Nietzsche Poor People / Ницшеброды
We are the heirs of two millennia of conscience, self-crucifixion and vivisection — which consistency and purpose direct ourselves as individuals. Friedrich Nietzsche thought so, and I agree.
I am not afraid to say that in every generation there are groups of people who think they are special among other gray mass of people. Punks, skinheads, hippies, goths, emos. History have known many subcultures. Some of them gained the status of iconic and they left a trace of themselves in books and films, while others are lost in the dust of ages, like a book that didn’t get a registration number in public library.
Every subculture has a similar set of fundamental principles. Their lifestyle and worldview make them standout among the mass of “average citizens”. Destructive philosophy of punks that was directed to the whole world; the theory of racial purity of skinheads and pacifism of hippies; there are many examples but the principle is one.
What makes the millennial special? The diversity of our subcultures: half criminal organization AUE (Prisoner’s Practice Universal Solidarity) that propagate thieves’ ways; wine-chan (винишко-тян) and mysterious vanilla girl/boy (ванильки), those who “understand the source of life” (where as a source of life is home philosophy and enjoyment of decadence) and otaku (harmless fanatics of Japanese animation).
Generally, there is no sense to understand the countless outrage of modern counter- and subcultures. But it’s good that Internet provides us quick access to information, giving us a choice to find like-minded people.
I don’t want to grumble like an ancient old man, who clogs the air with moldy nostalgia, but nonconformist subcultures were those who thought deeply; they fought with a system, they tried to save the world! Or at least they thought so. But what do we see now? There are attempts to be unique in the mass (but bunched in a pile of like-minded people), to feel superior over “the herd” or to just hide in the cozy cocoon of the fictional world.
Such people as those with “favorites” complex, involvement in a secret cult or those chasing greatness that none can reach. The devil has been catching these weak spirits on the hook of pride since the period of antiquity. I call such type of people, not going too much into classifications, ‘Nietzsche’s poor people” — people who have a poor soul. Suddenly I got a thought that this reminds me of a slang word by a German philosopher “нищеброд”. It is a sort of eureka: “Hey, they scream in all throats about their own individuality, while they are drowning in nihilism and dark pathos, decadence. I have seen it somewhere before…”
Of course, it is unfair to compare Friedrich Nietzsche with totally useless social and cultural groups of people who are posting texts in social media and moral decomposition. However, I think, he would forgive me for this liberty. Generally, dead fellows aren’t non-softhearted.
If we were to believe the philosopher, only Nietzsche’s poor people don’t deserve the gift of existence. What an irony! How could he say in his philosophical novel “Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None”? Argh! “What is falling, should also be pushed!”
No, self-expression is not evil. I welcome the rationale, healthy initiative, character building and society.
The point is: we should be more than what we seem to be.
text Alexey Kharechko
edited by Afiq Makkana, Law Yi Wan
