Netta Gilboa: What is the Church of the SubGenius?
Ivan Stang: That is a damned good question. We’re still trying to figure that one out, ourselves. A lot depends on who is asking. The Church wears many hats; it has to, just to survive, since it doesn’t really fit into any one known genre or category, and it infuriates devotees of MANY known genres, categories and denominations.
Here’s what we tell people:
In 1953, the holy salesman "Bob" Dobbs discovered that there was a Conspiracy of Normal Humans insidiously robbing away the Slack of the SubGeniuses (the abnormals and nonhuman bipeds) and repressing their vital powers of abnormality — their Slack. In response, Dobbs created this disorganized religion — although he didn’t go public with it until 1980, when he thought the world might be ready for it. It was a "cult" for mutants, misfits, disbelievers, and those who’d believe anything... a fellowship for gimps, perverts, dope addicts, hippies, those who still read books, sex fiends, victimless criminals, and all the for-real, down home people... the SubGenii: those who look, but aren’t, human. And, unfortunately (at least until some rich sucker becomes our "sugar-daddy"), this has to include numberless slogan-spouting, immature, obnoxious nerds, fanboys and geeks — for without them, we wouldn’t even break even.
To some people the Church is salvation. Seriously. They honestly say that just knowing that the Church EXISTED AT ALL saved them from suicide. To others it’s just a really good joke, though an endlessly complex one. To others, it’s a really bad joke, and to yet others it’s a dangerous cult, potentially right up there with the Branch Davidians, the Satanists, the Masons and the Southern Baptists. They think we’re some kind of devil worshippers, even though we don’t even believe in the Devil. The overly politically correct sometimes think we’re not good, politically correct warriors against the establishment, because our stuff is funny and takes vicious swipes at all who are most certain their cause is the morally right one. Others — especially doctors and lawyers — seem to know professional bull-slinging when they see it, and enjoy that aspect of it. So it’s a What-Is-It.
At least we don’t hate minorities. We only hate the majority — the NORMALS.
We proclaim how tolerant we are of everything weird, different, fringe, and shunned, and then turn around and advocate enslaving all Normals — the Mediocretins, the Pink Boys, the Barbies and Kens, the Box Dwellers. (After all, they’ve already enslaved themselves under the money-grubbing Conspiracy anyway.) This proves that we embody the first principle of any successful religion: hypocrisy.
For artists, it’s a great vehicle for collaboration with other talented sickos; Dobbs created a wonderful framework on which one can hang almost anything, a skeleton that anybody can help flesh out. It’s a hell of an excuse for pranks on the straight-laced. Our first and only real rule is, "Fuck ‘em if they can’t take a joke." (Or in more polite terms, "Let them mount up upon themselves, if they cannot see the humor in it.")
Those who think it’s some kind of primitive fertility cult, a throw-back to Paleolithic days, using the underground art scene as an excuse, are probably closer to the truth than anybody else.
There really is a Conspiracy of Normals, though, and we ALL definitely need more Slack. Let there be no doubt about that.
GA: How is it different from other churches?
Stang: All the rest are liars. We are liars too, for sure, but we’re the only ones that are halfway honest about our lying.