tribal uniforms

TRIBAL UNIFORMS

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note: this is an insanely funny video, an ad for "Poo-Pourri".  Far funnier than the unicorn crapper.
poo-pourri dinner party ad
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Well, there I was minding my own business reading Doomstead Diner’s article on our glorious leaders dressing for success and the whole squalid Peacock Feather Fiasco ( which was a darn good article, as are most of the Doomstead Diner Dude’s these days.  No longer is it just a compilation of guest articles, much to the gain of lurkers such as myself.  Especially recommended is the post-apoc fiction series ), and I made the mistake of opening my mouth and commenting that DDD had omitted the entire Uniform As Tribal Marker aspect of clothing.  So of course he advised me to write up such an article and here we are, taking a break from Frugal Survivalism and other topics designed to make me look smarter than I first appear.  At first blush it might seem this has nothing to do with survivalism.  But as with many such meanderings ( you try not going off topic a time or two after a decade of week-daily postings ) it is pertinent in an indirect fashion.  Clothing isn’t just shelter or a stockpile item, but also an identifier.  Tribes and tribal identity are very survivalist related.

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As we all know, nation states are energy surplus entities, and a lack of energy means we devolve back towards tribalism ( Uncle Sam’s PC coated Army has yet to get the message and is busy fighting tribes as if they were supposed to be armed agents of a fellow country, evidently refusing to believe fifty thousand deaths in Vietnam important enough to warrant a serious investigation into forth generation warfare-not that they ever will as that line of thought is anti-job security.  Poole’s books are helpful here, as are Lind’s to a smaller extent as he is far less prolific ).  Tribal culture is important to understand.  Don’t be a bureaucrat refusing to see past his blinders.  Uniforms and dress codes are merely tribal markers.  Even in the most heavily centralized top heavy military, tribalism is alive and well.  Service rivalries, regimental, occupational.  Everyone is looking for a ribbon, metal, badge or piping to distinguish them, the Only Worthy Ones, from all the other Unworthy.  This is Tribal centric.  Officers are royalty, enlisted are peasants.  But officers of the Navy are better than those Neanderthals in the Army, and Ship Officers are superior to Land Officers.  But not all ships are equal and sub captains are better than most.  Etcetera.

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To understand uniforms as tribal markers, look no further than Teenagers or Sports Teams.  Teens of course are the dumbest boxes of rocks ever.  You can’t imagine how the human race as a species could even survive, given the behavior of teenagers.  Not that it is their fault, what with the near lethal levels of hormones their brains are floating in ( at this level of hormones, the brain serves to keep your body running and to attempting to procreate, and nothing more like higher cognitive functions ).  But that makes them perfect specimens for this range of behavior.  They act instinctively, without thought, parroting our hunter gatherer ancestors.  They need to join a tribe and given our consumer culture today, buying clothing to go tribal is the perfect fit.  The Jocks, Dweebs, Sluts, Goths, Rappers, whatever, all have an agreed upon uniform of identification.  This of course is all a phase and not long lasting, ending after the hormonal tsunami recedes past flooding stage, and usually makes absolutely no impact on the rest of their lives ( unless they enlisted to wear a much better uniform, with the usually unspoken promise of being able to legally kill something, as an added bonus, unfulfilled ).

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But they do go on to assume a new tribal identity as adults.  A lot of them lead dull and boring lives, office cubicle drones who dare not venture too far outside the accepted Corporate Culture even on their off time and hence adapt the safe and acceptable tribal identity of their local sports team ( the real rebels identify with a team NOT in their geographical location! ).  Others use more subtle means of tribal identity.  Hair styles, to some extent, level of clothing cost ( attempts are made, even if in vain, to dress to a certain economic class ), headgear, piercing and tattoos ( as mush as Kuntsler derides these two markers, they serve their purposes ).  To be sure, a large amount of these costume creations are ill suited for tribal identity.  In a diluting manner individualism cuts into the effectiveness of uniforms.  Since our culture no longer has any cohesion, nobody adheres as tightly to uniform standards of dress outside High School anymore.  But notwithstanding its effectiveness, the attempts point towards tribal identification.

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Peacock Feathering is always a factor, inside and outside a tribe.  Clothing was a very effective class identifier, and still is to a much smaller degree.  But clothing is just as powerful of a tribal marker.  There is a lot of truth to “clothing makes the man”.  When you dress in a certain way, you do act differently.  When a cop puts on his uniform, his mindset becomes different.  He has donned an authority identifier.  Soldiers kitting up become more aggressive and enabled ( as do sports uniforms to a degree.  Putting on that hockey helmet before hitting the ice isn’t just giving you a sense of cranial protection but placing you in a team identity-you confer greater ability ).  And acting differently just by looking different, however juvenile it seems at first blush, is beneficial to both the individual and the tribe.  It is a shortcut on many different levels.  Not just as a way of differencing on the battlefield, or identifying cultural actions prior to performance, but as a unifying tool.  Knowing an effect is psychological intellectually is no defense against the effects emotionally.  It works.  Do not discount its effects against you, nor the effects for your tribe. 

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Notice the effects of a bagpipe playing?  The effects of riot police stomp/dragging as their batons hit their shields ( done properly, this is unifying/enabling for the police as well as worrying to the intended victims.  Unfortunately the usual practice of overweight donut eaters lackadaisically shuffling into position only leaves a slight fear of a beating, without the underlining psychological impact )?  Uniforms work on the same principles.  Pay attention.

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