Are You a "Fringe" Person?

No, I didn't ask if you were "French".... I asked -

Are you a Fringe person?

Do you operate your Life on the Fringe?

Are your Thoughts and Actions on the Fringe?

What is the Fringe?

What does that Mean?

It's a Word I've been using to describe myself for quite some time now and up to now, I haven't written about it.

But it's been coming up so much lately that I thought it was about time.

And frankly, I've collected enough information from my environment aka the People I come in contact with and one most important person, my Son, to corroborate and support the thesis that I am a....

Fringe Person.

Rather than start with my own definition, I decided to seek the help of Richard Rollins' InterWeb.....

fringe

frinj/

adjective

1. 1.

   not part of the mainstream; unconventional, peripheral, or extreme.

   "fringe theater"

Fringe | Define Fringe at Dictionary.com

www.dictionary.com/browse/fringe

an outer edge; margin; periphery: on the fringe of the art world. 4. something regarded as peripheral, marginal, secondary, or extreme in relation to something else: the lunatic fringe of a strong political party.

So there you go.....Fringe Person.

My son is NOT a Fringe Person..... so when he uses a Word like Fringe which is a Fringe thing to do, i.e. Extreme, I know he means it.

As alluded to above, he has described me several times as being on the Fringe or a Fringe Person and Frankly, when he says something really specific about how I am and repeats it several times.....

I listen and consider and ponder......

So let's get to the nut cuttin' about Fringe People.

There ya go right there - using the term "nut cutting" is something a Fringe Person would do.

I mean, really, how many people do you hear use the phrase....

"When it gets down to the nut cuttin' "....

I rest my case on the Fringe.

Since I tend to be fond of lists, let's make a list of characteristics / attributes / descriptions of a Fringe Person.

And in honor of the Jeff Foxworthy approach to defining a Redneck, let's begin with....

You Know You're a Fringe Person when:

• You talk Louder, More Expressively and More Often using More Body Language than most people.
• You use words like BEST, WORST, NEVER and ALWAYS.
• You Dress, Choose Makeup / Hair Style, Work Out / Exercise, Eat, Sleep, Drive, _____ (you fill in the blank) in a Way or Manner or with Materials, Tools, Equipment and / or Techniques that Draw Attention to You OR more importantly, make you stand out from the Crowd.
• You think differently than most people, not only in content or subject matter but in structure, quantity, quality and / or detail.
• You adopt or express an opposing, underdog or controversial, non-conventional or non-traditional position in conversations or discussions - Most of the Time because that's what you actually believe but Sometimes just to "Fire for Effect" for a better discussion to make sure the other side actually knows their shit about what they're talking about.
• You either work for yourself or have a vocation or career that is of an independent, mobile, nomadic or counter-corporate culture nature.
• Consideration of what other people think of you has no bearing on what you think, say, how you live your life and how you represent yourself to the World.
• Despite your best efforts to "assimilate into the Borg of Life", you gravitate toward a Life of Living Alone or Being Alone or, even if you have a significant other, you treasure and maximize your "alone time".
• I could go on and on with descriptions / attributes of a Fringe Person but will conclude this section of the analysis with, perhaps, the most important element / characteristic of a Fringe Person.  

Are you ready for this?

Fringe People tend to attract Other Fringe People!  

If you are a Fringe Person, this is really important to understand so let's take time and text to expand on this observation.

First off, at best, the rest of the World tolerates Fringe People, or they listen to them or observe them and give them a nod and a wink in the direction of the other "Normal" people and move on.

At worst, they retreat almost with veiled aversion, in the presence of a Fringe Person.

So, regardless of how you look at it, dial back your expectations because, as a Fringe Person, you will not be accepted or treated as an equal by the Real World.

I led off with those 2 observations because it's important to understand that a Fringe Person becomes a Social, Vocational, Relational, Spiritual Island in this World's Ocean.

