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

From Reader Frank, the following:

Here is a question that has been bothering me. Suppose we have the typical situation of knight, damsel and dragon. Which one of these is the clark, scott or roger? I kind of think the knight would have to be a scott, but I don’t know about the other two. Of course, the dragon could also be a scott. Even the damsel.

‘even the damsel‘

we know you’ve been trying to find a way to sneak up on that angle! lol

damn! lost our train of thought… and the ticket and a cab-ride home.

Let’s try a quick SOC(ish) approach.

Now, if our faithful correspondent is, in his Comment, thinking fairy tales and such, the ground is quite simple.

Pied Piper of Hamlin:

• (the) Piper: scott
• (the) Children: clarks
• (the) Townspeople: rogers

Little Red Riding Hood:

• (the) Wolf: scott
• (the) Grandma: clark
• Little Red Riding Hood: roger

The Garden of Eden:

• (the) Serpent: scott
• Eve: clark
• Adam: roger

Does it stop with these, above deconstructions?  “mais non bien sûr que non!”

What the question (from our Reader) asks is: in the context of there being a knight, a damsel and a dragon are each of these always going to be a scott, a clark and a roger, or what?

The Answer: depends on one’s definition of: a knight, a distressed damsel and a fire-breathing dragon. Clearly (from this ‘Answer’) we differ with our Interlocutor.

We, on first blush, think of:

• a knight (roger) as a part of a medieval culture who is in the minority/exceptional, owes his (take note of gender) rank and privilege to a powerful figure (remember ‘referential authority’ a hallmark of the rogerian worldview) and acts on behalf of the establishment.
• a damsel (clark) while of a lesser status than everyone else in the context, is exceptional in that she perseveres and, in fact, commands attention of both the dragon (who doesn’t simply eat her and move on to the next meal) and the knight (by proxy the authority figure, which in this cultural meme is a king or some other exceptionally powerful male), she is, in the context of this story, commanding the attention of all while apparently powerless and passive
• the dragon (scott)  just trying to live, gotta eat…usually predates the kingdom and power structure of the interloping culture

questions?

the value of such exercises? to learn the characteristic relationships (with the world) that are referred to as Outsider (clark), Predator (scott) and Herd Member (roger) and in the process better understanding (at least from a different perspective) of ourselfs.

thanks, Frank!

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