Young Writers Society

17) The bottomless pit of all pseudo-societies must have a bottom, which certainly sounds paradoxical, but life rarely isn't. Of course, this bottom can account for anything, even by the thinnest apparatus, though its suspension falters at the seams. Who are these dwellers of down below? They are the dregs, of course.

18) The dregs of this pseudo-society suffer from the opposite problem to the darling- well, almost the opposite problem. The dreg is often colloquially and socially described as being brutish, or off-hand, or offensive. They are said to inspire contempt, antipathy, hate, greed. To me personally, they are incredibly honest members of the pseudo-society, who would rather be its vagabond than its architect. They smell of virtue, of honour, by not sugar-coating discussions or opinions. Their honesty is unmasked, unregulated. Responses to this are fairly dramatic.

19) There is, of course, the dreg of choice. They set out to tell others how they see it, ending in misunderstandings, controversies and spilt milk- with crocodile tears, of course! However, what many of the darling's ardent followers forget that the dregs also have something to contribute. Their art and performance in occupations- if any occupation- are subversive, transgressive, and often incredibly farcical. They play with what is considered acceptable in method and execution. The dreg is usually presented as a bogeyman from others, who welcome new members of the pseudo-society by segregating the free-thinking dreg from the anti-free darling.

20) The dreg chooses to paint their entire house in darkness, or at least with some grey. Usually, they are mild-mannered, polite, even courteous citizens, but suddenly go berserk when a loved one or several friends conform to the darling's gold standard. We all have a bit of that in us, believe it or not. Dregs, in magnification, are honest darlings with similar desires, but executed for different ends. They are adorned by the loathed and loathed by the adorned.

21) Oh, you simpletons! Can't you see? Dregs cannot be painted with the same brush. The free dreg recognizes that they have a choice. There exists a dreg who feels as if they have no choice, that they are driven by a mission, a carnal desire to knock everyone down to build them up again as better people. What nonsense! That sort of consequentialist tactic emerged as a result of those wanting to be a dreg for pretentious, other worldly reasons. These are usually rotted in religious fervour (the subject of a later part), the perception that the dreg himself is a darling, or the dreg was a darling but was exiled from favourdom. This crusade dreg aims to show everyone that if they are treated like horrors, unwanted dogs, and within a destructive world of their own, then these people will be saved. They have no reason to be so, other than to please themselves.

22) There is the dreg that is so utterly delusional, that they perceive themselves as the darling only darling in society. They know best. Others know worst. What a predicament! Like the crusader dreg, this vigilante in emperor's clothes is empty inside, even without these clothes; a transparent, clustered mess of verbal diarrhea from the most stubborn ailment: pseudo-intellect.

23) Pseudo-intellect is the opiate of the ruling elite of our pseudo-society, to remind themselves that their wasted knowledge is better than that of the "lower" people. They are, like the vigilante dreg, the skim-readers of history, the epochs of their own perceptions when they cannot even decipher the definition of the word epoch, they speak of heart and soul when they lack such characteristics. They segment all into parts that favour them to set up their own histories- divorced from how things really are, the total opposite of the dreg. Yet, this dreg is only considered a dreg by social position, not by honesty. Dishonesty is poison, especially to ourselves.

24) The dregs oppose each other more than they all oppose darlings. Dreg warfare is imminent, I tell you! The "true" and "false"- naive, childish terminology- of this social collective, which aims to abolish social collectives through truth are seeking to annihilate each other for the grand prize of most socially panned. They are trying to destroy themselves, so that they belong to a social pariah as opposed to a collective. They really do try to outdo themselves, blessed things. A passing comment of unintended malice becomes an all-out attack. Construction becomes destruction. Compliments become verbal insults. Spit and deprecating laughter soon follow. Soon, it no longer becomes good to be a dreg, in the sense of non-conforming. After a while, not conforming to anything else becomes conformity, as is the dreg lifestyle, which by intention is anti-lifestyle and non-alignment.

25) A dreg, even if he or she tries, can never shake of the rebellious fire with a change of social position of general acceptance. Dreg-like qualities only cease to be with dishonesty, and when the dreg makes a decision purely to please others, whilst at the same time for themselves but for selfish desires. Likewise, a dreg accepting a new social position but still upholds their desire to remain an outcast is nothing more than the result of darling confusion.

26) The dreg's importance to the pseudo-society is like the darling's, in that they only convey one side of an ideal society. The darling praises and attacks with a political subtleness. The dreg attacks and only knows one chord- a glorious, majestic sustained chord, though there is only so many times that this chord can be played to great effect. Even combining the two only divides them as a matter of Jekyll and Hyde, though telling them apart is the challenge!

27) Of course, the stereotype of dregs being bitter, jealous and vastly unhelpful in their opinions of others and their achievements may be slightly exaggerated, but some dregs perpetuate this stereotype. Either in their attempts of being a darling, or having "fallen from grace", so to speak, the dreg's contrarian nature does come across as a projection of failures. They felt that bitter taste before, and now want others to taste it.

28) When a dreg attacks a renowned, beloved darling and said renowned darling is not worthy of accolade, it is pure joy to see the debacle. I love the blood sport that goes along with the dreg tearing the darling to shreds on an intellectual basis. The dreg of choice, of course, knows this. Like the villain of Shakespearean tragedy, the dreg of choice plays up to the audience before coming a sort of hidden darling among the anti-darling cult. 

29) "Who needs the dregs?" You bemoan. All of us, perhaps more than darlings, because they are reminders of the freest of wills- if free will actually exists- and the strength of cynicism and sceptical proceedings. They remind us of misery, an emotion we all feel and express at varying stages in our existences. However, a society dominated by dregs would be a hellhole, with nothing of merit being produced, but anti-merit. Even the dreg's art will be torn to shreds by other dregs because it simply exists like the darling's does. The achievements of dregs will not be enough on their own.

30) Thus, the rock and a hard place dilemma between the darling and the dreg offers a vastly different reality, but the same outcome. Utter stagnation. Yet, the darling stagnates society through the corruption of inevitable forces trying to cheat each other. The dreg stagnates their society through choice, on the way to nihilism. Neither outcome is desirable to me, as- in any case- the dreg becomes as much of a mere afterthought as the darling in a society only by name.