When to conform? When not to conform?
 

Our interim U president has asked us to wear orange and maroon tomorrow to express our grief over the VT killings. I can't tell you how much I despise organized "grief sharing." Am I wrong to feel like this?

Hey, Prez, don't tell me what to wear and don't tell me how to grieve, and I won't tell you how to run the university. Deal?

No.
You're in Iowa, for god's sake.

I couldn't do that even if I wanted to; I don't think I have any clothing in either of those colors.

The only "conformity" I can usually get behind is using standard, straight, articulate, non-slangy and non-profane language with new acquaintances, when in mixed company or in a professional capacity.

I guess those are the VT school colors.

The quote's from Jagger, in Gimme Shelter, to the audience in Madison Square Garden: Ah New York City, you sure do talk a lot, let's have a look at cha.... I think he also says it on the Get Yer Ya Yas Out album.

I remember in 1997 when Princess Diana died, there was this mass outpouring of hysteria at her funeral, when she was just a news story to people in esscence, they didnt know her and their "greif" was completely false and self indulgent and its one of the earliest things i remember that truly disgusted me because there were people who really did feel the loss of Princess Di - Harry and William and her family and freinds. It cheapened the real loss that the people close to her felt.

So in this case such a pointless display of false emotion is dishonest and in my opinion disrespectful, if they did something productive rather than self indulgent then it would be of actual use to society in general. I would make a point of telling my peers this if i were you but its your decision, if you choose to go along with it it doesnt make you a bad person at all.

I have some maroon shirts, but orange!?

I'm not doing this.

You know what this is--like if I did break down and do it, I'd show up as the only guy on campus in orange and maroon and everybody else would think I was a dork.

Nope, not, not.

what the fuck? what a fucking douchebag!

say no to sappy nazis.

in any case his employment is temporary, as is now yours, so you can tell everyone to fuck off. right?

otherwise, how's this one? colors accurate enough?

That is maroon and gold, which are the University of Minnesota's colors.

nobody has to know this!

unless you've been seen wearing one recently (and even then you can say it was ruined), I'd just tell them you don't own anything that matches!

this way you can avoid the rules without repercussion from your coworkers who were not as smart.

I think they are going for solidarity and not conformity, but if you show up without the color scheme, you better have a good story lined up.

i googled marron jester hat & voila. i figured the attire was appropriate for "expressing grief". those fucking public displays piss me off to no end.

Never fucking conform. . . make up your own mind about everything. Your decision might reflect the same thing as if you conformed, but it was your own decision.

Savage Clone, you have etiquette because you wish to respect people, not because other people have etiquette.

BTW. . . when I was little and my great grandfather died and my mom was crying, I remember my older brother Max singing a song he made up. It went like this:

"people are dead, people are dying. . . every day!"

I hum that song in my head everytime something like this happens.

I'm not really sure what you're trying to say here.
All I was saying is there is a way you speak to people outside your social or dialectical sphere that is different than the way you speak to those within it.
You know, so you don't come across like a moron or a pottymouth.

Is that really conforming? Are you doing it because others are doing it or because it is your own decision?

if my mother gave me bad news I wouldn't say "fuuuuck dude!"; if my best friend were to, I most certainly would.

it's self sanctioned conformity. different vernacular for different occasions.

Orange and Maroon go terribly together. Don't do it for that reason, if not any other.

TERRORISTSZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tell him to go fuck off. draw a black cross on the back of yr hand with a black marker and wear that for the day.

tell him thats yr "grief sharing"

I try not to conform to that much but in todays society its hard not too.

There really are people wearing maroon and orange today. Weird motherfuckers.

I'm deliberately wearing the opposite end of the color wheel--light blue button down shirt untucked over a gray T-shirt and khaki cargo pants. Yes, cargo pants, I'm a nerd.

Somebody actually stopped me in the office and said, hey, you're wearing the wrong colors. Dumb fuck.