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If you listen to some people, the Macintosh following is a cult, with all the irrationality and tunnel vision that goes with the term. But a word is only a word, a symbol that may bear little resemblance to the realities of those who devote themselves to the cause.
Of Cults and Culture
by Del Miller
April 12, 2000
We humans display an irrepressible drive to label things with words and then, symbolic creatures that we are, we tend to make those labels into part of the thing itself. Our perceptions of reality become altered by these symbols, and this conceptual shorthand begins to color whatever our limited senses glean from the world around us. We casually roll these symbols around like some linguistic snowball, while they gather meanings and emotional content ever further from the original concept.
Say the word "cult," and the imagery of wild-eyed fanaticism comes to mind; delusional, heretical, and troublesome people with narrow minds and an unreasonable devotion to some dubious cause. To call a group of people a cult is therefore a condemnation, an automatic judgement of guilt by all who are sane and good.
If you listen to some people, the Macintosh following is a cult, with all the irrationality and tunnel vision that goes with the term. But a word is only a word, a symbol that may bear little resemblance to the realities of those who devote themselves to the cause. If there is anyone around who falls into the category of Macintosh cultist, I'm afraid that would be me, yet I feel that I'm neither irrational nor narrow minded about my loyalty, simply because of where those loyalties lay. I'm not loyal to a computer company nor to the products that it makes, nor am I loyal to a certain way of clicking on icons or navigating my desktop. My loyalty is to the rest of the Macintosh world, a world full of good people and artistry and freedom of expression, a vibrant and exciting community where passion is valued and the individual is important.
If a stranger should proudly tell me that he loves his Mac, there is an instant understanding that needs no elaboration. I know that this person is someone who cares more strongly about the subtleties of Quality than he does about the fickle dictates of the crowd. There is a connection between us much stronger than the simple choice of computer hardware would normally imply and the conversation will take a different, deeper path because of it. Those who have never lived with the Macintosh don't easily understand this connection and in fact, we ourselves sometimes take for granted just how profound it is, but look around and you will see that the Macintosh community is more than just a computer users group. It is indeed something special, something with a life of its own.
Listen to the voice of this community, the Macintosh web, and you can tell that this venue is not just a glorified, bulletin board, but rather a forum for art, literature and humor, stories about the past and the future as well as the thousand ways that the authors' machines have changed their lives. Throughout the incessant stream of stories runs a thread of kinship among Macintosh people that is as wonderful as it is unique. If this sort of spirit bloomed around lawnmowers or vacuum cleaners, camcorders or cellphones, or among any other brand of computer, the zeal I express for the Macintosh would mean little, but the Macintosh phenomenon is found only here, only among that special crowd who believe even the sterile world of computing should be full of life.
Our side
When Macintosh fans talk among themselves, the conversation takes a different tone than when users of other brands discuss their computers. There is an energy in the air, a feeling of intensity that speaks of the Macintosh dynamic. The intensity of Macintosh people can seem like shrill, unbridled evangelism to those in other camps, or even like the war cry of an attacking army. But reading through the table-pounding vehemence of the Macintosh advocacy I only see the excitement of fans rooting for the home team. Macintosh advocates cheer for their community and celebrate every victory as if it were a high school football game on homecoming night.
Such enthusiasm may be seen as fanaticism, but that view seems to reflect a harsh, judgmental attitude by those who feel that such enthusiasm is out of place. Cheering for the home team is as human a response as there is, a communal reaction built into the tribal underpinnings of our nature. Call rallying around the flag cultish if you will, but it is really a healthy expression of who we are and how we feel.
Irrational? Perhaps, but irrationality is no sure indicator of a cult, for what passes as reason in our world is as changeable as the wind. It was unreasonable to expect Apple to even survive, and the Mac fans who stayed the course were often labeled a cult as a consequence. But Apple came from behind to not only survive, but to thrive and in the process it has given our crowd a trophy for helping to change the world. We're winning this ball game and its time to shout. To fault such enthusiasm only seems mean spirited.
Eccentric? Certainly. The very uniqueness of the Macintosh fervor sets it apart as an odd chapter in computing history and as a carnival of modern culture. Dissecting the reasons for it has filled volumes and still raises more questions than it answers, but the Age of Macintosh is an interesting one and I enjoy even the foolishness. The odd, intense behavior of my extended Macintosh family sometimes baffles even me, but if my option is to approach the twenty-first century without this kind of passion, then I'll take all the cultish eccentricity the Mac community can muster. Propriety has its place, but not here, not now, not for me.
Loyalty
Perhaps all this explanation of my Macintosh loyalty has only confirmed for many that we are indeed a cult, but the difference between a cult and a loyal following are not bound to some wordy definition. The real distinctions are found in the heart and in the reasons for that loyalty.
Every one of us on this rapidly spinning planet has felt the impact of the personal computer revolution, a revolution that, as far as I'm concerned, began in 1984 with a hammer thrown through the image of Big Brother. But revolutions are not fought by machines, they are the work of many people who each contribute some measure of themselves. Through my association with the Macintosh world, I've had the honor of playing a small part in changing the world, and I'm forever indebted to the little community that let me help.
The raucous, adamant followers of the Macintosh, have made my life richer and I'm grateful for it. It would never have happened if Apple hadn't made the Macintosh and I owe the company and every inspired, driven individual who ever worked for Apple my appreciation. I owe all the good people in the Mac community my admiration for not giving up when it looked like Apple might go away, even though acquiescence would have been an easier and more fashionable alternative. I value every stranger that became my friend because of the Macintosh and I'm indebted to each person who reads my stories and cares enough to write me. And I'm so very proud to be in the company of all the fine writers that express themselves with such passion in this worldwide Macintosh forum.
What my Mac has done for me over the years is to make my life a better one. I've learned so much, made so many friends, had such fun and accomplished things I would never have done otherwise. You bet I'm loyal, not to an apple shaped corporate logo, but to all the Macintosh people who have made my life more enjoyable and more free. I owe them all more than I can repay, and if beating the Macintosh drum helps to settle that debt and to keep us all together, I'll be banging away forever.
If my appreciation and gratitude to all of you makes me one with the dreaded Cult of Macintosh, then so be it.
# # #
Postscript: I would like to thank Rodney Lain for his story: Confessions of an Ex-Mac-Cult
Member in which he wrote about another side to the Macintosh cult. He
stressed that there is another obligation that we fans of the Macintosh
bear, that of being reasonable and decent about our advocacy. See what I
mean? This seemingly silly obsession with a computer has led us to talk
of the value of loyalty and friendship, obligation and honor and what is
really important in our lives. Where else has a machine helped kindle such
values? This kind of thing has happened throughout my life with the Macintosh
and in itself is abundant reason to be a rabble-rousing, Macintosh fan.
Copyright 2000, Del Miller. All rights reserved.
Del also writes the "Difference Engine" column at www.macopinion.com
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