Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Full Disclosure: When we find ourselfs, unceremoniously dumped at the foot of the on-ramp to Highway Workweek, we assume we’re in no condition to get a ride. So, many Mondays (as Glen used to say, “Hey!! Many Mondays!! What a great name for a rock group!“) we go in search of a post to reprint. One good reason: 1) takes the pressure off to be clever at the start of the week, b) usually, the act of cutin’ and pastin’ generates a new insight into this here personality theory here.

In any event here, from 2014:

…sorta, but this one is making an effort to blend in, pass as a ‘real person’

At the heart of the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers is personal reality(aka worldview), as in: the reality of the Outsider (clarks), the life of the Predator (scotts) and the world of the Herd Member (rogers). It’s cool that, while this idea is somewhat more exotic a notion than say, ‘measure twice / cut once’ or ‘a stitch in time / saves nine’ or even,  ‘easy come / easy go’, I haven’t heard any objection from Readers on this personal reality thing being too weird. Having said that, I have been remiss, of late, in not emphasizing how ‘real this reality is’ (for the individual).  I will say here that a great deal of the benefit derived from using the Doctrine to help navigate through everyday life,  is a direct result of knowing that ‘the other person’ may very well be looking out on a world, while very similar to the one I’m experiencing, is not, necessarily exactly the same as mine. Why is this so important? Because it allows us to accept the behavior and motivations, impulses and actions of the people in our lives, at times when we would otherwise, be scratching our heads and saying, “Why on earth would they go and say a thing like that?”

Most of us compare/judge/assess/evaluate and otherwise try to make sense of the behavior of the people around us, on the basis of our own standards and understanding of the world, reality. This is quite natural. After all, we’re  all living in the same reality, right? So,  in any of life’s never ending supply of situations/interactions/conflicts/opportunity(s) that calls for a deliberate response, everyone else should chose the same course of action right?   sure all the time… just yesterday, I was standing in line at the supermarket checkout (3rd back from the Cashier who had the Dr. Who teeshirt on under one of those bib-vest/things that the produce managers used to wear with like one of those Dyno markers in a holster, (this girl didn’t have one of those, but she did have a phone with ‘Metallica’ embossed on it), and she also had a streak of green color in her hair and lots of what looked like magic marker for eye shadow, making her look a lot like Lizbeth in the movie, ‘The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo’ (the original version with Noomi Rapace, of course))..  anyway, as I was standing there I see some woman walk up and cut in line, which is totally ….not a nice thing to do.  Of course, most people, at least those not familiar with the Wakefield Doctrine, would be inclined to think, “how rude! who would do such a thing”. Those (of us) having the Doctrine as a tool, we’re, all like,  ‘awright! cutting in line! roger or a scott or even a clark?‘   …as result,  we are not bound up in an mental internal conflict of understanding how a person could be so rude/can’t they see that everyone is waiting in line politely/don’t they know the rules?!….

The goal of today’s Post is to remind us all that:

• if the cutter-in-line is a scott, then what he/she sees as she/he approaches the checkout area is: a portal to the freedom of the parking lot, like the savannah in early evening full of passion, promise and opportunity, and lying between her/him are hyenas, wildebeests and maybe (it’s a little hard to tell from this distance) the leader of another pride that…. but there is the promise of the parking lot…. time to pounce/attack/charge!
• if the cutter-in-line is a roger, then what she sees as she/he approaches the checkout area is: a properly ordered row of humans, being assessed (of the) value of their food choices, but!  there is some disorder…the second person from the back, seems to be not paying attention to anything… looking around and joking and…totally insulting, lagging behind in the forward (orderly) movement of the line! that is an affront, an insult and they clearly need to be shown the proper etiquette of line sex (i.e. the ‘intercourse’ of the super market, step an extra step closer to the person in line, reach past them to get the divider for the groceries…. (if signals are positive) touching the person’s food items, ‘are these your pears? they look delicious’  …)
• if the cutter-in-line is a clark, then what he sees is the parking lot beyond the glass and an increasing need to find a bathroom/what she sees is the parking lot beyond the glass and an urgency to get home for a few quiet moments…putting away groceries, luxuriating in the sense of home… before the ‘better half’ gets home and decides: a) to point out what the produce reminds him of and putting those away can wait…a couple of minutes, anyway or 2) ask why she picked ‘that brand’ wasn’t’ she aware of the latest Consumer Reports and, anyway, why are the tomatoes stacked on top of the onions

 

Congratulations! You have totally made it through the First Post of Neutronium Week at the Wakefield Doctrine… I totally am looking forward to your Comments and Remarks and such

 

1)  “…to refer to extremely dense substances resembling the neutron-degenerate matter theorized to exist in the cores of neutron stars;”  (wikipedia and them)  which, of course, is our clever reference to the light and graceful writing style often encountered in these pages

 

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