Robert Fuller concluded Somebodies and Nobodies with The Nobody Manifesto. Since there is now a Nobody Movement afoot, it seems like the time is ripe to reissue the manifesto!

The Nobody Manifesto

Who are the nobodies? Those with less power. At the moment.

Who are the somebodies? Those with more power. At the moment. Power is signified by rank. Rank in a particular setting. Somebodies hold higher rank than nobodies. In that setting. For that moment.

A somebody in one setting can be a nobody in another, and vice versa. A somebody now might be a nobody a moment later, and vice versa.

Abuse of the power inherent in rank is rankism. When somebodies use the power of their position in one setting to exercise power in another, that’s rankism. When somebodies use the power of their position to put a permanent hold on their power, that, too, is rankism.

Dignity is innate, nonnegotiable, and inviolate. No person’s dignity is any less worthy of respect, any less sacred than anyone else’s. Equal dignity requires equal opportunity. Rankism is an indefensible abridgment of the dignity of nobodies, and a stain on the honor of somebodies.

As once and future nobodies, we’re all potential victims of rankism. As would-be somebodies, we’re all potential perpetrators. Securing equal dignity means overcoming rankism.

Who are the nobodies? They are Everyman, Everywoman, Everychild. Each of us in our secret dreams of becoming someone new, something more. The nobodies are us. Therein lies our power.

Nobodies of the world, unite! We have nothing to lose but our shame.