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The Maladjusted Non Conformist


By Ahmed Olayinka Sule, CFA December 2011 suleaos@gmail.com http://about.me/ahmedsule

The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority. ~Martin Luther King Jr. Maladjusted: badly or unsatisfactorily adjusted, especially in relationship to ones social circumstances, environment, etc. ~Entry from Urban Dictionary Every society honors its living conformists, and its dead nonconformists (trouble makers). ~Mignon McLaughlin

The year 2011 will be described in future as the year of the maladjusted nonconformist (a term coined by Martin Luther King). 2011 was the year in which a number of people who were tired of the status quo demanded freedom, justice, democracy and equality. The flames of the protest fire, which started in Tunisia in January 2011, gradually spread to the four corners of the world, with new protest movements springing up on a monthly basis throughout the year. In February 2011, Egyptian protesters succeeded in removing Egypts President Mubarak from office. In March 2011, there was an intensification of the protest against Syrias President Assad. The commencement of the Slutwalk protest march in Toronto Canada in protest against the excusing of rape against women began in April 2011. It was Spains turn in May 2011 as protesters started the Los Indignados march to protest against the deteriorating economic climate. In September 2011, the Occupy Movement, which is a movement protesting against economic inequality, corporate greed and the influence of money in politics started in New York and has since spread to over a thousand cities around the world. The prevalence, intensity and focus of these protest movements culminated in the Times Magazine naming The Protester as its 2011 Person of the Year.

I have decided to write this paper about the maladjusted nonconformist for two reasons. First, since maladjusted nonconformists are often misunderstood and disrespected, I would like to highlight the role maladjusted nonconformists play in society. Second, I am writing this paper to encourage people to become maladjusted to the status quo whenever it threatens justice, equality and freedom. Who are the maladjusted nonconformists? What is the philosophy/motivation of maladjustment nonconformism? Why are they misunderstood and vilified? What are the myths about the maladjusted nonconformists? What role do they play in society? The maladjusted nonconformist is a dissenter who disagrees and challenges a well-established and accepted political or social order, which though detrimental to the society is accepted by the majority population. The maladjusted nonconformists comprise of people across the gender, age and religious divide. The overriding theme of maladjustment nonconformism is to see a change in the status quo for the benefit of society. Maladjusted nonconformists adopt a range of methods to achieve their objectives including but not limited to marches, art, writing, music, hunger strikes, petitions etc. For the purpose of this paper, I am focusing on nonconformists that adopt nonviolent methods of challenging the status quo, as I believe that peaceful means are the most effective way of bringing about

meaningful change. The maladjusted nonconformists are individuals who refuse to be adjusted to certain things, which they perceive as unjust. Examples of themes, which they tackle include issues like racism, economic inequality, repressive political regimes, war, breach of civil and human rights, gender inequality etc. The job of a maladjusted nonconformist is a thankless exercise, which is risky as it could result in the loss of a job or career, imprisonment, beating, ridicule and at the very extreme death. Furthermore, the causes that the nonconformists fight for are sometimes not achieved in their lifetime. For instance, the causes that Malcolm X, Steve Biko and Martin Luther King fought for were only fulfilled after their deaths. Despite the odds of not succeeding in their struggles or the threats to their life, health or career, the nonconformists still carry on their fight. Why?

the cause of getting the Gospel message preached to working class people who at the time were frequently excluded from entering churches. The maladjusted nonconformist believes that in the long run the cause that he or she fights for will prevail despite the odds. Martin Luther King summed up this feeling when he said, when our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. They are convinced that even if justice is not achieved in their lifetime, it will be achieved in the future and that the ongoing oppression will cease. They have a good understanding of the concept of

Because behind every maladjusted nonconformist is a cause that he or she strongly believes in. They visualise a future that is better than the current order and this drives them to resist the old order and make their voices heard. The Occupy Movement protesters believe in a cause that will result in economic justice and responsible government and this has made them stand their ground irrespective of the risk of arrest, pepper spray or cold from sleeping outside in winter; Sojourner Truth believed in the cause of women rights and the abolition of slavery; John Wesley, the Methodist founder believed in

status quo. While they recognize that the existing state of affairs should not be opposed if it is working right, they know that very often people and societies get adjusted to the state of affair and complacency sets in when the status quo remains unchanged for a long time. The static nature of the status quo eventually leads to misalignment; however as maladjusted individuals, nonconformists are more likely to identify these misalignments. Upon identification, they effect the necessary protests to align the misalignment and reset the status quo.

