the Wakefield Doctrine

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

As promised.

Damn!

First, a shout-out to Mimi* for reminding us of our promise to free-hand a post on the nature of this time of year.

The Wakefield Doctrine is gender, culture and age neutral. It doesn’t matter if’n you’re a seventy-one-year-old high school Freshman, a nineteen-year-old dropout starting her first day at the local supermarket bringing grocery orders out to the cars of people indulging their crowdaphobic tendencies or a recent immigrant from a country that does not appreciate them.

(What’s that? Yeah, the Doctrine maintains a standard that evolves and includes developments such as non-binary identity and the like. We have a work-friend, a scottian female, who was the first person we introduced to the Doctrine (in the workplace). Consistent with being a scott (with a strong secondary clarklike aspect) she got it immediately. And insisted we should change our nomenclature to distinguish between male and female clarks, scotts and rogers. Naturally, we listened to their impassioned thesis, nodding encouragement, our face that of a five-year-old watching a professional shoe salesperson tie the laces of their new footwear. And, after the presentation we smiled and said, ‘No.’

lol. Seriously, we did all of the above. But being a friend, we awaited the final quod erat demonstrandum. She was, (and remains), a friend. In any event, we explained that the Wakefield Doctrine, being grounded on the notion that it is the character of the person’s relationship to the world around them and the people who make it us that determines personality (type). That gender is, for our purposes, a manifestation of the being, not a distinction between types of beings. Society and cultures and even physiology all have an effect on the being, allowing for/encouraging to/preventing from all sorts or expressions, demonstrations and manner of interacting with the world. In fact, in the early days of this blog, we looked to the scottian man and woman as illustration of how these influences inform behavior and style of interpersonal relationships.

But that’s for another post.

This is supposed to be a ‘freehand written’ back-to-school post.

The First Day of School:

• clarks (Outsider) everything bad and wonderful about the world combined with a hyper-awareness of the fact of not-being-a-part-of. Of course, clarks get through the first day of school, (which, as you’re thinking, applies to: all grade levels/ college (if so inclined)/employment/ professions/marriage and life-altering physical developments, somehow, for the most part, ok. Like Dante on Maundy Thursday thinking, ‘How hard can this be?”
• scotts (Predator) you know how, you’ve not had a chance to eat in the course of a workday, nothing bad, in fact, you’ve been ‘too busy to eat’ and then, against all reason, you stop at the supermarket to get something for dinner? a scott stepping, (ok, bounding), up the steps into the school bus, a sense of excitement tempered only by the caution to not ‘tear off more than they can chew’
• rogers (Herd Members) a cautious sense of satisfaction that the world beyond the family is what they thought it would be; sure larger and fuller of variables and unknowns, but even as they walk down the aisle of the bus they sense there is order, kids are sitting according to a Rule; the roger‘s that first schoolbus trip is everything the the bride and groom feel as their limo pulls away from their wedding church.

* the hardest working woman in the blogosphere**

** we’re sure James wouldn’t mind, us borrowing/adapting his moniker and such for Friend of the Doctrine, Mimi***

*** hey the caesium fountain atomic clock ain’t got nothin on her, you could start a Rush song to the downbeat of her content being posted

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

‘Regular’ Readers will be rolling the subtitle to today’s post around in their (metaphorical) mouths by now. Some will concentrate on any random word that appears, others will, remembering an admonition* from the earl(iest) of days here at the blog, simply wait. Knowing, as do we all, the Answer is never simple, (but) always accessible.

Speaking of Answers. That’s easy. It’s not the answer that provides the benefit, it’s accepting the question.

ok, ok, will stop with the opaque “oooh! I divine the the secret of the universe’. (Clearly there are some times we appreciate the mechanism of the ‘RePrint’ post more than others. After all, there is only so much to say about the principles of the Wakefield Doctrine. Of course, about the relationship between us and the world around us and the people who make it up. That’s the near infinite part.

Ya know?

So, let’s stay with the method and print an old Doctrine post.

As to the (near) infinite supply of blogpost topics, themes and inspiration? Consider:

• There will be a clark in your day ahead. You will see them best by not looking (or throwing something weird into the room first, the clark will respond with… enthusiasm).
• witnessing a scott (in any multi-person social context) is like being with friends, watching an old TV series, (one of your total favorites), and realizing you had, somehow, not yet seen the episode. Don’t shout, “I’ve never seen this one, but you should…” (As a matter of fact, remain quiet. No sudden moves.) There will be interaction between the scott and… well, whoever she/he decides. Enjoy the show. Save the critique/appreciation until you’re alone.
• bumping into a roger. sure, kinda hard not to, the Herd Member comprising easily 66% of the population. Like that movie ‘A Quiet Place’. Stay calm to the point of serene, don’t contribute to the conversation … blend into the Herd. You can remark later. When you’re safe from scrutiny

Well, that was pretty interesting. (Remind us tomorrow to reprint a …err RePrint. lol)

The thing about relationships being endless? In number, not (necessarily) tenure. The Wakefield Doctrine describes three relationships with the surrounding world to which we, as humans, are heir to from the day we are born.

1. clarks (the Outsider) real simple: It’s not merely that we don’t seem to belong here, it’s that we seem to be missing a key bit of understanding. Whether that understanding is (of) ourselfs or the people around us is not important. What is important is our belief that we must learn the reason before we are discovered (by nearly everyone else). The hope lies in the ‘nearly’ of the preceding sentence. There are other Outsiders. We can learn from their mistakes. We can benefit from their successes when we share with them. (At least to the edge of their comfort zone.)
2. scotts (the Predator) the coffee of the human experience. lol. No, not merely the caffeine, the coffee. They aren’t overcoming a weakness, roger. The Tasmanian devil (of Warner Brothers cartoon fame) is not seeking to demonstrate his/her view of the world. They simply exist in the here-and-now, knowing that there is only one real place, one genuine time. Now.
3. rogers (the Herd Member) there is, for this predominant worldview a Right Way to live/act/respond. Nothing more is needed. And, oddly, (for rogers being the essence of society/culture), they will seize the intended meaning of the David Oglivy quote at the beginning of this post. Well, to be absolutely accurate, the quote is down below, the reference is above. Details are important. (To paraphrase: The Details will set you free.)

enough.

time to get out there and see what the day holds.

The Wakefield Doctrine.

*there are no stupid questions, just your questions. That ‘joke’ (bon mot when we’re feeling clever**) is borrowed, or maybe better to say ‘inspired’ by a famous adman in the 1950s, David Ogilvy who said, “The customer is not a moron, she’s your wife.”