Page 78 - The Religion Of The Ignorant

THE RELIGION OF THE IGNORANT

his own. He uses the facilities provided there, wears the clothes in
his friend's wardrobe, eats in that house, and orders around the
serving staff as if they were his own. In order to do all this, how-
ever, he constantly flatters his friend's parents, and behaves in a
very intimate manner. The parents begin to regard this individual
as one of the household, in order that their child should not be left
alone, accept the situation and start looking after the hanger-on.
This causes them no discomfort since one of the hanger-on's main
talents lies in imposing himself on others. The hanger-on is able to
adapt any form of behavior to his own interests. He has a great un-
derstanding of how to be all things to all men, immediately adopt-
ing the style that someone else likes. Such people generally have no
personality of their own, and being entirely without integrity, can
immediately change personality in the light of the circumstances.

14- AGGRESSIVE ATTITUDES IN
IGNORANTISM
Another requirement of the Religion of the Ignorant is to have
an aggressive character, because being the winning party in any
conflict is a matter of prestige. Being victorious is a sign of superior
intelligence, strength or character. Being defeated is a sign of weak-
ness. Therefore, people do all they can to emerge victorious from
any conflict or debate.
Conflict is also regarded as an indicator of personality. If a per-
son can stand up for himself in the face of a situation he does not
like, then this—according to Ignorantism—shows that he possesses
a strong character. Thus you can witness frequent scenes of strife
among people who do not live by the true religion.
One of the most obvious arenas of such conflict is in traffic.
Driving for even a quarter of an hour, you can encounter hundreds

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