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The maladjusted nonconformists understand that the oppressor will not grant the oppressed their demand without a struggle on the part of the oppressed. They appreciate that Pharaoh will not release the Moses led Israelites without a demand and battle. Fredrick Douglas, the civil rights leader caught it years ago when he said, power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. It is for this reason that the maladjusted nonconformists are very persistent and do not give up. Despite the sincere intentions of the maladjusted nonconformist, they are often vilified by government officials, mainstream media, the elites and some sections of the general public. Dissenters are frequently described as scumbags, troublemakers, lazy, jobless, attention-seekers, weird and communists. In other instances, they are beaten up, arrested or even killed. John the Baptist had his head cut off for rebuking King Herod for taking his brothers wife; Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the Nigerian musician was arrested and beaten several times for voicing his opposition to the military junta; a number of Occupy Movement protesters have been pepper sprayed, beaten and arrested. The maladjusted nonconformist is often vilified by three sets of people. The first group are those that benefit from the existing order, which the dissenters are challenging. The second group of vilifiers are those who are resistant to change. Although

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they may not benefit from the status quo, however, they view those challenging the status quo negatively because they see the challenge as a threat to their stability. The third set comprise of those who adopt a Social Darwinism approach towards the status quo. They believe that even if the status quo is unjust, only the fittest will survive such environment. They regard nonconformist who want to change the status quo as weak and lazy. These are the people who will make remarks like why are you resisting income inequality or racism afterall, if you work hard then you will not need to bother about these issues? A number of myths prevail regarding the maladjusted nonconformists. They are described as troublemakers who disturb the public peace. A critical examination of this myth would reveal that maladjusted nonconformists are not disturbers of public peace but instead are people who are working towards bringing about a more sustainable peace via the demand for justice. An examination of the winners of the Nobel Peace prize reveals that a number of the winners were maladjusted nonconformists who were once described as disturbers of peace. Nobel peace laureates such as Albert Lutuli, Martin Luther King, Desmond Tutu, Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela, Liu Xiaobo and Tawakel Karman were tagged as troublemakers by the beneficiaries of the challenged status quo. The maladjusted nonconformists are also described as attention seekers, selfish and demagogues. This description

is unfair as dissenters are actually fighting for causes in which they bear all the risk, while the reward for victory is enjoyed by the society. Many of the liberties we enjoy today are as a result of the efforts of a number of individuals and organisations that chose to challenge the status quo in order to make the world a better place. These people who have stood up to say enough is enough might be the minority, but without their efforts, the world we live in would have been a different place. The pages of history are full of stories of men and women from various fields of endeavour who chose to be maladjusted nonconformist to the prevailing status quo of injustice, oppression and discrimination. In education we learn that Mary Tape, a Chinese immigrant was a maladjusted nonconformist to the status quo of educational segregation in America, Is it a disgrace to be born a Chinese? Didnt God make us all?; in boxing, we learn that Mohammed Ali was a maladjusted nonconformist to the status quo of the support of Americas war in Vietnam when segregation prevailed in the USA, No, I am not going 10,000 miles to help murder kill and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slave masters over dark people the world over.; in religion, we learn that Martin Luther, the reformist was a maladjusted nonconformist to the status quo of the abuses of

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the Catholic church, I neither can nor will retract anything for it cannot be right for a Christian to speak against his conscience.; in international diplomacy, we learn that Eleanor Roosevelt was a maladjusted nonconformist to the status quo of war, I can not believe that war is the best solution. No one won the last war, and no one will win the next war.; in music we learn that Fela Anikulapo Kuti was a maladjusted nonconformist to the status quo of military rule in Nigeria, Zombie no go turn unless you tell am to turn, Zombie no go think unless you tell am to think.; in athletics, we learn that Tommie Smith was a maladjusted nonconformist to the status quo of racism, If I win I am an American, not a black American. But if I did something bad then they would say a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black.

In conclusion, since we are all beneficiaries to some of the privileges in our world due to the risks taken by the maladjusted nonconformists throughout the passage of time, we have a moral responsibility to speak up when we see things in our world that are not the way it should be, even if it is against popular opinion. We also owe it to the unborn generation to ensure that they come to a world in which they would not experience the injustice that this present generation faces. Although we should be adjusted conformists to the troika of equity, peace and justice, however, we should be maladjusted nonconformists to the troika of injustice, oppression and inequality.

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Selah. Ahmed Sule December 2011 Below is a link to a documentary I have prepared as a tribute to the maladjusted non-conformist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_fPGj71Qas Ahmed Sule 2011

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Ahmed Sule 2011

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