near universal complicity of men in sexual violence, does it simply not matter how we dress?
Perhaps basicness bothers me so much because it hits too close to home. The basic bro is my least liked self. I’m scared of being the lazy non-creator, the witless cultural appropriator, and the young man causing harm because he’s confused about sex.
Mariana suggests that the criticism of basic-ness is used to police the boundaries of the elite. Basicness is a way of othering. Yes, these people do and buy many of the same things as I do and, but I do it with a special knowledge - I have style. This seems right. And maybe this boundary also protects me from becoming a lamer version of myself.
Thank goodness Mahroh told me to watch Janelle Monáe’s stunningly choreographed and styled new “emotion picture” aka album-length music video (youtube). The narrative is as insightful about our weird future/present as the best of Black Mirror and the music is phenomenal.
If you want some contemporary jazz that isn’t boring, Sons of Kemet, My Queen is a Reptile (spotify) is very fun to listen to. Bonus: each song title is an inspiration for a mini-self-directed history lesson. I found it on an endlessly groovy spotify playlist by Four Tet.
If you want to seed a youtube auto-playlist of amazing, chill, and upbeat tracks, there’s maybe no better place to start than with Mariana’s recommendation: Oatmeal by Sudan Archives (youtube)
The most sophisticated dressers are engaged in a three-way conversation – between the creator of their clothing, themselves, and the people they interact with while dressed. This happens in the context of a broad set of only semi-shared cultural values.
“I do not wish to judge how far my efforts coincide with those of other philosophers. Indeed, what I have written here makes no claim to novelty in detail, and the reason why I give no sources is that it is a matter of indifference to me whether the thoughts that I have had have been anticipated by someone else.”
next post: unstructured guilt