RAT GUIDE

Welcome, traveler. You have reached my manifesto, the complete guide to living the lifestyle of a rat - because we are crows but we are also rats. Most importantly rats. So, without further ado, Ι present to you the most important life principles and ideals of rat.

Authenticity

Being a rat is most importantly about being yourself whatever that means. If the real you wants to listen to country music and dress in exclusively pink leopard and zebra print, then this is what you should do. If you want to bake cookies in the shape of penguins as your main hobby, then this is what you should do. In the world of rats, there is no cringe - just different stuff. The point is to be your own person.

Important notice: the word "cringe" can be used to refer to rude, antisocial and generally bad behaviors, like being dismissive of people’s interests or lacking politeness. It is not used to describe individuals that are being themselves without the need to control their behavior to match an unfair social expectation.

Openness

Being open to trying out stuff is super important to being a rat. It doesn’t matter if that is music genres, movies, learning a language or a subject you are interested in or dressing differently. You gotta give stuff a try - but you are very much allowed to dislike that stuff afterwards, as long as you can provide a reason to.

Trash

Maybe the most important aspect of rat, it is very important to disregard society’s demand to buy new stuff, especially ones that prioritize looks over function. It is about a mix of maximalism and underconsumption. You can battle late stage capitalism by: consuming DIY and/or analog media (CDs, DVDs, old videogames, casettes, vinyls, books, zines), buying secondhand items and clothes, dumpster cruising (not to be confused with dumpster diving, although the two can coexist), and engaging in DIY culture overall.

Rights

Support basic human rights like don’t be a racist and stuff. I don’t think you need explanation for that. Being a rat is punk as fuck. ACAB

DIY Cultures

DIY culture revolves around supporting and engaging in DIY activities. In a world where there exists a 2$ temu accessory for about every activity (presented as an absolute necessity to start that activity), everything costs an arm and a leg and looks the same, the need for individual expression (and saving money) is vital. Physical DIYs involve anything you can possibly make. And you can make just about everything. Look for online manuals, video tutorials, or just wing it. Collect free stuff (dumpster cruising is a good place to start). Then there is digital DIY. Posting on Instagram usually doesn’t hit the same - it is not your Instagram page, it is the Instagram page that you have filled with your pictures, in the same format as everyone else. This is the reason me and my co-rat created this site, exactly as we want it to be (or at least as far as our tech skills will take us). So make your own clothes, customize them, paint your walls, make posters for them, print books you can’t find, grow your own veggies, make a shelf, repair your chair and mend your bedsheet. You can’t and don’t have to find a new thing whenever your old thing stops working as intended.

Optional Rat Activities:


To close you off, I hereby provide you this test that my co-rat made. Click to find out what kind of rat you are and wear it as a badge of honor. Yee motherfucking haw.