[UA] Culture of The OU

[Greg Stolze]

>>>  But if adept are so secretive how come they all have these wacky
>>>nicknames (bodybags, cobweb farmers, etc).  I assume that any trained
>>>adept, rather than self-taught, has a vague grasp of the OU.  In that there
>>>are other schools (only the major one are likely to be mentioned), in
>>>general they do this, and you should avoid them because . . .
>>>
>>>  Avatars, I would think, are much less widely known about.  They are even
>>>more unbelievable are harder to prove than adepts.
>>>
>>
>>I think that the drug culture (from what I've seen depicted, not that I am a
>>member of the drug culture) could be a useful analog for the OU in UA as
>>depicted in the book while still supporting Greg's grand vision from the
>>game.
>
>On that analogy, in both groups the members are rather secretive, but not
>so >much that they cannot bring new people into the subculture.  and in
>both cases, >there is a large amount of slang and a large amount of
>misinformation and >rumour (lots of noise, little signal).

Also, the OU I envision is about a thousand times smaller than drug
culture.  Maybe 10,000 times smaller if you want to get a "1 person who
knowingly hangs out with drug users while their using, but who isn't a
user" to "1 person who knowingly hangs out with adepts but who isn't one."

I think the problem with the parallel is this: Drug culture exists on the
broader cultural landscape, while real occultism (in the UA setting) does
not.  How many movies can someone in the UnAverse go see about drugs?
(Didn't "Traffic" just win a bunch of Oscars?)  But if they want to see a
film that isn't ridiculously misinformed about real magick, their choices
are the Naked Goddess tape (which is notoriously hard to find) and "Witch
Hunter 1990" -- a Hollywood bastardization of a heavily stylized
novelization of experiences the writer was often too drunk to clearly
remember.

People enter the drug culture with some idea of what they're getting into.
The OU is much more forbidding because it's much less known.  Also, the
buy-in is less attractive.  (Drugs = spend $10-50.  Occultism = completely
change your lifestyle and beliefs.)  ALSO, the payoff is less seductive
(Drugs = instantly feel good for a while.  Occultism = gain the ability to
beat slot machines after you take some stupid risk.)

Occultism might be more properly compared to interracial homosexual S&M in
the 1950s.  The people who are into it are really, REALLY into it.  They
feel they need it or will go mad without it.  The people who aren't into it
are poorly equipped to even imagine it, and there's a chance they'll
dismiss it out of hand -- or destroy it in a rage -- because it threatens
their world-view so fiercely.

You can say what you want about drug culture, but it's really a very good
fit for Amurrican-style capitalism.  It's all about the benjamins and the
instant gratification.

The OU isn't even speaking the same language as mainstream culture.

-G.

In its thirteenth season, "COPS" will continue to bring viewers squalid
scenes of bored policemen harassing dispirited, shirtless losers -- but
this time with a laugh track!
            -Modern Humorist

www.waylay.com
www.thehungersite.com



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