Me in writing, long form ... and my relationship to Mars and the Echelon
In college ... about a million years ago ... I took a English class. We paired up with another student to beta read each other's papers. Don't remember exactly what the paper was on, but the other student and I were on opposite sides of the flowery language issue. I tend to write long detailed sentences with big words and flowery metaphoric language. She liked short sweet sentences that were as literal and to the point as possible. Fortunately for me, the professor was a flowerly language person. ;)
Despite the fact that twitter is my social networking platform of choice these days, I'm still a long winded flowerly language type. I use metaphors effortlessly. Some are meant to be near literal. Some only sarcastically so. If you read me well, you can tell the difference. But I'm not sure that many people read me well. In the general population, I know that. But sometimes I expect more from the Echelon, because Jared seems to be the same way.
I think I'm guilty of a lot of misunderstandings when it comes to the Echelon these days. I always thought of the Echelon as homogeneous in certain areas. Not in age or gender or race or religion or country of origin. But in being outsiders, in being more intelligent and eloquent than the general population, in being more perceptive than the general population, in being socially liberal and wanting to help make things better on a global scale. In being able to read between the lines. In being fluent in sarcasm and double entendres. In seeing our strange dysfunctional family as something special and unique.
But the more the family grows, the more crazy in laws you end up with. I'm soul mates (in the broadest sense of the term) with the boys and with some of the Echelon, but some of you are a different breed. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But sometimes inside jokes don't translate. Metaphors don't mean the same thing to you as they do to me. And if you don't read between the lines, you probably miss a lot of what I intend to say.
(Most of the time, I'm happy to explain. If you ask nicely and give me time and space to answer.)
Guess that's one thing I miss about blogging regularly. I expressed each little facet of what I'm thinking. These days, with twitter, you hit the highlights and assume that the audience is on the same page. Some are, some aren't.
Basically, if you want me at my most eloquent, you've got to give me time to compose and think things out. A conversation by email where I get back to you an hour later is probably going to be much more coherent, logical, and fully thought out than the back and forth of texting, IMing, DMing, or twitter. Which makes me a dinosaur technologically speaking. But I'm an introvert. To get my best it has to be in writing, in long form, and on my timetable.
Your self explanatory twitter quip aside, I just process slower than some people. I don't think on my feet. I'm a scholar type. (See https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7688300-7-personality-types) My gift is reading and understanding and people watching and making odd connections. But that takes time and familiarity and reading between the lines.
That's one way I'm different than Jared with his soup can quote. I like boxes. That's not to say I put people in boxes. I wait to see what boxes they inhabit on their own. I like psychology and Myers-Briggs and that 7 Types personality typing system (link above) and Western zodiac. I won't say I understand them all to an infinite depth. But I try to keep learning and try to avoid the "knowing just enough to be dangerous" trap.
(I also like strange stream of consciousness connections. If I lost you with that last transition, well ... se la vie.)
Where was I? Oh, yeah, me. *smirk*
I really don't talk about myself much. I'd much rather talk about what I love, what I think, what I feel, and what I believe. Because some labels grow static and binding and limiting. But those are all real world labels that only indirectly show in my personality online. If you don't know my hardships it's because you haven't approached me in a way that makes me want to open up in a real way. That doesn't happen much with me. I'm 44 and I've had under 10 friends that were that cherished. I've only had one I can say anything to. The key? Tell me the truth and make it safe for me to tell you anything without recrimination.
I'm not the kind of person who will yell you out or fall dramatically at your feet. I lick my wounds in private, unless you're one of the precious few that have a pass inside the walls.
And I'm not sure why I veered down this tangent. But it's been a long time since I wrote anything stream of consciousness style and what comes out, comes out.