That's why when One Fringe Person meets another Fringe Person, they are drawn together like Magnets of the Same Pole - which makes no sense cause Like Poles Repel not Attract but you get the Polar Picture.

So why is this?  What causes this instant attraction of Societal Misfits?

Well - the likely answers are pretty obvious and intuitive.

Most people don't think like a Fringe Person so there's a continuous clashing of  conversation and discussion.

When one Fringe Person talks to another Fringe Person, there's an instant congruity of thinking, perspectives and outlooks.  

Conversation Flows not Crashes ala Bruce Lee's "Be Like Water my Fringe Friend".

Even if their specific interests, backgrounds and experiences are different, Fringe People will find a Community of Spirit and Soul through the way they look at and react and respond to the World around them.

Now, here's the Rub about Fringe People getting together - as Friends, as Partners, Significant Others or Whatever.

And let me speak from and describe my own experience, perspective, observations and conclusions, because, frankly, that's all I  have to go on.

Because this is my blog.... 

Which is another thing a Fringe Person would do....

Have a blog.

But I digress.... back on point.

As Fringe as I am, there is a dichotomous nature to my Spirit and Soul and the dichotomy is rooted in and founded on the conservative and traditional nature and environment of how I grew up and the geographic and societal influences of a significant portion of my Life - that being a Deep South / East Texas Redneck / Christian Culture with a Path of Intelligence up a Mountain of Hard Work and Ambition.

So there's that Continuous Inner Conflict - Conservative Past vs Fringe Future.

The Way this Works into meeting and dealing with other Fringe People is actually pretty simple.

I'll just say it....

Fringe People are Weird.

And they typically have an 18 Wheeler of Baggage they're hauling behind them as they Drive Life's Roads.

Nothing Earth-Shattering, Surprising or Necessarily Negative about that - We all got baggage - right?

The Real Issue with Fringe on Fringe is that Independence of Mind, Body and Spirit is a Many Splintered Thing and it is typically unique for each Fringe Person and it's also an individual Lifestyle that is not up to Interpretation, Critical Scrutiny or Integrative Change, So......

The Probability of 2 Fringe People getting their "Outlier" Perspectives, Approaches and Lifestyles Lined Up so they can tolerate aka Not Kill Each Other, is Pretty F'g Low.

It kinda makes sense but the easiest way for 2 Fringe People to Share their Lives is to Live Apart and only Come Together at Opportune Times with an Understanding and Appreciation of and Preparation for the each other's Fringe Foibles, Fallibilities and Failures.

It is One Option and maybe the Only Option because let's face it Fringe People.....

The Rest of the World sure don't want you and, in all brutal honesty, you don't want them right back.

Now, with all this said, let's end this Little Fringe Ditty on a Positive Note and list some of the Positive Attributes, Effects and Learnings that Fringe People contribute to Society:

• Fringe People are Go'ers and Do'ers.... They Move.... They Shake.... and They Shake Things Up. With a Fringe Person, you better Lead, Follow or Get the Hell out of the Way!  Like it or Not, they are Singular Forces of Nature - They create their own Climate, Time Zone and Life Runway for Take-off and Landing.... so don't get in their way lest you be run over or sucked up in the Intake and spit out the Exhaust!
• They give the Crowd the "Other Side" of the argument.... things that should be considered and frankly, things that, if considered, would hold the Crowd in a better stead of  Life.  Unfortunately, the Fringe's Viewpoints and Perspectives are almost always ignored by the Crowd..... to the detriment of the Crowd..... Sorry - there's my Fringe Negative side creeping in again.
• They give the Crowd something to look and point at and be thankful for..... that they're not like that.
• Fringe People Stand Out by Exception, because they are Exceptional People!

I could go on and on about this, but I need to get some paying work done.... Yeah even Fringe People gotta make a living.

So there's a little info on Fringe People.

For those Who Are Not and.....

For those Who Are.....

Living on the Fringe.