Tales of a Modern Luddite

By "KM"

I've been "avoiding" pop culture for years (well, the vast majority of pop culture; there are a few things about pop culture that do turn me on, like U2 and Pearl Jam...holla!) - but I'm at the point where I don't even see the billboards in Times Square anymore. (And I am NOT kidding. I was just in Times Square.) I couldn't tell you where to find the nearest McDonald's; I couldn't tell you what Britney Spears looks like; I couldn't tell you the name of a single network television show. Why? Because these things are not important to me. I don't think about them; I don't let myself be distracted by them. I don't want a world full of fast food restaurants and crappy music, so I refuse to pay attention to a world full of fast food restaurants and crappy music.

I will admit - it really is everywhere, and it takes some effort to do something about it, sometimes. Magazine covers pop up in the grocery story. But what do you do? Is anybody forcing you to read the headlines, or do you want to read them?? I don't! I like to look at the world around me. I like to smile at strangers. Give someone else a reason to stop looking at the headlines. You have a choice, is my point.

When I take my car in for an oil change or a tune-up, the dealership always has not one but TWO flat screen TV's just blaring away, and oftentimes a roomful of people who are seemingly staring at them. They don't seem to mind. But I do! So if I don't feel like going for a walk around the block, I get up and ask if anyone minds my turning the TV's off. Not once in ten years of doing this has anyone EVER objected!! You might be surprised. I've managed to avoid TV for fifteen years altogether. And I don't think that I'm a complete pain-in-the-ass. Some people have even thanked me for turning the TV off. (The only place where it's ever a problem is every single airport in the U.S., but that's a different story. Pack your headphones.)

All this being said, I have some friends who are heavily into pop culture and television; they talk about celebrities as if they're family, and I never know who or what they're talking about. But that doesn't mean I can't join in the conversation. "So you think you can dance???" You mean that wasn't a question? I know I can dance! Want me to show you??