***CONFORMING TO SOCIETY***
I can’t remember who exactly said it, but I read a Wikipedia
article where the lead singer of a punk band talked about the necessity of
conforming to society in order to fulfill responsibilities. In other words,
doing what you’re told will give you worth in the eyes of your boss even if you
don’t agree with your orders.
However, there’s a huge difference between doing what you’re
told to earn a paycheck and changing your mindset to contour to the boss’s
beliefs. When teenagers work at McDonald’s, they’re not doing it because
they’re zealots of fast food. They’re doing it because they want money for an
X-Box or a new car. Conformity takes place in the mind, not in the body. No
sane human being would ever bomb a Burger King or spray poisonous gas in a
Wendy’s in the righteous name of McDonald’s.
Money isn’t everything, but it is something. We all have to
have it in some form or another, whether we’re keeping a roof over our heads or
finding entertainment. Sometimes you have to do things for money that you never
thought possible. But does that mean you’re a puppet for whoever you work for?
No. Does it mean you have to give up on your original dreams? No.
If your boss does something morally corrupt, you could just
as easily look for another job behind his back. If you need time to work on
your dreams, wait until you get home. Even if you work seven days a week, you
can use at least a modicum of your free time to work on other projects. Yes,
you’ll be tired at the end of the day, but if you set aside time for yourself,
it can be achieved.
What you do in your private life and what you believe in
your own mind are nobody else’s business but your own. Your mind is a personal
haven where you can say or do whatever you want. You can have violent
fantasies, sexual fantasies, adventures, and other trains of thought without
invasion. Yes, people will try to invade your private sanctuary with insults
and abuse, which is why it’s important to maintain your individuality and
suppress thoughts of conforming to your haters. Being an individual is a skill,
but as long as you remember who you are and why you do what you do, it can be
done.
I’m currently reading another one of Andy Peloquin’s books
and it’s called “Child of the Night Guild”. The opening scenes depict a cruel
drill instructor named Master Velvet trying to force small children to obey him
at all times by starving them, beating them, and screaming at them. While the
children do bend to his will, I’ll bet you anything that somewhere in their
minds they’re thinking about kicking this guy in the nuts. He controls them by
changing their birth names to numbers, but other than lost memories, I still
wonder why these kids don’t just gang up on Master Velvet and beat him into
powder.
There’s no rule that says you have to like what you do for a
living or like who’s in charge. There’s also no rule that says you can’t use
your employment as a stepping stone for bigger and better things. You can work
at a convenience store, pay your bills, and set aside some money to publish
that next great novel of yours. It doesn’t happen right away and your soul will
feel crushed from time to time, but it can be done. Everyone tells you how hard
it is to be an artist, but nobody tells you how hard it is NOT to be an artist.
Think of all your favorite authors, actors, and musicians and what they had to
go through to get to where they are today. And yet, they managed to achieve
their dreams.
Putting on a grocery store apron doesn’t make you a zealot
any more than earning a paycheck makes you a conformist. Do what you need to do
to survive and then be yourself when you come back to your private life. If you
like wearing rock band T-shirts, put one on when you get home. If you like
watching Real Time with Bill Maher even though your boss likes watching The
O’Reilly Factor, watch Bill Maher’s show when you get home.
If you need help remembering who you are, surround yourself
with friends and family who believe in you. You might have to search far and
wide to find these people, but it’s worth it. It might even be as easy as doing
an internet search. Someone out there loves you for who you are. Not everybody
wants you to change into something you’re not. No, you don’t have to conform to
society in order to survive. Society isn’t always going to be your friend. Only
people who love and respect you can be part of your own society. Do what makes
you happy and be with people who will make you happy. You deserve the best,
always.
***DEMON AXE, CHAPTER 11***
I somehow have the feeling that there should be a transition
chapter between 10 and 11. But as it is, when chapter 10 ends with a bonfire
argument, chapter 11 begins with a heavy metal concert at another venue. Daniel
Mercer instantly forms a new band with members of I Am Death and Juice and they
miraculously know how to play Demon Axe songs. Monk robes, scary masks, and
crazy stage names aside, the new band won’t be called Demon Axe. It’ll be a
combination of those three bands: Demon Death Juice. Again, these things happen
instantaneously even though concerts sometimes take weeks or even months to
book in advance, not to mention hours of practice the bands have to go through
to get their songs right. Do we have time for rational solutions to the
transition problem? Could months pass without another terrorist attack from
Roger Zee? I need to sit on this one for a while before I write the damn thing.
***DARK FANTASY WARRIORS***
Uneven tits aside, I’d say that Raven Triscloud turned out
well. Now it’s time to draw a villain since a hero was featured in the last
picture. That’s how I’m going to pump out Dark Fantasy Warriors: hero, villain,
hero, villain, hero, villain. This time, we’ve got Carla Madder, the
razor-toothed, overweight madam from the Poison Tongue Tales 2 story “Shield
Me”. This woman could easily be the most frightening character I have and
that’s saying something considering most of my villains are psychotic
necrophiles who rape and murder without mercy.
***MIXED-MARTIAL ARTS QUOTE OF THE DAY***
“Love me or hate me, just debate me.”
-Ronda Rousey-
***POST-SCRIPT***
I just found out that Ronda Rousey lost to Amanda Nunes at
UFC 207 via TKO in under a minute. That makes me sad. It also makes me wonder
where she’ll go from here now that she lost two title matches in a row. The
last time she lost a UFC fight was when she dropped the Women’s Bantamweight
Championship against Holly Holm. She considered suicide after that match. After
her first stare down with Nunes, she needed to be consoled. If I could hug Ronda
right now, I would.
