Fobs

"Fobs." I have been thinking about that term and the use of that term a lot recently. I was listening to a song in Algerian Arabic, and showed it to a friend who approved of the song, but disapproved of the singers. She felt that they were trying too hard to look cool. "Typical fobs," she said. I was a bit surprised to hear that. And at that point, I realized how much we bash fobs and make fun of them. For trying to be like the rest of us, when they're apparently so different. For trying to act cool. For trying to fit in and seek others' approval.

But is that really so wrong? Haven't we all been there, done that? Is it not human to want others to approve of you, to like you and to appreciate you? If that was not the case, then why would anyone of us wear what's "in," follow the music that everyone else is talking about and behave in a manner that society expects us to behave. At times, in fact, I feel that a lot of our actions are done because society and our surroundings have conditioned us to act in a certain way. Was this not how horrifying acts like slavery took place? Because everyone else was doing it, so it seemed okay. Thinking otherwise would have been stepping outside of the norm, and as a professor recently told me, such action can only be left to a few heroic individuals who are born every so often. Most of us are sheep; in other words, mere trend followers, following that one trend setter.

So why blame others, when we are all at fault? In fact, wanting to fit in is not even something that should be considered faulty unless it comes at the expense of oneself and others. It is human nature. So, be human and let others be human. Live and let live.