the death of subculture an excerpt from the forthcoming book “Collage Culture: Examining the 21st Century’s Identity Crisis” by Aaron Rose and Mandy Kahn with design by Brian Roettinger Published Fall 2011 by JRP/Ringier The greatest ideas in history have always been first dismissed as the ranting of madmen. If someone is ostracized, unpopular, or even jailed for their beliefs, they’re someone to whom we should pay close attention. While some might construe our penchant for excluding our best thinkers as a negative, it’s exactly the opposite. The outcasts of our world know something very important. In fact, it’s just this exclusion that actually fuels their fire of dissent. From rebellion often come new ideas. As a result of this cultural segregation, society actually breeds lifestyles that can develop entirely free from common cultural influence. Within this netherworld of societal disdain, a schattenreich of immense intellectual freedom develops. Therefore,…