I am going to assume that most of the people reading this know what PLUR is. For those that don't I will give you the basics. PLUR is an acronym that stands for "Peace," "Love," "Unity," and "Respect," occasionally with an extra R being thrown in, though what that R represents usually varies depending on who you ask. It is widely debated who first came up with it and when it was first used, but that is a discussion for another time. Many people have their own interpretation of PLUR, but often it follows the same basically guidelines. Peace representing peace towards others and inner peace, love being self love and love of your community and mankind, unity being unity of the human race in general and respect being respect for yourself and others. There are others who interpret PLUR differently and I am one of them. In the following I shall present my own interpretation of this much-used acronym.

My own interpretation of PLUR is as follows...

Peace: This has several meanings for me. The first one is peace within and with one self. Now, I don't mean inner peace but an understanding of who and what you are and coming to terms with this, and if you don't like it, having the peace of mind to change. Second is peace of your surroundings. In other words, no unnecessary drama. I am sure I am not the only one that dislikes this, and I, myself, like to keep it as much to a minimum as I can. In return, I try to keep my involvement of others in my personal drama to a minimum. Also, due to my own pacifistic nature, peace means non-violence/aggression. This does not translate to letting people walk all over you, but rather taking the passive route. Avoid violence when possible, and when it isn't possible, use as much as needed only. Do not instigate violent or potentially explosive situations, but rather keep a calm head on your shoulders. These are my translations of peace.

Love: This perhaps is going to be the one I get hate mail about. When I say love in regards to PLUR, I don't mean romantic love. I mean a type of world, universal love. Well, call me a sour bastard, but I myself cannot believe in universal world love. Not at this stage in human sociological evolution. We tend to be biased based upon personal criteria, weather we wish to accept that or not. Think about it, how many times have you found yourself bashing a certain group of people (not limited to race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender here) just because of what they are? So, I believe this, if you are going to love (or hate) anyone based upon race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social standing, political ideals (group wise *i.e. democrats, republicans, socialists, etc*), financial standing, etc. then you might as well love (or hate) the entire world. Personally, as loving everyone tends to take more energy for me and because I am an antisocial bastard, I tend to dislike everyone on the whole. This does not mean that I don't like or love anyone, as I am also what I like to refer to as an individualist. I like people individually, regarding of what they are. If I find them to be "cool" in my book, then I don't see why I should dislike them. At the same time, I am also open to meeting new people so that I may determine if I like them or if they fall in with the rest of the faceless world. So you see, it's not just about the hate for me it's about treating everyone equally. That, in my opinion, is a better form of love universally then the entire "lets hug everyone" shit.

Unity: Unity within the community. This one is simple. NO UNNECESSARY BULLSHIT! Essentially it's to keep the drama out of the scene and the community. If you've got a problem with someone else, take it up with them in person. Don't get your pants in a bunch and start flaming that person on forums or by gathering your little group of friends and starting shit with them at the club for no apparent reason. As I said, if you dislike someone, take it up with them. If you don't want to, then avoid them or be civil with them. Just don't bring it into the community.

Respect: Another simple one. Give others the same respect as you wish to be treated with. The same applies to the community and your respect for it. Do you want to be immersed by unnecessary bullshit within it? Then keep any of your bullshit out of it. Also, respect yourself with the same level of respect you want others to give you. You don't want people to view you as a slob then don't act/dress like one.

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