Suburbanaughts

Once again, shock street artist Banksy was on the news t’other day: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8206442.stm06442.stm

His latest exhibition ‘Banksy vs. Bristol Museum’ finishes at the end of the month. It seem be emphasising provocative sculpture rather than his “infamous” graffiti. http://www.banksy.co.uk/

Sure, the man is still revered by fifteen-year-old school kids, but it seems that he also has loyal fan base within fellow middle-classers.

After consulting a well-known journal (you know the one), I have identified the hallmark of the middle class and used this to identify a new brand of middle class ideology I will call ‘suburnaught’. The name comes from the concept of projecting head-in-the-clouds ideology whilst hiding feet firmly planted on the suburbs.

Suburbanaught vs. Middle class ideology

1.) Cultural identification: This is right on the money. As proven by the BBC article, the middle class are guzzlers of pop culture. If you need any proof that this is true, check out the any exhibition at the Tate Modern.

2.) Education: A high percentage of the middle class go to university. Obviously, this can have a great mind-opening effect; however the pinnacle of this for the suburnaught is usually Marxist platitudes and conspiracy theories (for example see Zeitgeist - or don't. ugh.).

3.) Hypocritical thinking! Hypocracy I say!!: The conflict between the provocative attitudes gleaned from their education (predominantly anti-bourgeois) and reality (bourgeois) makes the suburnaught the loudest of hypocrits. For example suburbanaughts have been known to criticize universities and all corporate education as brainwashing, despite benefiting from such an experience themselves (see point 2).

4.) Inability to escape middle class roots: No matter how many aliases they use, the suburnaught will always be caught with their camo trousers down, revealing them to be embarrassingly middle class. Examples of this include Banksy and Peter Doherty.

5.) Use of mass media: Although the suburbanaught complains loudly and provocatively, they rarely act directly to combat their targets. Instead they use indirect weapons such as mass media (art, essays, ‘zines, music, blogs ...). Although media is an effective tool at projecting the suburnaughts’ ideology on a global scale, this drastically limits the impact of their message on the individual who is on average lightly curious by the pop culture (see point one).

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This post is in response to many things, mainly in response to words. People talk a lot about the injustice in the world – talk a lot – without actually doing anything themselves. This is infuriating self- indulgence and must be stopped. Suburbanaght culture can be used to destroy, but let use it for good, being voices and hands in the world to make a change. Don't forget all the great middle class suburnaughts like Joe Strummer, Amanda Palmer ... Rage Against the Machine, I don't know... the altruists rather than the egotists ... Missionaries!

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Luke 10.2)

In dedication to all my brothers and sisters on mission all around the world. A hopeless suburnaught salutes you. God bless you all.