In my last post, I discussed the effects of socialization and cited an example of a girl who I see hula hooping on the university campus where I’m completing my graduate work.  She hasn’t got a care in the world, and I found her to be so refreshing, that I’ve gone ahead and initiated a hula hoop video contest.  You can read the original post here.

Think you’ve got the guts?  Here’s the deal:

To enter the contest, you must videotape yourself hula hooping in a public place where hula hooping wouldn’t normally occur.  That’s it!  Once all submissions are in, I’ll post all entries to this site, and readers will vote on the video featuring the most creative public place. The first prize winner will receive $100 cash (we’re scraping the massage idea in favor of loot), the second prize $50 and the third prize $25.

The goal here is to stop taking ourselves so seriously, move outside of our comfort zones, and get out there and have a little fun, as a way to promote the broader themes of unconventionality & independent thought . . . and maybe make a little extra cash to go have a few beers afterward!  Whatdya say?  Can you put your pride on the line in order to make a statement?

Here, dear friends, are the official rules:

1.  The public location selected must contain people–ideally a crowd, but not necessarily as long as there are strangers witnessing your hoop action–and should be a location where hula hooping wouldn’t normally take place.  Be as creative as possible.  Some suggestions that have been thrown out already are:  In a supermarket, in the middle of a busy sidewalk, at the post office, in the bar, etc.

2.  Video submissions should be from 1-3 minutes in length.  (You don’t have to keep it in the air that long!)

3.  Send all submissions to ash [at] themiddlefingerproject [dot] org.  In the body of the email, please include your full name, location (city/state/country), and an email address where you can be reached.

4.  A Paypal account will be required to receive prize money.

5.  The deadline to submit your video is March 22nd, 2010 May 22, 2010.  Winners will be announced no later than June 15, 2010.

Feel free to contact me at the email address listed above with any questions.  Best of luck everyone!  Have fun!

The Girl In The Photo

See that girl?  She’s got long, brown wavy hair, and a collection of freckles that further intensify her sense of childlike innocence that’s so clearly evident in the way she moves.  White earbuds dangle down the side of her face, and I take pleasure in imagining that she’s listening to Avril Lavigne, or Pink, or someone equally as gusty and fierce that I probably haven’t heard of.  Actually, I’m certain it’s the latter, because this girl is one of those girls that just exudes uber-coolness, and uber-cool people always know all about the other uber-cool people–especially when it comes to music.

There’s a reason for my infatuation with this earth-goddess, racerback tank-wearing, leather bracelet-donning, pop punk rocker, and that reason can be summed up in two words:   hula hoop.

I’ve seen her three times now; she appears on campus at the university where I’m completing my graduate work.  She hasn’t got a care in the world, as her and her iPod jam out in the middle of an uninhabited patch of grass, her hips gyrating to the beat of the music, as she hula hoops around and around in endless circles.  Passersby heading to their next class look on in amazement, and I hear them snicker amongst their circle of friends, calling my sweet earth-goddess pop punk rocker names like crazy, insane, psychotic, and wacky. They ridicule, scorn, sneer and laugh with contempt.   While the fact that she’s wearing a racerback tank top in the dead of winter in Pennsylvania is, perhaps, questionable, as much as they mock her, I think they’re all secretly green with envy of her bold confidence.  I know I am.

You Can’t Hula Hoop In Public! *Gasp*

You see, for some reason, the fact that she’s hula hooping in the middle of campus is somehow considered wrong, against the rules.   It’s not considered “socially acceptable behavior,” and as such, is condemned, judged, and scrutinized.  It’s weird, and it makes us uncomfortable.  To cope with our discomfort, we label her a host of undesirable things.  She must be those things.  After all, we would never hula hoop in the middle of campus all by ourselves, and we’re the normal ones.   Scoff, scoff.

Now imagine for a moment that instead of my earth-goddess, it was a little girl out there hula hooping in the grass, be-bopping around to the rhythm of the music.  Her hair flies wild in the wind, and her cheeks are rosy with life.   Passersby–you, me, everyone–would look at the little girl and be filled with a warm sense of nostalgia.  We’d appreciate and admire her youthful vibrance and untainted purity.  We’d look on and think to ourselves, Oh, to be young again.

