Being A Sell-Out

We often accuse politicians, bankers, wealthy businessmen and the like for being fakes, impostors or sell-outs. These poor souls though just play it politically correct, cultivate savoir vivre, maintain good appearances and avoid unnecessary conflict (unless they are to profit from it). Right?

This sell-out stradegy is applied to everything around us whether it is social media, business, family, friends. Thing is, nobody admits it. In the business and marketing department the mantra has become so well infused it has become the everyday standard. We treat all people based on a recipe that can result in potential profit.

Every situation has become a sell-out situation. Why shouldn't be right? Becoming a whore is rather easy. Why throw yourself out there for any reason (ideologically or not) when you can just cash-out by being accepted? Why push the envelope to create friction? Unless your business is the support of an ideology you have no other reason to change your social marketing persona. In that case, your supporters will be your best customers. The conflict is the fuel of your business.

A-la-cart behaviour has become the norm. We are careful with what we say, how we say it, where we say it, with whom we are saying it. Our ideological aims in life have become too generic in order to avoid accidental clash with others. More and more people are becoming beauty pageant answering machines desiring “world peace” while the rest are nodding blissfully.

Personally, the few friends I have ever made occured out of debates and fights. Through them we were able to grow through a complete human experience that involves conflict, reconsideration, growth. These friends though couldn’t last long because eventually they had to give in to social norms. They had to jump on the sell-out-train in order to survive.

Most people I have met maintain a mirror personality, reflecting to stimuli in order to satisfy their peers. These individuals didn’t help me understand much—other than the fact than our relationship is a potential business situation if I just followed along. I always felt perplexed by their improvised persona. This is why my clients are limited only to those who understand me being blunt with them.

I read some books about making friends and money out of sheer anthropological curiosity. I needed to see for myself the user manual these individuals were following for life. The content was rather ridiculously disturbing. I felt like living in some Orwellian dystopic future ruled by Monty Python characters.

These are though the realities of our society. We can complain about corruption and fraud in “the system” (whatever that is) but most of us, the vast democratic majority, maintain the status-quo by following the same behavioural pattern. This is why those in charge—those we all complain about, keep using the same PR tricks we so secrectly worship. We make sure one way or another to keep those role models up there.

They are the result of our average mentality. They are the sell-out reflection of who we are.