Oh, the 7 Types thing. I found an INFJ meme on being neither a leader nor a follower. Posted it on twitter and instagram, here is instagram because it was easier to find: http://instagram.com/p/yYACafIa_I/
It reads:
INFJ: Neither a leader nor a follower: When you're not one of these you can start to feel like you're on the outside. You see the people who lead and know that you wouldn't ever want that. But you also look at the people who follow and know you could never be that either. It puts you in a strange midlands and I think the way I've found to make that feel less lonely is to find someone else out there too.
That fits back with the 7 types things. Of the 7 types, 3 are cardinal (good with groups), 3 are ordinal (good one on one), and one is "neutral" -- that's me. I'm neither cardinal nor ordinal, neither a leader nor a follower, ....
It's amazing how many times things track back to that Fitzgerald quote. Not even sure if it was from F. Scott Fitzgerald or from a critical piece on his writing style. About the boy that sits at the window watching the party. And he is both a guest at the party and the boy watching from the outside. Within and without. Only the boy has grown cynical.
I wish I still had that high school paper. Pre-computers. It was composed on a mechanical typewriter. It only exists on hardcopy somewhere. I think it must have been a secondary source quote. *sigh* Somewhere in the archives of my local university library. Again, pre-computers, pre-internet.
Hmmm. Oh, the ownership thing. God, I stepped in that one today. I certainly didn't see it coming. I've said for years Jared owns us. I apparently found the one person that finds that offensive.
I was responding to this quote:
"The fact is: @JaredLeto doesn’t do what you are supposed to do and he gets away with it." -Gregg LaGambina, FLAUNT
Seemed innocent enough. Jared's a leader and a trail blazer. So someone responded to my RT of the quote with something to the effect of, sometimes you have to follow the rules or face the consequences (deliberately not direct quoting).
So I said:
Seems to me Jared's greatest successes come when he creates his own rules. He's a natural leader, an archetypal king, that grants him the right to make up the rules. That means he won't please everyone, but he'll certainly attract the followers that belong to him.
Apparently "king" was a hot button and "belongs" was a hot button. Go figure. So after a crazy rant, here was my final reply.
I see nothing wrong with choosing to belong to someone & that's something I choose. I wasn't implying that anyone else had to feel the same way.
As for "king" I read a book on personality types & his personality type is what they call "king". The names are all based on feudal roles. The book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7688300-7-personality-types
I'm not deifying him, I'm simply saying I like the rules he lives his life by & I choose to take inspiration from that. If you don't like the metaphors I use, I'm sorry.
I certainly don't need to grow up. I'm older than Jared is. Not everyone who loves him unconditionally does so because they're love struck teenagers. Some of us love him unconditionally because he's a person who holds ideals that we cherish.
As for "breaking the rules" I was thinking of defying expectations by holding two careers, picking roles like Rayon that are not universally appreciated. Basically being a person who is apologetically himself.
Ironically, I posted this on IG (and twitter?) on January 24th: http://instagram.com/p/yQS9kTIa5b/
It reads:
How to care for your Aquarius: When it comes to Aquarius, they need a friend they can talk to about anything and everything. They need someone that can be there for them when things get too much or when they start to feel alone in a world full of faces, but at the same time give them space when they need it. They want someone who is willing to open up their heart and share their world with them. Don't try to control them or be possessive, and accept and understand that they dance to the beat of their own drum.
My caption reads:
Love this. It's very accurate for me with one exception. If you earn the privilege, possession is very welcome. That's one of the things I like most about Mars, they lay claim to us. Jared lays claim to us.
#30secondstomars #jaredleto #echelon #family #churchofmars #yesthisisacult
Back to my homogenous comment. I though everyone in the Echelon liked that Jared calls us family, that we belong to him, that he "owns" us.
And Jared is the boss. Fight all you want about three people in the band. There is a pecking order. Jared, Shannon, then Tomo. And Shannon is second because that's how Jared and Shannon's personalities balance each other.
That 7 Types thing. The 7 personalities are: King, Soldier, Priest, Servant, Sage, Artisan, and Scholar. You actually have two personality types a primary and a secondary. The secondary is listed first.
I'm a servant scholar, for example.
