| Everyone must be "somebody."
The one thing one cannot be is unclassified. The
person who is too eclectic in his choices and conduct,
and does not fit into any of society's pigeonholes,
becomes the object of suspicion and hostility. By
refusing to conform to a stereotype, he remains an
individual. Much as we may like individualism as an
abstract idea, we tend to dislike individuals. This is
because we are often baffled by them: we cannot
understand their behaviour, and what is even worse, we
cannot predict it. Frequently, such an individual is
regarded as a threat to others.
from "Ideology and Insanity", Thomas Szasz, 1970 |