Adjective confusion. (I.N.D.I.E.S)

ad·jec·tive/ˈajiktiv/
Noun: A word or phrase naming an attribute, added to or grammatically related to a noun to modify or describe it.

Forming perhaps the very crux of the English language as we know it today, they exist as nothing more than labels used for which people are able to identify themselves with. At the heart, they are merely bouts of expression placed into words - into a universal language understood by those capable of understanding them. At their most malicious, they exist as another form of abuse and conformity, as a means of falsely dichotomizing someone. At their highest, they are perhaps the driving force behind the will to live - motivation, inspiration, encouragement.

However, it is scarcely enough to describe adjectives with regard to the consequences they are intrinsically bound to. Let us take it back a level, and consider the very use of adjectives - specifically, adjectives used when talking about other people. Without getting into the semantics of how humans ought to live, or how one comes to be a "good" human, let us delve into the very core of the matter. But let us first establish some key ideas.

Let's face it, humans are capable of judgment, and all humans exercise this capability - some more so than others. That's all fine and dandy, but there is an inherent line that oughtn't be crossed by any human. The line, of course, is drawn when this judgment begins to impede and eat away at one's ability to live their life - when such judgment begins to interfere with their quality of life. Judgments crossing this line are inherently bad, for their maliciousness speaks for itself. Life does not function as a thermochemical equation of sorts - for every reaction, there will not be an equivalent reaction. No bad action ought to be met with a worse reaction. Certainly - justifying that is much more difficult than justifying what I am doing right now.

I think the whole point of this post is for me to make a distinction between types of adjectives. For the remainder of this post, I will perhaps be solely focusing on adjectives that aren't of the tangible nature. Adjectives such as fat, golden, hot, flexible have no place here. Actually, to clarify what I mean, I will be only discussing adjectives that pertain to the behaviour of humans. They really are a wonderful sect of description. Each so precise and exact in its execution and meaning. But this too must be properly analyzed and deliberated over.

What is classy but a measure of a man in a crowd of the mediocre? What is smart but a measure of a man in a crowd of neanderthals? What is vulgar but the measure of a man in a crowd of the perhaps better articulated? What are any of these adjectives but a measure of someone to humanity? And while perhaps it is wrong for me to encompass all these adjectives into a class ruled by society - it is not hard for one to see the point I'm making. And thus I am irked. People who claim themselves to be smart, people who claim themselves to be classy, or swag, or honorable even. For these are GENERALLY not qualities that one themselves are not entitled to decide upon - for such adjectives are subject to human diversity - in the sense that all these adjectives are relative to the encompassing humanity surrounding the individual.

But generalizations aside, perhaps this is where my real problem begins to fester. No one gets to call themselves honorable, for acting as such contradicts the very meaning of the word - it taints it. No one gets to call themselves smart, for doing so demands an arrogance and self-conceited sense of accomplishment. No smart man will admit to being smart - a smart man is a man who is aware of his stupidity. The smart man will not use the word smart (or synonyms like smart) so boastfully as to assume a state of greater intelligence. For such is an arrogance that eats away at the soul, disintegrating the fiber of integrity that the individual holds. It is the stupid man who claims to be smart, the man who has accepted the extent of his learning process, the stupid man who feigns intelligence and a general ability. The stupid man who every day looks into a mirror and sees nothing but an empty shell staring back, so wrapped up in a web of spun lies. The stupid man who is so blinded by his own arrogance that he is unable to see that there is only arrogance and complacency within him. Such is the nature of calling yourself smart - it is a disease that eats away at the soul, a disease that projects a sense of carelessness.

And that's all that this is. For the man who describes himself as noble, smart, intelligent, laudable, honorable and so on and so forth is a man who loves himself so much he has fallen ill to the most mind numbingly possessive disease there is - arrogance and self conceit. However, it is an entirely different story to have others describe one - genuinely - as qualities so fine as laudable, noble, smart. Such genuine display shows understanding and appreciation of a capacity to compare oneself to a greater individual. The most obvious reason for this is that the man who calls another honorable has at least one standard for which honor can be measured. The man who calls himself noble or smart or laudable is the idiot for he is the man who falls short of any measurable standard.

I imagine the state of being "indie" to be the same. Some people claim that the debate is trivial, and this is something I may accept, but regardless it is something that I find very much worth discussing. Others claim that there's no such thing as indie. The idea of indie exists, and this is enough. Indie certainly does exist, but it is not something that one call call themselves. It is something that cannot be measurably grasped, and it is something that eludes and rises above any known standard boasting the most incredible and the most laudable standard of them all: individuality. Oh yes, indie certainly does exist, but the meaning of it has been so twisted and convoluted to a point where there's this misconception that it is some form of superiority, that it is some trend. No, this defeats the purpose of indie. But indie is an interesting word. It is more than an abbreviation of independent or individual, it is a way for someone to describe someone as such, where no other word in the English language was once possible. One cannot simply call themselves indie, for such is a tautology/truism that evokes laughter in the face of the free thinking.
Indie transcends this. And it is an idea I plan to explore in the near future.



INDIES.
I'M NOT DOWN IN EVERYONE'S SHIT. - I'm my own man, I am free.