When did you start or stop caring about conforming?

About 16 yrs old I started experimenting with more punk culture, wearing black, crazy bleached hair. I was lucky that no one stopped caring about my success.

@KNOWITALL I was scared to dress or look differently. I did however challange my teachers constantly. For a month in class, in grade ten, I wore a winter jacket and no shirt. My growth spirt saw that nothing fit. Clothes are expensive for big and tall men. I spent $250 for a pair of pants a belt and a sweater. And $250 for Extra extra large socks underwear and t-shirts. This month. From George Richards and Wal-Mart. Hopefully they will last a year or more.

When I was about 15 and found out that the Catholic church had been lying about everything.

I was NEVER a conformist!!! ALL the girls in high school were wearing the black & white oxfords. I thought they were ugly & wouldn’t wear them. A local shoe salesman couldn’t believe I didn’t like them & offered to pay me to wear them. I still refused!!!

I was NEVER one to run out & buy the current fad in clothes. I liked looking different from the masses!!! I marched to my own drummer so as not to be like everybody else. I’ve ALWAYS liked just being ME!!!

@LadyMarissa I would freak out if the sweater, or shirt, had something writen on it. Unless it was something that I actually loved. No beer shirts in high school for me.

I NEVER owned a beer shirt as I NEVER liked drinking beer!!!

@LadyMarissa One month 4 years ago all I had was a riped jaugurrmister t-shirt. I wore it under my sweater. I have never drank it. It was embarrassing to wear.

I don’t seem to remember ever really caring about conforming, except when threatened or forced.

Trying to force me into conforming only makes me MORE steadfast in my independence!!!

@KNOWITALL When did you shift from punk to Republican?

@LadyMarissa Yeah, me too… well, except when it’s a serious threat, like the Police or border security…

In the 1960’s hippy movement, I accepted the fact that it was Ok to wear white before Memorial Day, socks with sandals, and Orange with red or green, and admit that I never lie or swear.

Pretty much since I was born. How well that has served me remains to be seen.
Maybe I was stupid.

@Zaku I’ve been very good at avoiding the police & I’ve never been in a situation to deal with border security!!!

When everyone is a non-conformist what does that make the conformist?

It was certainly long before I joined Fluther. I wouldn’t have lasted this long if I cared much.

When I decided to wear suspenders instead of belts.

When I was 8 and had this poster up in my room.

I have no idea. It certainly wasn’t a planned thing or something that was on my mind with any regularity either way.
I didn’t run about announcing any defiance in a loud way.
I managed just fine, I’d say.

^ I didn’t feel the need to announce my intentions…I just quietly did it MY way!!! Those close to me saw it.

@LadyMarissa -I understand that well :)

@Zaku I don’t think I did, I have voted for both parties in the past. Mostly I didn’t think our votes mattered.

I think after voting for Bill Clinton, I started to pay more attention and gradually realized I don’t conform to either party line 100%.

@KNOWITALL Oh, interesting. I had another impression from other threads.

@Zaku Both parties have good points on some issues, but neither party wins on all issues-if that makes sense.

@KNOWITALL That makes sense to me. In looking back, I’ve voted 50/50 in the 2 party offerings. I had begun to stray off to the 3rd party offerings due to lack of interest in the 2 party offerings!!! I’m NOT overly excited over anything we’re being offered at this point!!!

@LadyMarissa Same. I want the best for our country, regardless of party. To me, both are stubbornly divisive.

I would agree with you two. I voted for who I thought was the best. Regan and Bush for example (ok so I screwed up a few times.
I didn’t identify with anyone party until Obama hit the stage. I watched in dismay and increasing disgust as the GOP imploded into a puss filled party of hate.
I ran as fast and far from them as I could after that.

@Darth_Algar There was a joke about that very paradox in South Park where Stan was asking the goth kids if they would join him in this dance contest and they were all refusing, dismissing it as a “conformist” activity, but when Stan asked the last kid if he’d do it he said “I’m such a non-conformist that I’m not going to conform with the rest of you, and I’ll do it”.

As for me, I started to care when I was around 8–9 years old when I realized certain things were “cool” and I wanted to do what the other kids were doing and made a special effort to be as like everyone else as I could. I started caring less when I was in high school and then I started caring more again in college. Now I’m in the middle somewhere. I follow most norms and some trends, but openly reject others. And I’ve never cared less about other people’s personal opinions of me.

We conform more than we realize. I thought it was an act of nonconformity when I chose whole wheat bread over white bread. It turns out that most people now buy whole wheat. Just check the comparative quantities available at the grocery. I thought turning away from religion was highly nonconformist. The portion of people in the U.S. who have no religion is 23%, about the same as the number of Catholics.

If you want to see astonishing examples of people mindlessly conforming watch them in their cars. At a bank drive through there may be 4 lanes open but every one will stack up behind one person.
At fast food lines the line will gradually drift out into the parking lot impeding traffic. But noone even notices. They just get behind the person in front of them.
I would bet $1000 if you asked them, every one would say they were nonconformists and thought for themselves.

Oh, the irony in that statement…

Could you be specific @Darth?

Sure, I could. But I’m wondering if you can figure it out on your own.