{"id":1198,"date":"2014-11-22T23:03:52","date_gmt":"2014-11-23T04:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/herdwatching.com\/?p=1198"},"modified":"2014-11-22T23:03:52","modified_gmt":"2014-11-23T04:03:52","slug":"axiom-dont-fear-being-an-outsider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/herdwatching.local\/2014\/11\/22\/axiom-dont-fear-being-an-outsider\/","title":{"rendered":"Axiom: Don’t fear being an outsider"},"content":{"rendered":"

Within any social group\u00a0there\u00a0is a prevailing “party line” that is at least paid lip service to.\u00a0This arises quite naturally from the mechanisms humans use to forge and maintain groups. To hold and voice an opinion that disagrees with this accepted truth is to risk being shunned, sanctioned and \/ or labelled as an outsider. <\/em><\/p>\n

Do not fear this, embrace it.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If your sincere<\/em> views are outside the norm\u00a0or contravene the conventional wisdom express them anyway. There are benefits both internal and external to be had, and you should not shy away from taking advantage of them.<\/p>\n

Internal Benefits<\/h3>\n

You will gain immense strength from being true to your beliefs. For the individualist and the alpha there is a deep personal cost to turning your back on your own ideals. Unless it is necessary for self preservation this cost is almost always too high to accept. We will be discussing internal frame in other posts.<\/p>\n

External Benefits<\/h3>\n

Many groups attract people who are not fully in lock-step with all their beliefs, conventions and tenets. These people are drawn (as you probably were) because the group is the closest thing a gathering of like minded individuals they could find.<\/p>\n

Until you express yourself you cannot know who else holds similar views, and who will be drawn to you for them. By making your thoughts known you gain the respect of allies and the attention of followers. It was always to these potential allies and peer I spoke, never to the rabble I would never change the mind of.<\/em><\/p>\n

I can’t tell you the number of good people I have met who were initially angered by my views but came to respect them (and I) after a little time of getting to know me. We still may not agree on those things, but we can still be friends.<\/p>\n

Let us not forget by the way that the outsider archetype is very\u00a0attractive<\/em>. The outsider is often someone who will not bend to social pressure, will not bow to the same fear and cowardice many other do to fit in. By not mouthing these platitudes you show power and strength.<\/p>\n

Understand & Prepare for\u00a0the Potential Blow-back<\/h3>\n

A note on “No-Win”\u00a0Situations:\u00a0<\/strong>Remember above when I mentioned self-preservation? Sometimes that means you need to shut up.\u00a0For instance you may want to keep your opinions on over-zealous policing to yourselves when pulled over at a DWI checkpoint. Similarly you may want to not trot out your opinions about the competence of the Homeland security staff when boarding an airplane.<\/em><\/p>\n

As an outspoken individualist, particularly if you are blogging or expressing yourself in public<\/em> you need to understand\u00a0this is the time of the #SJW and their amplification via social media and supplicant politicians. Making the wrong joke or saying something that some professional victim decides “triggered” them can lead to boycotts, national hate campaigns, death threats, accusations of assault and potentially being SWATted<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We will discuss\u00a0how to become what the military would call a “hard target” in detail another time, but for now you should take steps to…<\/p>\n