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Monday -the Wakefield Doctrine-

November 19, 2018 By

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

 

Ya know, this is Thanksgiving week, aka the holiday roger gave us.

Commemorating (and otherwise commenting on) this remarkable illustration/demonstration of the efficacy of our little personality theory I thought I’d repost the second Thanksgiving post that saw the cathode-grey sun rise on a Thursday so long ago.

Enjoy.

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine ( the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers) on this eve of Saint rogers’s Day!

Thanksgiving Day1 is the holiday that, if we did not already know that there exists a personality type referred to as a roger, someone else would have pointed it out to us.  Perhaps the task would have fallen to an Art Professor in a land grant college somewhere in the Midwest. We can imagine the epiphany …in the middle of the night (during his sabbatical devoted to the study of the works of Norman Rockwell)
” My god!  Norman’s work is not just a robust and healthy celebration of paedophilia! He has been trying to tell us to transform our culture!  …for all good Americans to come forth and show their appreciation of patriotism, consumerism and child-abuse!!”

We have, from time to time, been accused of indiscriminate use of hyperbole in these pages, however, just consider the astounding level of pervasiveness of the  ‘Holiday of Thanksgiving’.  It is not enough to close the Post Office system and all other government agencies2, no it is not, this Holiday actually attempts to compel normal, rational, adult people to sit in front of the television and watch a Parade involving giant balloon representations of out-of-print newspaper cartoon characters! Who the hell watches the Macy’s Day Parade on purpose?!?  Throughout the entire morning of Thanksgiving, you simply cannot escape the pageantry and spectacle, broadcast live and has as the ’emcees’, News Anchors from the major networks morning news shows!  ( “Thats right, Matt! That’s Kenny Chesney and Taylor Swift on the Snoop Dog float… it says here that her eye makeup took 12 hours and 6 pounds of aluminum foil chips to create!!” ). Like a  Hieronymus Bosch painting done in ‘live-action’, the whole country is exposed to hours and hours of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade… more than 3 hours of parade music and floats  (” … hey, Anne, isn’t the next float from your hometown?”   “That’s right Al, it’s my old alma mater, the East Clydesdale High School Marching Band playing a medley, ‘Straight outta Compton’, ‘Fuck tha Police’ and ‘Gangsta Gangsta'”)

Why do we say Thanksgiving is the most rogerian of all holidays?  Simply because Thanksgiving is about the how, not the why.  As a holiday and a cultural event, this particular holiday tells it’s participants exactly what to do; what to eat and how to cook it!  Taught from childhood, every member of our culture knows precisely how (and) where they are expected to spend the Holiday! Thanksgiving is about family and if there is anything that rogers fake better than anyone, it is the joyful appreciation and celebration of the family.

But don’t just take my word for it! Following is an excerpt from a Post of the Wakefield Doctrine that was written over a year ago! (and nothing says credibility better than…age)

We all know that “the holidays” are experienced differently by each of the three (clarks, scotts and rogers) and therefore the demands of the celebrations are a very effective illustration of the nature of each. But if there was no Thanksgiving, a roger would have invented it! (Actually, they probably did). Think about it! A holiday celebration that is:

  • based on a factual historical event (sort of)
  • the protagonists (of the story) are religious refugees, persecuted and driven away, together, on boats
  • food, specific food, and a not-to-be-deviated-from Menu
  • ritual menu and a full schedule of events
  • shopping in herds, as the climax of the celebration (Black Friday)
  • a moral taught to the young: we came here, those strangers who helped us were different, (…we had a feast and wiped out their culture)

I will be so bold as to suggest that there is no more rogerian a holiday than Thanksgiving.  And since we are on the subject of rogers and holidays, (sort of),  is there any human activity that is more one sided, over-hyped, ‘expectations-sure-to-fall short’, ( not counting sex on the eve of a relationship breaking up), than Parades? I don’t care if you are a trombone player in the middle of the herd or someone sitting in their living room watching it on TV, nothing says roger better than Parades!

 

 

* As a result of the popularity of (Zola’s) letter, even in the English-speaking world, J’accuse! has become a common generic expression of outrage and accusation against someone powerful

1)  the Day that the indigenous people of the North American continent made a gift of their lands and cultures and cuisine to their new European friends.

2)  you do know about the Post Office and rogers, don’t you?

Hey! Hollowood is a wonderful resource for the clear depiction of the three personality types and such (who can forget Joe Pesci and his pen?). Here’s a vid of that most rogerian of actors (at least while he was young and his sneer muscle was possessed of Olympic Gold Medal meter…)

 

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TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine-

November 3, 2018 By

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

 

The TToT, (full and original name: The Ten Things of Thankful) is the creation of Lizzi Lewis. Both demonstration of one woman’s refusal to allow outrageous fortune defeat her and a bequest to those who would follow, continuing the virtual community of people who believe good qualities are enhanced and even multiplied when shared with others of like mind.

Fast forward several years and hundreds of posts. Kristi is the host of the TToT and, true to the original intent, she provides a place where people of good intent can come and share the parts of their lives that evoke a sense of gratitude.

