SWAG

Guns N’ Roses songs. An American Novel. Belongings in Australia. Personality. Its all swag.

The way the word swag is used would appear to some, as something untranslatable. It has no meaning. There are ways that I personally don’t like it being used. Personal choice. Here I’ll explain.

Some interpret swag as material possession. Here are directions.

1. Go to store
2. Find “fresh gear”
3. Swag obtained

I view swag as how one carries themselves. Whether it be, or a combination of demeanor, style, vocabulary, and mentality. The clothes aren’t the swag, its the person. The clothes don’t make the man, the man makes the clothes and the man. Its not necessarily what you wear, but how you wear it. 

I see a family friend, sitting only two rows behind me on this flight. She is drenched in gucci, and pearls. Ignorance would blindly label her attire as swag, without knowing her.  I wonder if she considers them luxuries? If when she wears them, she feels profound. Well, she can only answer that. Mindfully, luxuries also contributed to the civil war in her beloved homeland of Sierra Leone. Unlawful, savagely pilfered jewels and minerals east of the Atlantic, sold to the outside world. 

It’s interesting to watch the different faces around campus. Multitudes of personalities. Clothes can offer you comfort, style, colors, etc. Whatever it may be, it usually has a price tag on it. The american capitalist, outsource labored, white tee instead of the american capitalist, american made white tee. The difference to you? Perhaps material. Maybe the emblem. The difference to the workers that made the clothes. Dignity and enslavement. 

That emblem may have murdered thousands elsewhere. More sweatshops, more unworthy emblems that others die for. Most likely in a country or island overseas. Because my US Dollar is considered a top currency at the moment, I can give small loans like a leading bank to individuals. Upon receiving that small amount money, the borrower must repay the loan with labor. You can choose not to, and be sent home with no food or money. 

For me, I wear these “luxuries” once in a while, but I choose not to let that define me. How often do I buy the new clothes and gadgets. Not so often. Unfortunately if I am not looking “fresh” on the street I may get no play from the opposite sex, may be hard to make new friendships, and may be teased. We consume a lot. We impulse buy, without knowing the consequences. This is an example of mental slavery. Purchasing products puts our worries elsewhere. 

You must ask yourself how often do I buy luxuries? Why am I buying this luxury? It is pitiful that we have become reliant on material to make us happy. Say cotton goes scarce. At the end of the day, the same shareholders are getting most of the profit. No money in circulation for this board game of America. People lose jobs. Others are left to starve. Crime runs rampant in less developed areas. Education becomes a profitable investment, rather than a place to learn. And it sucks because whoever owns polo, is eating beaucoup, while others are not. Is it still good swag if other people’s lives are at expense due to your hardcore swagging? There is a fine line between use and abuse in the corporate clothing world. Not swag. Why not modernize the way we do business?

I dig the way I look. The clothes are cool, but there’s more to it