Sticking it to the man
How I got on the Fair Trade bandwagonI've been greatly influenced by a documentary called The Yes Men. It helped develop the conviction within me that we are called to holiness in all that we do including what businesses we frequent or support. Do you hear me Wal-Mart shoppers?!?!?! The documentary tracks some guys who make a mock WTO website but get contacted by someone who thinks they actually are the WTO and asks them to come speak at a legitimate conference. They prepare a completely ludicrous speech which pushes the possible tenets of the WTO to the greatest extreme. They expect they will be arrested...You should watch it. In fact, stop reading right now, seriously, stop. No, I don't think you're hearing me correctly, stop reading and go directly to your car, bus stop, moped, subway, or even use these weird things protruding from your ankle bones. Rent it and watch it. Try not to get wrapped up in the political messages (even I don't agree with them all). Appreciate the human psychology and drama!
My friend's scheme
You're still reading aren't you? Well, don't forget to rent the movie. A good friend of mine created her own "yes men" scheme by getting a job scoring tests for a prominent and well-known national standardized testing company. Becoming even more incensed at the the scoring procedures (eg. one particular test had an essay on which it would be impossible to get the highest score if the student did not use a semi-colon even though nothing indicated that a semi-colon should be used), she simply scored them exactly backward. If the scale was from 1 to 5 and according to the test rules the student was supposed to be getting a 1, she gave them a 5 etc. (some of you might be thinking you must be her victim--smile). She expected to be fired on her first day...but within the week she was promoted because she worked so quickly! Eventually she quit but not until she had the opportunity to affect some much needed funding! Do you have a "yes men" scheme from when you infiltrated the system?
To "koine" a phrase
Perhaps you are in customs and you decide to incorporate some "yes men" scheme to make a comment on immigration. Your plan goes tragically awry and you are hauled in for questioning. You give them the truth. They consult on the other side of the one way glass. They don't believe you! When they re-enter the room with you, you emphatically make your point with Galatians 5:12 (ophelon kie apokopsovtie oi anastatuntes humas). Loose translation: "I wish that those causing you to doubt would castrate themselves."
Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!
posted by 99 Blogger @ 9:07 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
HELLOOOOOO Marjorie!
Thanks for stepping from behind the curtains to tell us your name and grant us the gift of le photo. Your reading list looks treacherous, and i have only done about half of the senior list. Skipped the rest.
KEEP ON BLOGGIN',
stu de RN
You're welcome and thanks for the impetus to do so! So what are your favorites (most treacherous?) from that senior list?
Marjorie, you subversive, you! :-)
I think the only time I pseudo-sticked it to the man was when I was taking Educational Psychology in college. In short, the class was a joke. It almost made me repent of my decision to major in Education.
It was taught by an apathetic grad student, and we had to write all of this fluffy busywork stuff that just made my blood boil.
So, instead of writing my reponse papers about being enlightened by Piaget's theories or whatever, I wrote about how I couldn't stand the class, how I was drowning in psychobabble, and how I resented wasting my time doing busywork.
In the end, it seemed that either my instructor never actually read the papers or if he did, he didn't care, and I still got my A.
So much for feebly sticking it to the man. I guess I should go all out next time.
-from the read list:
I'll have to give a tip o' the hat to Mark Twain for the non-kids book, Huckleberry Finn. THough I much prefer his Life On The Mississippi.
Chantell: Tell your tale with pride! When I got my MEd I thought I would have to jump off the cliff from all the useless reflection! I finally snapped when an instructor assigned us to reflect on a reflection! What?!
Stu: Isn't Mark Twain awesome? He's not only one of my favorite authors, he's one of my favorite people! Before I was old enough to drive myself, we were only allowed to rent G or old, B&W (NR) movies from the library. I loved Tom Sawyer so one time I picked up "Pudd'nhead Wilson." Whoa. The story greatly impacted me but I also remember being left in awe at how deep and heavy it was and the knowledge that this came from the same man who wrote Tom Sawyer or the Jumping Frog of Calaveras (sp?) County. I could go on and on! I LOVE Samuel Clemens!! One of my fav parts of Huck Finn is when he's dressed up like a girl and the lady finds him out because he closes his legs to catch an egg rather than opening them to catch it in his skirt like a girl would do. What a genius at depicting characters!! Great pick!
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