Fools and Yes Men

Posting has grown a little casual here because, despite how much is happening in the World, I don't feel like there's much left that I haven't said about it all. So I'm just watching the various seemingly unrelated crises breaking over us like a wave, and updating the deconsumption news room with whatever seems truly pertinent.

To clear up a bit of a sore spot, a little while ago I (and somewhat regrettably) joked that David Holmgren, founder of the permaculture movement, might also be the former head coach for the Green Bay Packers, Mike Holmgren. I figured the wry humor would be obvious enough, but apparently many football fans didn't agree (that's "gridiron" football for my U.K readers). In this regard it's interesting to not that humor differs according to differing types of people, so not everyone is necessarily wired to "get" any one type of humor. I remember seeing this theory illustrated once using the question "which do you find funniest: The 3 Stooges...The Little Rascals...the Marx Bros...?" And while I can't really remember the rationale behind the answers, it was supposed to provide a kind of thumbnail psychological profile or something.

Anyway, I was thinking today about a rather arcane psychological or spiritual study that in former times was embodied by the archetype of The Fool. The Fool was actually the polar opposite of what we normally think of as "an idiot"--which is someone of little sensitivity and awareness, a clod (or as Shakespeare put it: "You blocks, you stones, you worse-than-senseless things). The Fool was actually hyper-aware or hyper-sensitive, and therefore able to recognize a kind of "larger truth" in relation to a particular situation or relationship. But the defining characteristic that distinguishes The Fool from, say, your run-of-the-mill 'sage' is that the Fool practices the art of putting aside his or her Ego and actively choosing to play a role. Entering into an appropriate role with just the right quality of understanding and ability, The Fool brings into being a uniquely powerful impression of that Truth for those who might be able to receive it. And perhaps it might be added that, as it's important never to disrespect or humiliate another person (and thereby cut them off from receiving the lesson), The Fool sometimes takes on a self-deprecating role for themselves...hence the name.

The popular image of the Court Jester is an obvious stereotype of this: the humble entertainer of King and Court who continually serves to remind them never to think too highly of themselves. And a great many classical plays present Fool-ish characters in them, most notably the character of Fool in Shakespeare's King Lear. Fools in such plays were sometimes comedic, although not always (as in Lear)--and the proper Fool-type was by no means merely a "comedian". The character served to expose the truth of things in a unique and challenging way for both the fictional characters and (hopefully) the audience.

As you can probably imagine, the ability to play "The Fool" in one's life is very much an art and demands great self-study and detachment, without which it undoubtedly results in alienating other people...or seeming "foolish" in a much more obvious manner. Certain spiritual disciplines have considered this an advanced practical study, usually only for a particular period of the initiate's work. For instance the weblog Anulios describes a related practice attributed to the Malamati Sufic tradition.

The closest modern example of this type of study would probably be Andy Kaufman's various characters and "shenanigans", which blurred the line between performance and reality...although here we should note that Kaufman's "Fool" is more of an "inspired" study than any truly "initiatory" practice.

Another very loosely related example comes to mind. In November of 2002, Dow Chemical spokesman Jude Finisterra appeared on BBC World News to announce that the company was now prepared to take full responsibility for the company's role in the the 1984 Bhopal tragedy. In that incident Dow subsidiary Union Carbide's gross negligence resulted in a chemical-gas leak that killed thousands of people, sickened and debilitated more than 100,000, and presents serious human and environmental toxicity problems to this day.

"At 9am GMT, Finisterra made the announcement: Dow will accept full responsibility for the Bhopal disaster, and has a $12 billion dollar plan to compensate the victims and remediate the site. (Dow will raise the $12 billion by liquidating Union Carbide, which cost them that much to acquire.) Also, to provide a sense of closure to the victims, Dow will push for the extradition of Warren Anderson, former Union Carbide CEO, to India, which he fled following his arrest 20 years ago on multiple homicide charges."

The video ran twice over the next two hours, and become a top story on Google News. Stock in Dow Chemical plunged on the German stock exchange. And that's when it was discovered that "Jude Finisterra" was not a spokesman for Dow Chemical at all.

The Yes Men are a guerilla activist group who specialize in a peculiar brand of Foolery. According to their website:

"Small-time criminals impersonate honest people in order to steal their money....

Honest people impersonate big-time criminals in order to publicly humiliate them. Targets are leaders and big corporations who put profits ahead of everything else.

The Yes Men have impersonated some of the world's most powerful criminals at conferences, on the web, and on television, in order to correct their identities."

Their website provides ample details about the Dow reparations incident, as well as many other hijinks they've perpetrated. And while it can't be said that they're pursuing any type of psychological or spiritual study, they most definitely are trying to create a unique, even somewhat "shocking", impression on people by which to indicate a larger truth.

"After all, the real hoax here is Dow's claim that they can't do anything to help. They have conned the world into thinking they can't end the crisis, when in fact it would be quite simple. What would it cost to clean up the Bhopal plant site, which continues to poison the water people drink, causing an estimated one death per day?

We decide to show how another world is possible, and to direct any questions about false hopes for justice in Bhopal directly to Dow."

And if you wish, you can visit one of their many mockumentary-style websites as well, this one for Cargill.