"Us" versus "Them"

On occasion, the age old question comes along: "Who am I?" In Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, this question becomes a short philosophical monologue, spoken by a thermonuclear missile that has been transformed into a sperm whale falling through the air. It hits the ground after a few minutes and dies. To the rest of us, the process is usually a lot longer, though the end result is the same: eventually we die. In most cases, we have as little real knowledge about who we are before dying as the missile-turned-mammal did.

So what do we instinctively do when faced with this question? Generally, we like to make up a definition, but lacking the proper tools, we tend to go about it all wrong. In early childhood, it starts with a desire to be just like mom/dad. As we become older, we are anything but our parents. They are the very thing we don't want to be. But we are still in the formative process and realise that we have desires but no fixed knowledge about who we are.

One would expect that we can define ourselves as we grow older, drawing on the knowledge of our own opinions and actions. And yet, we seem to choose another path: the teenage approach. It worked so well when all we had to worry about was popularity, prom dates and pimples.

Why not apply it to life as we get older? By now, you may think you know what I am talking about. It is the classic conflict that has been reopened.

And no, I am not talking about Israel versus the Arab world. And it’s not the difference between Europeans versus Muslim immigrants. Or Old Europe versus New Europe. I don’t even talk about Coke versus Pepsi (no contest – Coke is clearly superior) or McDonald’s versus Burger King.

No, I am talking about the most essential clash of civilisations: PC versus Mac.

In a recent set of commercials, Apple has decided to point fingers at the PC and literally say: “I am cool, you’re not”. If made as a subtle point, that sometimes work, but in this version, it is a bit too obvious and fails to convert many new arrivals to the battleground. Have a look for yourself at the current campaign and one very good spoof:

The original

The Spoof

In this conflict, I personally identify myself with the PC-friendly spoof.

Why?

Because PCs are not like the Macs. And I don't like Macs.

At this point, you may realise that I have chosen to focus not on the small conflicts that could at best earn me a religious death sentence, but at the type that can make me a target in cyberspace. Simply because I identify with something because of its opposite. Had Apple chosen a different set of commercials, my identity as a PC user would not have manifested itself so clearly - for the moment.

The only issue left is that PC can have a meaning other than a piece of digital hardware. And in that respect, I consider myself very non-PC.

My question to myself is: Am I pro-PC and anti-PC because I want to differ from the alternatives? Or is it pointless to base an identity on something that does not have an opposite? Without Apple, would it be a big deal that I prefer PC's?