At what point do we cross over?  At what point does it become unacceptable to be young and carefree?  At what point do we become uptight, guarded and judgmental?  And more importantly, why?

Socialization Irks Me

It seems that the socialization process is to blame for my inability to hula hoop in public, or skip down the hallway of a corporate office building, or grab the cute guy standing behind me in line and lay one on ‘em.  (That is, my inability to do so without it seeming extremely strange.)  Socialization–the inheritance of the norms, customs, values of a culture–is an ongoing process that starts at birth, and usually regarded as a positive transformation that teaches new members of society how to be, well, members of their society.  It prepares individuals for the roles they are to play, for example, their gender role, and shows us how to participate “successfully” in society.  And while that may be good and nice and even useful in some arenas, in the arena of my own personal growth and the free-spirited, carefree Ashley that I am, it’s damn stifling.  Socialization is nothing more than a big, fancy synonym for “fitting-in,” and in case you couldn’t tell…me and fitting-in don’t always play nicely together.

Let me run down a fun little list of some of the goals of the socialization process:

1.  Impulse control. In other words, the cute guy behind me in line is out of the question.  I don’t like this already.

2.  Development of a conscience. Wait, I thought we had religion for that?   You mean to tell me that there’s other factors that actually determine whether or not you eat puppies for dinner?  That’s a relief–I was wondering why I didn’t do that.

3.  Cultivation of sources of meaning, i.e. what is liked, what is valued. He-llo, money-is-my-everything-and-on-which-I-base-my-self-esteem.  (By the way, stop doing that already.)

4.  Preparation of humans to function socially. Yeah, we really don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable around here.  Don’t rock the boat.

It is just me, or does the idea of being taught what to feel and when (sad when people die, fake happy when people get the job that you wanted, sexy when you fit into a size 4), and essentially learning what you’re suppose to be really, really creepy?

If we’re constantly living our lives based on a predetermined set of rules–emotional responses, gender roles, etc.–then how can we ever know who we really are?  How can we ever know what’s natural?   Is life just a series of fabricated obligations?  Are we just a series of fabricated obligations?  Are we really alive, or just living by the rules?

Ashley Rant

I don’t particularly care for hard and fast rules when it comes to being a human being.  We live and die by what’s “socially acceptable,” and we socialize ourselves right into submissiveness–not submissiveness to society, but rather submissiveness to ourselves.  We suppress urges.  We muffle feelings.  We smother instinct.  We stifle sensuality.  We trample our senses.  And we put a big, giant Stone Cold Steve Austin choke hold on spontaneity.  Instead, we’re a bunch of cold, unfeeling, desensitized, devastatingly inhibited creatures.   And that sucks.

I’m blatantly heartbroken by the university professor who uses his/her status as an excuse for acting like a condescending jackass.  I don’t care where you got your Ph.D. from; you’re still a human being and–surprise!–so am I.

I’m thoroughly saddened by the doctor who is too busy to answer a scared, anxious, dying patient’s questions.   Who’s actually more important in this scenario?  Apparently, the doctor thinks its him/herself, which is a conflict of interest.

And I’m maddenly distraught by the hundreds and thousands of everyday citizens who look away from the homeless person, because offering them an innocent smile and, perhaps, just a glimmer of compassion, would be too much to ask.  We’re deathly afraid they’re going to ask us for money, and then we’ll have to feel guilty for denying them it.   After all, it’s all about us and our feelings.

All of these scenarios are dehumanizing, and I’m tired of watching people’s actions reflect their manufactured “roles” in society, instead of reflecting their roles as a human being.

When are we going to realize that human connections are truly all we’ve got, and we should be nourishing them, instead of discouraging them in order to feed our individual ego?   Let’s be honest with ourselves–in the grand scheme of things, I’m not all that important.   And you’re not all that important, either.   And it’s about time that we drop the act.

Be real with yourself.  Be real with others.   Be silly.  Be uninhibited.  Be free.  Be the earth goddess, racerback tank-wearing, leather bracelet-donning, pop punk rocker.   Be you.   And most importantly, be a human being–not just a representation of one.

The Contest

Here’s your first opportunity to do so:

Go buy yourself a hula hoop, because you’re going to need it in order to videotape yourself hula hooping in a public place, which you will then send to me.  What?

