by Arjun Walia, The Pulse:
You may be wondering: how I can justifiably be in the minority, considering my pasty white skin and heterosexual tendencies? Well, that’s very simple; I’m not talking about the attributes which should never define me, such as my appearance and sexual preferences, but my thoughts and beliefs.
Surely how I think and what I believe are vastly more important, as these are areas more within my control.
TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/
“Judge a man not by the colour of his skin, but by the content of his character” – Martin Luther King Jr.
I hold very different opinions, beliefs, and worldviews than the majority of people around me, I always have. I attribute this to many factors, such as my desire for knowledge, enjoying research, being analytically minded, naturally skeptical, willing to question, and having supportive and open-minded parents. This has, unsurprisingly, led to a difficult life at times, as expected when one disagrees in key areas with the majority of people they meet!
“In any great organisation it is far, far safer to be wrong with the majority, than to be right alone” – John Kenneth Galbraith
In contrast to the factors listed above, there is one statement in varying forms I’ve heard many times over the years to explain my views: “you just want to be different!”, and I’ve given this a lot of thought over the years. Am I motivated to be unique, and does it lead me to take a certain stance? Do I espouse certain views merely because they’re in opposition to the mainstream?
I don’t believe the statement to be entirely true; however, I do believe I’m more likely to consider something which runs counter to the mainstream view. This became more evident once I’d decided to write this article on why being in a worldview minority is a good thing – showing myself I’d clearly decided to defend this position. Now I wish to find out to what extent and the reasons why.
“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect” – Mark Twain
I’ll begin by hazarding a guess at why I believe people are so susceptible to groupthink, and why they tend to vilify those who think differently.
People desire to be socially accepted, so they tend to largely do what everyone else is doing and think what everyone else is thinking. They place their social status on a pedestal, making it of higher value than almost anything else, whether they’re aware of it or not. I’d suggest even when we choose to assert our individualism, we do it largely in the same way as everyone else. As an example, I’m often the most uniquely tattooed person in any given room, simply because I don’t have any.
“If your thinking is causing you to do what everyone else is doing, you are only contributing to the average”
– Andy Andrews
At the same time as wanting to be in the majority, we don’t ever want to be normal or average. No-one would ever say their driving skills are below average, or their IQ is about 100. We don’t enter a race hoping for 5th place, nor do we want to live for an average amount of time, with an average amount of wealth, with an average partner, and have average children. Thus, we have a dichotomy, wherein we seek to be the same whilst not being the same.
I believe we try to be as individual as possible whilst remaining within the majority. The most successful of us toe this line like a tight-rope walker, when one step too far results in your fall from social grace. One moment a maverick, the next a dangerous conspiracy theorist. From leading public consensus to becoming a threat to society in a single tweet, such is the culture we have cultivated.
