I was able to repress my cringing long enough to spew out a long overdue response to Corey Shoock's column, or, should I say, periodic diatribe. This writer realizes that it is the editorial section (and thus appropriate to include opinions), but, to put it bluntly, it's become too much to bear. His self-obsessed, self-congratulatory discourse in what it means to be "alienated" and "un-hip" was so heavy-handed that it warranted a reaction for the sake of my conscience.
Consistently, any sort of insightful commentary about the university, community or nation at large has been eclipsed by Shoock's pretentious, narrow and frankly vain fascination with his own perceived ostracism. Week after week, he rails on about what a nonconformist he is and how all the other drones (except for an elite group of similarly nonconformist friends) can't possibly understand someone who lives outside the "Abercrombie establishment." Something to note: Other people do follow politics, consider themselves open-minded, and are even intellectually curious. Making sweeping generalizations about the ignorance of others while playing up his own savvy, is distasteful at best, perhaps even prejudicial. So try, at least for a moment, to stop reveling in your own estrangement from the mainstream and take the hint: Nobody cares.
And as an aside, real nonconformists don't need to put it in neon signs, or shout it from the rooftops. Only the unsteady need constant validation.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