Yes, that’s right.  I’m initiating a contest–the person who hula hoops in the most creative public place, and videotapes themselves doing so, wins the prize.  What’s that, you ask?  Well, it’s $100 for the first place winner, $50 for the second place winner and $25 for third place–voted on by the readers!  The deadline is March 22nd–one month from today–at which point I’ll post a video montage of all submitted entries on The Middle Finger Project. The vote will take place, and winners will be announced no later than March 31st.  For official rules, click here.  What are you waiting for?  Get out there, shed some of your inhibitions, and have a damn good laugh at yourself.  And then score some cash, you animal!

Okay.  Ready?  On your mark.  Get set.  GO!  Send all entries to ash @ themiddlefingerproject.org.  But shucks, don’t put the spaces in there.  Deal?

P.S.  Please don’t throw out your back.  But if you do, be sure to videotape that too.

I hope you’re not disappointed; today, you’ll find no bold claims, lofty theories, societal questionings, smart ass commentaries or any other typical Middle Finger Project topics.  We’ll save those for Monday.

Today, we’re gonna have a little party.  Right here, right now.  Go ahead, crank the Spice Girls.

Just kidding, because the Spice Girls wouldn’t be played on a yacht, and that’s exactly where this imaginary party of ours is taking place.  Yes, a warm ocean breeze caresses your face, as you take a sip of your Dom Pérignon (that’s right, you’re a baller), and sashay on over to the shrimp cocktail.  It’s a black tie event, and you can’t help but admit that you’re looking rather attractive.  Alright, so you’re looking extremely attractive.  Props.

Wait–was that P. Diddy who just landed on the helipad?

No, that’s actually me.  Because this is my fantasy party and clearly I’d be the one landing on the helipad.  Although Diddy is more than welcome.

But why are we having an imaginary lavish yacht party, you ask?  Good question.  The short answer?  Because I can’t afford a real one.  (Yet.)  However, if I were to have the means to throw all of the readers, supporters, followers, fans and FRIENDS of The Middle Finger Project a real lavish yacht party, I would.  Because you deserve it.

I wanted to make this an exclusive post for you all today, giving a my utmost sincere thanks to each and every one of you.  I cannot tell you how humbled I’ve been since I began this website back in November, and I owe its climbing success to its readers, who are, without a doubt, some of the most badass, top-shelf people around.

You guys have given me your time, your attention and most of all, your encouragement, for which I am endlessly grateful.  Every time a comment is made on a post, I recognize the time that you’ve put into constructing it–especially considering the thoughtful, in-depth nature of most of them–and I truly cannot thank you enough.  You guys make me excited to leap out of bed every morning, and that’s no exaggeration.  (Is it too soon to pronounce my undying love for you?)

So with that, this toast post goes to you. From my heart,  thank you. 

Now drink up–it’s open bar!  (But be careful not to fall over the side, because, frankly, that would suck.  And I have no idea how to drive a yacht in a straight line, let alone make a U-turn.

Schizophrenic Intro

Here’s a disturbing thought:  What if I were to make the bold claim  (me? bold claim?)  that there’s no such thing as independent thinking. You’re over there already, shaking your finger back and forth at me and saying, “Nuh uh, girlfriend.  I don’t know about you, but I have got a mind of my own!” Snap right, snap left, SNAP RIGHT.

To which I place a hand on one hip and say, “Oh yeah, suga’?  That’s because you don’t know about the Hopi.”

And then you look at me with a semi-puzzled, semi-skeptical look on your face that says, “What the hell are you talking about, Ash?”

To which I raise a mischievous eyebrow and tell you that you’ll have to wait until the end of the post to find out.  Because right now, we’ve got some business to talk about.   And that business looks a little something like Sapir + Whorf + Hypothesis + Understanding Of What That Is & How It Affects You = YOU, Exponentially More Awesome.  And by that, I mean sassy little know-it-all who’s busting some moves in the world.

Shall we, my dear?

A Badass Hypothesis

So Sapir.  And Whorf.  They were two dudes.  Really intelligent dudes who studied linguistics.  Just take a look at this gem of a statement that Sapir threw out there one glorious day (pay attention, this is importaaaaantttttttt):

“No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same world with different labels attached.”

