Loon: A type of bird symbolic of the north often found in Canada or the northern United States. (Thank you allaboutbirds.org)
Loon: A person who displays behavior that seems or appears out of the ordinary and some may view said person as crazy (Thank you dictionary of Dani Boucher.)
I find my use of the word loon ever increasing. The more I think about the word loon the more I use it. Often times I say it about my friends “ Oh your such a loon” “Oh you’re loony”. At times I feel the courage to use the word with myself. Yesterday while at my girlfriend’s house I thought or spoke (look at the pristine memory I have) while we had a snowball fight “We’re just a bunch of loons”. As I sit and think about school and my life and the life of those around me (I know, why don’t I just think about the whole universe and the meaning of life) I could think of no better way to describe it. I, or we, live in a society full of social normalcies and unspoken rules that no one truly knows, but simply abides by. There are things in this “society” that no one should speak of, that we all must abide to. Why? (That’s rhetorical (I felt the need to inform you of that due to I never know if a presenter of questions intends their question to have an answer giver or not)) I have theories upon theories of this. Some nights when I can’t sleep or other times when I should sleep, but would much rather play my guitar. I wonder where they stared and why do generations see them differently. I see no better example of this generational gap then with in my own family. My grandmother (Best grandma ever) believes girls should not have their ears pierced and God made the body as a temple tattoos are a disgrace to that temple. My Mom (sometimes I call her Debbie she does not like that) says its ok to have your ears pierced and have tattoos, but an excessive amount is frowned upon I think, if some one has a body they should do with it as they please. I can’t tell some times if this gap stems from generational gaps or from social changes and influences or own personal beliefs (that’s the topic of my Original Oratory speech). Social stereotypes arise everywhere. If one goes to McDonalds and asks for a happy meal they find themselves faced with the question “Boy toy or girl toy?” (this was always a problem in my home. Hot wheels are so much cooler then Barbie’s, and so is Gi Joe for that matter). Why do we categorize toys? A more age appropriate example: clothes. Storeowners divided their stores into men and woman’s clothing. For some one like me this makes shopping quite interesting. I don’t like tight clothes, I don’t like sparkly or frilly or stylish, I like plaid and flannel. I like loose jeans and cargo shorts and finding me outside of school, church, or debate without a hat on my head; well that’s the apocalypse. My style and comfort level leans more towards the societal view of masculine clothing. They are the clothes I like to wear though. Sometimes I sit in English and look around the students in this class arise as the best writers in Chagrin more often then not. I worry though with that thought. We all have so much power with our words, how will we use it? Will these students, friends, classmates weld their words to hold up and abide by the social normalcies that I see plaguing our society, or will they write for change? I worry every time for the future of our country when I get strange looks walking down the street in my overly baggy cloths with my baseball cap laughing with friends. I worry that we forever will stay in this awkward place of discontent with ourselves and unhappiness due to societal expectations. I worry that this world will never change. That I will always get strange looks holding my girl friends hand as we walk down the street. Its late now though the hours have fallen back into single digest and if I play my guitar any louder my mom might come scold me for never getting enough sleep. How long will we stay a bunch of loons abiding by unspoken social norms?
Dani I also ponder the implications of societal norms. Why does the majority get to dictate what is and is not socially acceptable? Judging people individually, without some sort of bias would make the most sense. Stereotyping speeds up the judgement process but it does not make it any more accurate.
ReplyDeleteDani- this is my first time reading your blog, and I wish it wasn't so. Your insight towards stereotypes is something I will we addressed in both AP English and AP Psych. I hate that I have an innate sense to conform, as does everyone else. I wish we instead truly celebrated individualism instead of practicing stereotypes. Your blog has caused me to perform some interospection and, hopefully, I will change for the better.
ReplyDeleteDani, you brought up a very interesting point on how society acts very close minded. I believe people stereotype when they lack information on an individual, so instead of treating people like individuals, we make large generalizations in hopes of fitting the group. However, I don't think that people realize how stereotypes put (sometimes overt) pressure on the individual; girls feel slight pressure to act one way, boys feel slight pressure to act the other. Hopefully society puts less influence on gender roles and more on the individual.
ReplyDeleteI think you raise interesting points about how these norms started in society. I actually thought about this today, but I wondered more about how men deemed women as inferior and objectified them, and when did this all start? I never understood, when did a man decide this, and when did a woman accept it? I feel like this idea dates back as far as documentation and time goes. I know today men and women are treated as equals for the most part, but I wonder how they came to this conclusion of inequality in the first place. I want to know who decided these norms, and the reasoning behind them. They seem ridiculous and unfair.
ReplyDeleteReally great blog, Dani. As the others said, great insight. You seem like you lack hope in regards to this issue. Sometimes I do too. You give me hope though. You always push societal norms, in the best ways possible. I always think back to the time you, Danny Pecchio, and I went to Chipotle after preparing for the Chagrin Debate tournament last year. People like the two of you defy societal norms and hopefully have triggered a slow, but sure revolution.
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