Jared is a sage king. Shannon is a king artisan. And Tomo is a artisan warrior. (And, yes, that is my estimation of who they are based on the descriptions.)
Kings, priests and sages are cardinal. (One to Many.) Warriors, servants, and artisans are ordinal (One to one.) And scholars are neutral.
That makes Jared twice cardinal and a king, the rarest personality type. Shannon is cardinal (and king) as his secondary type. Tomo is a warrior.
(On their other pole, Tomo and Shannon are artisans, the ordinal version of artists, and Jared is a sage, the cardinal version of artists.)
To the warriors and the keepers of the gate, we await.
Remember that? Tomo is the Echelon that became part of Mars. The top warrior. But Jared and Shannon are the leaders.
That's what astounded me about the reception of Two Brothers (Into The Wild, Chapter Five). Did no one notice that they confirmed so many things with that episode?
"If Shannon wasn't the other major artery in 30STM it would have been easier to walk away.
He's the one who lead me here.
He's the one that broke new ground.
He's the one who had the drum set when he was fucking 4 years old.
He was the creative one.
He's the one who's always been passionate about music."
- Jared
Best episode of Into the Wild ever. I'm so proud of them for putting all of that out there. I'm so proud of Shannon.
It shocks me that people can't see how fucking close those two are. Jared and Shannon. Jared was in serious agony performing alone this summer. And to see a so-called Echelon say they did fine without Shannon. That's inconceivable.
Anyway, yes, I consider Jared a king. A priest with his purple robes. A messianic figure. And, no that isn't all metaphor. Truth is stranger than fiction.
I'm not religious in the Judeo-Christian sense. When I say I'm part of the Church of Mars, I'm not making light. Mars is my religion.
I respect Jared's ideals, his commitment, his politics, his vision. All of it. Call that blind faith all you want. It isn't. Not in the least. It's tested and questioned and analyzed more than you'll ever know. I stripped away my faith a few years ago. Was thisclose (spacing deliberate) to calling myself an atheist. My spirituality these days is intimately tied up in 30 Seconds to Mars. As for the details, that's not important.
(Well, it is important, but I know of only 4 people who would understand without a hell of a lot of explanation, maybe 8 tops.)
I'm not going to say the band saved my life. But since I've been into Mars, I've lost two jobs, lost a friend to an unexplained death, almost lost my father to a stroke, hit my lowest point when it comes to depression, had to sell my house due to financial difficulties, and have had numerous medical conditions that have left me physically disabled (primarily mobility issues). But on an intellectual, emotional, spiritual level, life has never made more sense.
So, yes, I take Mars seriously. I take digs at the band seriously, including (seemingly innocent) passive aggressive hints that Jared is neglecting twitter.
How can you be into Mars and not understand such fundamental things about Jared? He's the boss not because of being the singer or his acting career or his beauty. He's the leader because he does the hard work, he is the face of the band, and the buck stops with him. He is the kind of leader everyone should want. The one that is willing to be in the trenches with the troops. He shares or brushes off credit -- Bartholomew Cubbins -- but takes blame on himself. Is it really so hard to flatter his ego a bit. Tell him he's doing a good job. Don't criticize every little move he makes.
Don't mock him for being late to events he's hosting. He's not late if the show doesn't start without him. You're busy twiddling your thumbs, but he's probably doing fifty things behind the scenes, and none have anything to do with prettying up his hair or having as snack.
Many of you saw Artifact, but missed the whole point of it.
*sigh* And I'm back to old arguments which I've pounded into the ground long ago. I clearly expect too much.
And so I end this like I end most stream of consciousness pieces. I run out of steam.
Hope some of that was useful, if not.
"It's only for those who understand...."
P.S. Edited 02/04/2015 to correct a flipped cardinal/ordinal attribution.
P.S.S. If you want more on the 7 Types thing, I did a review and a more thorough analysis of the band here. http://mlady-rebecca.livejournal.com/926487.html