Deep.   I know.

Basically, the premise is this:   The language we speak affects how we view the world. It also can affect how we think or act, and asserts that all human beings do not think the same way regardless of what language they speak.

And I am just oh-so-in-love with this theory.  To expand, it’s the idea that the linguistic structure that we have available to us (i.e. verb forms, the order of sentences) influences our perceptions and, hence, thoughts.

For example, as humans we tend to put things, situations, ideas, people–you name it–into mental categories.  Yet, these categories don’t exist because they stare every observer in the face; rather, our categories are organized by our minds, and that means by the linguistic systems of our minds.  Therefore, all observers are not led by the same physical evidence to the same picture of the universe.

And that’s just all sorts of wild.

So, back to the Hopi.   That clever bunch has two different words for “water”:  One for drinking water in a container versus a natural body of water.  Brilliant!  To add to the envy, they also are said not to experience time in the same way that we do; to them, it is not linear out of the past, through a present and future (e.g. “Our future is ahead of us.”), but rather is a circular flow that is tied to the ever changing and returning seasons.   Tell me that wouldn’t lower your stress levels on your daily commute!  Oh, I’m 15 minutes late?  No biggie; that’ll just be recycled right on back to my boss next year.

Some of you might know that I’ve got a master’s degree in TESOL, which, in sum, is basically a master’s degree in second language acquisition theory.  I’ve had some really rad times studying the differences between Chinese & English, as I used to work with non-native English speakers, many of which were from China, entering into a local Penn State branch to help them foster greater academic language proficiency.

Two interesting things to note about the Chinese language:

1) There is no gender.  Distinctions between he versus she do not exist.

2) Counterfactual statements don’t exist.

For example, “If Darren from Problogger were to shut down his blog, there would be a lot of angry people.” This is counterfactual, because it isn’t true.  (The part about him shutting down his blog–not that the people would be angry, because they definitely would.)  We’re hypothesizing.

But the Chinese don’t have this construction.  They’d likely write this as “Darren from Problogger didn’t shut down his blog; if he did, people were mad.” So what happens is that the Chinese have no way to express something that counters reality, and that is known to be false, simply for the purpose of drawing implications.

Because of this, researchers have posited that Indo-European speakers (us and everyone else with the ability to form counterfactuals) are more inclined to perform theoretical thinking, whereas the lack of it in Chinese induces a general disinclination for them doing so, which can be observed in their traditionally more practical, reality-centered approaches to scientific, social and moral questions.  (Blame Alfred Bloom; he said it, not me!)

So, that’s equally wild, eh?

So, I Discovered This Thing . . .

Now for my favorite part of this little discussion:

Do you know that we’ve now invented another language, similar to English, called “E-Prime?”

To my great disappointment, “e” does not stand for “electronic,” as one might be inclined to assume.  Rather, E-Prime is short for “English Prime,” and it’s a modified version of the English language which basically just kicked out any and all forms of the verb, “to be,” suggesting that the use of E-Prime leads to a less dogmatic style of language.

Essentially, the language doesn’t make any absolute assertions.  My homie Wikipedia states that E-Prime is also used as a mental discipline activity to filter speech and translate the speech of others.

For example, the sentence “Miller Lite is good,” translated into E-Prime, would read, “I like Miller Lite,” and communicates the subjective experience rather than judgment.  This makes it a whole hell of a lot harder to confuse opinion with fact.  (Are you stroking your chin with wonder and curiosity yet?)

Furthermore, passive voice is eliminated.   Example:  “The beer was spilt.” For all of you non-English language obsessed cool cats, that’s a passive statement that pretty much takes the blame off of any one person, as if it sort of just happened.  (The verb “to be” is hiding in the “was.”)

However, in E-Prime, the person who actually spilled the beer would have to suck it up and take the blame.  So, in opposition, this is an active statement: “Karol from Ridiculously Extraordinary spilled the beer.“  (I knew I shouldn’t have entrusted him with it, him gallivanting all over the world and such.)

If this thought hasn’t crossed your mind yet, imagine how useful to the American public E-Prime would be in politics.

