The Deviant’s Struggle (a.k.a. Mission Statement)

Deviant (n): one who departs from an established course or accepted standard; one who adheres to the Deviant’s Ethos when taking up the Deviant’s Struggle. (Refer to Deviant’s Dictionary)

Deviation: the action of departing from an established course or accepted standard(s), but doing so in alignment with the Five Principles of Ethical Deviation

Living with a free mind and a free spirit is unsettling to contemporary society. Imposed standards and behavioral norms permeate the entire social spectrum. Even weirdness is standardized. Regardless of whether you are an accountant, a preacher, or a poet there is a norm from which to deviate. Anyone can be a deviant.

By scouring existing conditions for seams or cracks that can be repurposed, applying new behaviors or governing logics to systems already in place, we deviants believe freedom is a process to be pursued through inspired daily action. We strive not to wipe the slate clean nor to blindly adhere to existing customs simply because they already exist. Instead, by going astray of behaviors imposed by custom, laws, or rules, we actively engage in the positive pursuit of heightened self rule — aka, pure democracy.

There is little freedom in living strictly by the book — 100% obedience. There is also little freedom in living by a strict code of lawless anarchy — 100% against. In both cases the courses of action are predetermined. By providing a series of principles useful for navigating the murky grey zone that separates strict obedience and strict lawlessness, the Deviant’s Struggle is the struggle for a truly self-governed society; a society comprised of individuals who possess the ability to positively govern their own behavior in situations in which right and wrong are not well defined. It is a mission only achieved through the cultivation of refined self awareness.

In practice, the Deviant’s Struggle is the struggle for continual deviation — the ability to continually and ethically cross barriers that interrupt or prevent self rule. We love that no two deviants are alike, but are instead self-governed snowflakes of defiance, so to speak.