So Dicks want to tell you what to do (and to do things that benefit Dicks), but Dudes want to figure out what to do for themselves, more or less. That firm quality of Dudism - the higher aspiration of training individuality - is aware of this scenario as a problem. Dicks are already in power, and they aren’t sharing. Why give Dicks more power? A great sector of Dude Society has been developed in the pursuit of solutions to this problem, and the solution is often the promotion of and participation in an increasingly Dude-centric economy.
Perhaps the initial burr causing Dudes’ huge anti-dick distrust is a core resentment of co-option and portrayal of “coolness” (in consumer culture) by Dicks. This is not to say that Dudes are synonymous with “coolness”, nor is it the express quest of a Dude to be cool. [see “Awesomeness” in Dude Values] But if we postulate that an essential quality of “cool” is a disregard of authority in favor of individual values, we can see where a strong Dude might project Cool. Thus, Dude Types are frequently, if inadvertently, portrayed by Dicks in the service of selling products, towards the Dick Profit Motive. This is a serious compromise to the integrity of all Dudes, by implication. They’re ripping us off, man!9
On the other hand, Dicks work to spread the phenomenon of Dudeness globally. Like a Dude virus! There is an appeal to Dude values, and since that is the source material from which Dicks create their advertising campaigns, that is the seed that takes root. Though the Dicks really only want to convert all under an Empire, the gospel of Dude (Duderonomy?) and its promise of individuality reaches into every second and third world enclave.
CONSPIRA-SEER
This Dude basically sees the hand of the Dick in everything. It’s a kind of behind-the-scenes vision that can really get out of control. To a certain extent, it is reasonable to attempt to understand the driving forces behind things, but if your Conspira-seer is using speculative judgments mixed with paranoid assumption, things can get pretty outrageous. This obsession with hyper-Dickness may be a thin disguise for a personal strong Dick association - who better to understand the ways of a Dick? The dude inside the Conspira-seer is thus ruefully aware of Dick Techniques, and has probably used that kind of brusque skill to divorce himself from many social niceties and responsibilities, without actually allowing himself to profit in Dick fashion (though he can tell you how he could).
THE PROTO-HIPPIE or PATRIOT
The Proto-Hippie is enamored of the same goals and values that entranced the common Hippie (1960’s). However, contemporary awareness of the generational arc of the original Hippies lends the Proto-Hippies a less naïve approach to the vast idealism of their values. They have seen the essential wisdom of love- and Nature-based ideologies easily co-opted and insidiously distorted by savvy media empires and dick conglomerates. In order to perpetuate these ideologies without hypocrisy, they must develop a wily style of survival.
The core and shared values of Hippie-types have an Emersonian heritage. It is a historically American desire to reject the accepted power structure and forge ahead with a will to self-discovery and resourceful independence.
NEXT WAVERS
A ideological manifestation of a Proto-Hippie(?), these Dudes are interested or invested in social change, human evolution and/or a general sense of progress. They are self-aware inheritors of the New Age. This can be lousy (sanctimonious post-irony) or totally awesome (post-ironic integrity).
TRASH ROYALTY
The dude who gets everything necessary for survival out of the trash or secondhand, and is quite proud of this fact. The more commonly known “Freegan” subsists through similar principles of consumption, but acts on the opposite end of the Quality spectrum from Trash Royalty; so, a Freegan consumes anything rightfully found, but TR will throw out the unopened crappy beers at the end of the party. There is a sense that this person lives in a kind of bourgeois-y opulence, with all needs and, potentially, luxuries satisfied. Trash Royalty attitudes touch upon the values of Holier-Than-Thous and Disciples of Awesomeness, but tend to be more acquisition-focused. Trash picking may be elevated to the level of obsession.
FARMSTERS / FOODSTERS
(see Productive Dudes, Next Wavers): Subverting the traditional Dick Culture of Economic Survival is a trend in Dude Ambition, especially for Next Wavers. Forward thinking and socially-minded, these Dudes have applied their efforts toward securing their own survival solutions, especially FOOD and FARMING. Of course, a Dude can resourcefully utilize the take-home personal perks of their Food Service Job, and any Dabbler can handle a backyard garden, but the Foodster has a true lifestyle commitment to this Activity. Here are a few noted ways Dude Culture relates to FOOD:
- CSA
- DIY bakery
- Pizza Speakeasy
- Community Garden - especially altruistic Art World trend in inner-cities
- Backyard Chickens
- WOOFing
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