There’d be no more, “A decision was made.”   No, no, no.   Someone over in that big, giant, white, massive house would have to own up to that decision.  Is it reasonable to assume that this is one reason why English has become the international language of business?  Just sayin’.

Spine-Tingling Implications (And The Jet)

If you’ve made it to this point, I’m proud.  I know that English talk can get daunting, but it raises an interesting point: Does independent thinking actually exist, and to what degree?

If you can only think through a language, then doesn’t that language automatically moderate that thought process? And if that’s the case, then many of our thoughts could be out of our control.

But time out: What about the learning of second, third, fourth languages?  What happens then?   That interdependence of thought and language gets shaken up a bit, and perhaps allows us the possibility of a whole new system of conceptualization.  New conceptualization = new perspectives = new thought processes = new ideas = new, more enhanced you.

That’s kind of magical, actually . . . dangling additional systems of conceptualization over peoples’ heads.

Is the learning of a second language a plausible first step toward the eradication of narrow-minded, closed thinking?   Do I need to call Obama and see if we can make this a law?

Because, frankly, I wouldn’t mind seeing a little less dogmatism, and a little more tolerance, or better–dare I say–acceptance?  And then maybe for offering up such an exquisite idea, supported with the oh-so-official examples I cited here, he would consider lending me his private jet sometime.  And then you know it’s going down, if I’m driving Obama’s jet.

Because you know in a heartbeat I’d be all like, “Yeah, so…Barack.  I dunno, really.  A decision was made and, the plane?  Well, it was crashed, buddy.”

Thoughts on this topic?

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Disclaimer: Keep an open mind on this post, or you’re going to get angry.  And frankly, I don’t want my house to get egged.   Love, Ashley

Education = Opportunity.  Or So We’re Taught To Believe.

Ed-u-ca-tion. Ah, the sound of the word alone evokes feelings of hope, prosperity, success and—what’s that?—money, you say?  Ah, yes.   And money.

We grow up believing that education can defeat all circumstance, transcend social classes, and pave a 24 carat, solid gold nugget path to upward mobility blissdom.  Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh! (No, that was not a scream, people, those were the angels harmonizing.  Clearly.)

And, isn’t that the case?

Don’t we go to school and get an education to learn, think independently, develop our interests and become all-around badasses?  Don’t we praise, worship and promote education as the be-all, end-all solution to the world’s worries?  Don’t we embark on philanthropic missions to spread the good word of education to those that don’t have access?  Doesn’t education equal opportunity?  Don’t I ask a lot of rhetorical questions?

We’re constantly talking about what education can do for us.

Sure, there’s plenty that education can do for all of us. But in our flurry of excitement, we fail to recognize that tiny little detail called the law of reciprocity.  What, exactly, are we doing for education in return?

The answer: A hell of a lot more than we realize.

Education As A Biz-naz

Why do you suppose Obama is going out of his way to make education a priority? And I quote, from Obama’s website:

“Preparing our children to compete in the global economy is one of the most urgent challenges we face.”

Sounds noble enough, doesn’t it?  (Note: This is not a political statement for or against Obama.  Just an example.)  As much as we’d like to believe that those in power are petitioning for education because they’re good people, or because they’re looking out for our personal well-being, or because they want social equality, or maybe just so we don’t look like big, fumbling, sloppy idiots next to the Chinese–it’s a happy little love story, but it isn’t the real reason.  The real reason is tucked nicely right into Obama’s quote up there.  See it there?  Look closely.  See it now? 

Economy.

Economy is a fun little word, especially right now. Our economy happens to be based on capitalism.  This means that goods, or capital, is traded for profit, and profit is the name of the game.  The term capital can encompass many things, but there’s one form of capital in particular that’s the most important form of all, and guess what?

That capital is YOU.

You probably think of yourself as far more than a mere factor of production, but human beings in a capitalist society are exactly that–human capital. (Worse, what really stings is that economists refer to human capital as a “fungible resource,” which basically means that you’re interchangeable.  Ouch.)  Basically, your knowledge contributes to your ability to perform labor, in order to produce economic value.  Therefore, more knowledge = more labor = more economic value.

And how do you get more knowledge?   Ed-u-ca-tion. (Cue angels.)

