What Exactly Do I Mean By "The World in Between?"

"The World in Between," to me, means those who do not follow the crowd and surrender to the dominant culture; those who are seen as "different" or "weird" because they don't follow conventional methods or they see the world in a whole other way; those who elect to fight back and stand up for themselves against others who bully and/or try to manipulate and deceive. That world in between.

I once saw a bumper sticker on a truck that said, "Ignore Your Rights and They'll Go Away." One of those rights I am thinking of at this moment is the right to choose. We hear this phrase quite often in the debate over a Woman's right to have an abortion. I see this phrase "The Right to Choose" on an even larger scale, though. The right to choose, in my mind, means you choose what works for you. The multimedia machine plays a major role in brainwashing humans to do what everyone else is doing - get a new vehicle every year; buy an iPod, iPhone or whatever the latest iGadget happens to be at the moment; buy a house you know you cannot afford; and my all time favorite - Have kids. LOTS of 'em. I could go on, but you get the idea. Now I know that this might bring out the hater in most people, but I choose (there's that word again) not to let people's hang-ups dictate what I have to say. Being liked is not important, or even critical, to my life's journey. I'm not saying that being liked isn't nice. It is. But the way I see it, I'm not competing in a pageant. I'm not into waiting around for the "votes" to tally on whether people I have never met before or hardly know like me. I live in that world in between. I was raised to be proud of who I am. I choose what works for me as a human being. As an artist, I interpret what I see, hear and feel in my own way, not according to other people's conclusions about how they think I should sound or express myself.

My motivation for blogging about this is because more and more people seem to have an issue with "The World in Between." What I mean by that is that the attitudes of human beings who are part of the dominant mainstream culture, from my perspective, are anywhere from passive-aggressive to just out-and-out nasty. What's up with that? My core belief is that we are ALL connected and there is a thread that runs through everything we do, no matter where we are in the world. However, I do not confuse my core values with the hardcore fact that many human beings have "stank," and even hostile attitudes when it comes to embracing any one or any thing that is different from their world. The word "Community" has become a key word in the mouths of many local, national and world leaders, and it looks good on paper for many corporations and organizations. However, it cannot be ignored that this word, "Community", has been whored out on several "corners" in order to obtain subsidy and recognition for respective causes. Most communities and community organizations have very cult-like behaviors in some instances; because let's face it, not everyone likes to have their thinking challenged. If being part of a community means doing what one or more people believe according to their values, even if you see it totally differently, then I think it's a great time to be a misfit.

The purpose for speaking out about this concept I call "The World in Between" is not to become some kind of spokesman for people who feel like misfits in a dominant mainstream culture that was created to humiliate and make people who are different feel awful about themselves. I can only speak for me and offer my perspective; therefore, I am choosing to exercise my right to do that. I will never pretend to know all about this or that; however, I will not dumb myself down for the benefit of stroking a person's ego when I know what I'm talking about.