Social Subcultures

In this country our culture is representative of what we’ve come to achieve as members of the human race, and these achievements are numerous. Over the course of my life alone, we’ve passed gay marriage as a right across the country, states are passing marijuana legalization laws in one way or another, and we’re getting closer to pay equality for men and women. All of these accomplishments are part of what makes up the culture in the country, which means said culture is expanding and changing from what we used to know; what we were taught in school. Our history is changing, and with that, so are we as a people.

Part of an area’s culture is made up of its people, its core groups. In the United States we’ve divided ourselves into some specific groups of people, whether it be by sex, race, creed, or other differences. However, one thing has remained true; although we’re divided, we do know when to come together and make ourselves one for the betterment of the country as a whole. With that being said, though, it doesn’t mean that subcultures don’t exist these days.

 The Truth About Who Is Out There 
Each generation has seen its own version of social subcultures. We’ve seen punks, skaters, grunge aficionados, preppies, nerds, and so on and so forth. We’ve also encountered numerous factions of our culture that don’t speak the language of togetherness and as a result, they have to be counted among the subcultures as well. Recent days have shown the uglier side of these subcultures and it’s led a lot of people to open their eyes to what is really happening in our country.

For years, people have turned a blind eye to what has been going on. We’ve been battling wars on smaller scales all over our country as we face rioting and demonstrations on a regular basis. We don’t think of these uprisings as being started by subcultures, but in truth, they are. A subculture is defined as any group having a variance of opinion from the larger culture. The people protesting against police brutality have a differing opinion that those who believe the police are entitled to use force when necessary. The people siding with those who’ve been victims to police brutality have a difference of opinion as well. Subcultures are ruling what becomes of our futures.

A lot of people didn’t want to believe that there was still overt racism in this world, but the marches in recent demonstrations have proven otherwise. It has opened some eyes to the injustices that we’re still experiencing in the world, that many people were naïve enough to believe had gone away for the most part. A large portion of our society has bought into the illusion of safety since the horrifying attacks of 9/11 and we’ve believed ourselves to be safe. However, this past year has forced us to admit that we’re living in a powder keg and everything is not okay. The subcultures of our society have forced us to take off the rose-colored glasses.

There are still KKK members in this country. There is still a great deal of unfettered racism in this country. While many of us have been focused on the hipster movement and our shared distaste for millennials, these subcultures have been building and waiting for their moment to appear. No, we can’t band together and focus our love at them to overcome them, but we can open our eyes. We can make ourselves aware of what is really happening in this world and try to become less divided.