This is why education is promoted.  And I’m sure it comes as no surprise, the link between education and economic value.  We’ve always grasped that concept on on the surface, but the question is, do we understand what that means?  For example, what if it’s the case that the only education you’re receiving is that which contributes to your economic value?  Some might argue that it is.

We educate people to perform the functions that are needed, so that they can be productive members of society. You’ve heard that phrase before, right?  In this sense, within the education system we are essentially a bunch of giant pawns that are manipulated, shaped and formed into what is needed in order to produce, AKA, what is needed in order to make a profit.  We aren’t gaining knowledge for the sake of knowledge; we are gaining specific knowledge–that which is dictated by the elite, with their goals in mind, since they run the education system in the first place–in order to perform certain functions later in life.  We’re being prepared for the work force.  We’re being primed to produce.

We’re being used, in the deepest sense.

From this perspective, the economy doesn’t exist to support its people; its people exist to support the economy.  The term “wage slave” has never held more truth.

Imagine

Let’s put ourselves in an imaginary secondary school setting for a moment, shall we?  No gum allowed, or you’re going straight to the principal’s office.

Let’s say a school curriculum emphasizes mathematics over history.  (It isn’t too often you hear of AP History, do you?)  It’s highly probable that the students that attend that school will rank mathematics as more important than history.  In turn, those people are going to regard jobs that require specialized skills in mathematics as more important than those that require specialized skills in history.

Students are told that jobs in mathematics will mean greater economic opportunities, which may be partly true, but what society gets out of promoting mathematics through the education system is a greater supply of math geniuses.  A greater supply of math genius human capital.  And a greater supply of math genius human capital translates into a more competitive society.  And a more competitive society translates into a more profitable society.  And a more profitable society–you guessed it–translates into a better economy.

Was the connection clear there?

So let’s skip past all the wordy explanations and get down to it–basically, you’re busting your ass to learn math so someone at the top can get even richer.  It’s a hidden curriculum, if you will.  It’s a case of those in power manipulating schooling to serve their own agenda.  The opinions of the majority are formed mainly through education, and the government decides what’s taught in an educational setting.

Coincidence?  I think not.

The education system is the perfect way to transmit fundamental values necessary for capitalism to be successful–competition, individualism, consumerism–because it has access to children right from the beginning, and for a really, really (really) long time.  It’s socialization by education.  Education is a tool to wield power.

If you need more proof, think back to when schooling first became widespread, when Western nations tried to colonize indigenous peoples, providing them with moral guidance in an attempt to convert them to Western values and norms.

Why?

So Westerners could exploit them by extracting taxes and getting cheap labor, as well as encourage the spread of Western culture and language.  Doesn’t sound so much like an institution with your best interests in mind, does it?  It was about power and money then, and it’s about power and money now.

What Am I Saying All Of This For?

Well, the tagline of The Middle Finger Project is, “rejecting the status quo and rebelling against mediocrity.”  But, it’s pretty hard to reject the status quo when you’ve spent your whole life unconsciously perpetuating it.

In school, too often we are taught what to think, not how to think, and there’s a fundamental difference.  It’s crucial to acquire the latter if you want to do big things.  Critical thinking skills are lacking, and that’s why I blog–to encourage it.  And I’d make the argument that that’s why many of the bloggers in this niche blog.  If you have a minute, check out the work of people like  Everett, Karol, Adam, Matt, or Sean–all of which have set out to change the world by sharing their beliefs, and helping others to free themselves from the dominant mindset that doesn’t always serve us best.

Sometimes it makes people uncomfortable, but that’s the point.  By inspiring critical thought, the hope is to nudge the human race forward, if only just a little bit.  Critical thinking leads to action.  And if we ever want to shake up the status quo, we’re going to have to act.

Am I rebelling against capitalism?  No.  But I am calling for a more conscious awareness of how the world works around us–and how it affects us, in turn?  Yeah, man.

Am I rebelling against education?  No.  But am I calling for a broader base of knowledge within the education system?  Hell yeah, man.

I get capitalism, but here’s the thing:  I don’t like being someone else’s capital–I want to be my own.

So with that said, please don’t egg my house.  Or Obama’s.  But if you want to go to Bangalore and start a critical thinking revolution, you know where to find me.

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