T-Shirts, tattoos and culture

I read an article at First Things by R. R. Reno and it reminded me of a t-shirt I once saw at the mall. A Gothic looking young man wore a shirt with the words across the chest reading: "You all laugh at me because I look different. I laugh at you because you all look the same." Ironically, later I saw that same shirt in the window of a trendy store in the mall.

I like to call this situation nonconforming conformity. Youth culture want to be different, but in all reality they are the same as those who want to be different. Rarely can a person be purely individualistic- there are always communities of individualists. We are social and political creatures by our very nature.

An example that furthers the point are tattoos. Tattoos are no longer reserved for "tough guys" but are socially acceptable for anyone. The author of the First Things article asked a younger friend of his about the phenomenon of tattoos. “Well,” she said, “I guess it’s just a way to express your individuality. Everybody’s doing it.” To be truly individualistic, you cannot answer that everybody is doing it. Whether one rebels against their conservative parents or leaves a church, there are others who eventually follow suit. Blue jeans and rock music became the social norm and carrying a non-Starbucks latte speaks loudly to indie crowds. To be anti-corporate while wearing a Che Guevara shirt is inherently an oxymoron.