This week I’ll start my grat list with the photo above.

1) Una (perfect lifeform)

2) Phyllis (exceptional woman)

3) Technology: we recently had a ‘whole house’ generator installed. Big investment, however, the utility infrastructure here in Rhode Island has become very sketchy. Being on well for water means that when the electricity goes off so does the indoor plumbing. We were resigned to have un-interrupted power for at least five years because of our decision. But just a couple of hours ago the generator came on because the power went out. Nice

4) the Wakefield Doctrine. I had an opportunity to tell someone about the Doctrine this week. A clark (which you might say is kinda hedging my bet lol). And, this person immediately understood it. I sometimes forget how amazing our little personality theory is until I have the fortune to see the reaction of a person when they assemble the principles into an additional perspective. Because, as we know, not only does the application of the Wakefield Doctrine permit us to know more about the other person than they know themselves, its also really fun.

5) This writing jones of mine. I find that, although I don’t spend nearly as much time writing as I should, it’s still way fun to have imaginary people doing interesting things in the pages of two or three stories (WIPs). And, in a very practical sense, I’m grateful that they’re all willing to step up when I have to write a Six Sentence Story.

6) I have, of late, found greater appreciation for the work I do. Probably due to the fortuitous appearance of two sets of people who are exemplary clients. Makes you want to do your own job better.

7) The Book of Secret Rules, aka the Secret Book of Rules

8) THIS SPACE AVAILABLE (If you’re new to the TToT or just passin’ through, this Item is meant to allow you to get a feel for our little community. Sure, you can read the other posts, but theres something about participation in an exercise like this that adds a dimension of enjoyment. To that end I’ve left this Item on my TenList for your Grat. (sure, we talk kinda funny, but I did say that this was a community, right? what better way to enhance the feeling of belonging that sharing a group-specific language?)

9) Sunday Supplement

10) Secret Rule 1.3 (from the aforementioned BoSR/SBoR)

 

*

now I realize that we no longer burn leaves in the fall, however that very distinctive scent-memory, along with early darkness, totally creates a certain urban vibe….even here in rural suburbia

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Friday -the Wakefield Doctrine- ‘of clarks and Autumn, weather and the tyranny of the mind’

November 2, 2018 By

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

My second-favorite type of weather totally has me looking up the live version of Robin Trower doing ‘Bridge of Sighs’. Hold on…..  all set!

Where was I?

First the weather: darker than it needs to be for 6:30 in the morning, even in pre-time change November. Windy. (For those not familiar with our location, we’re surrounded by a pine woods. As such, the wind acquires an aural presence that is most impressive. Not only do you hear the blowing, you can hear it roaming. The distant approach through the needle-ladened branches grows louder and closer, then it veers off in another direction). Very cool. And the temperature is 69 degrees with the hint of rain. ‘Wuthering Heights’ weather fer sure.

 

…in any event. Recently I’ve had occasion to talk to people about the Doctrine, (yeah, lol, really!), and the topic has been centered on the question, ‘Well, it sounds all sorts of interesting, but has it done you any good?”

The answer is ‘Yes* and Yes!’

Damn! Running out of time!

Hey! You’re all Readers (‘Readers’ motto: ‘I’m here of my own free will, I get this Doctrine thing. Sorta. No, mostly. Whatta got for us today?’) So I’ll skip right to the answer*.

The Wakefield Doctrine has served as an aide in my attempts to identify with others. With other clarks and, here’s an interesting-discover-something-as-one-writes, with scotts and rogers. Identifying with clarks will tempt some to say, ‘well, duh!’ The thing is, through identification, I’m in a position to share the experiences as well as the knowledge (of others).

So, with clarks, that I know and/or encounter out in the world, I root for their success and I will cringe as they proceed down a path that I may have already travelled to find disappointment or set-back. In this, the magic of identification reveals itself. I feel for the clark who is about to double-down on hope for a future that is based on a false premise; I smile in a shared-joy when I see a clark avoid a no-win encounter with a roger (or a scott). But mostly, and this is something I’ve learned is a benefit for rogers and scotts as well, I learn about myself. And that changes me.

When I see a clark descend into the dark, as all clarks (and I’m learning, some rogers and scotts) must, I feel hope for their return. And that….that! is where the benefit of the Doctrine stands out. I see a clark come up out of the dark. Not only do I know how they feel, I know that they survived. (And the true power of this ‘dark place’ is that it is the dominion of unchallengeable negativity. When caught in its embrace, there is only one voice and it brooks no resistance.)

Knowing that other clarks (and rogers and scotts) have been through this experience and come out the other side does not mean I can defeat the argument of complete nihilism. It does not. What it does do is make the power of the dark less…. all-powerful, all-encompassing. In a word, a perspective of hope.

 

 

 

 

* this single asterisk stands in for both references: the qualification to my first ‘Yes’ and the inclusion of background information for the benefit of any New Readers.

The Wakefield Doctrine is a perspective on the world, life and the people who populate it (both known, unknown, real and/or imagined). The premise of this ‘theory of personality’ is that we, all of us, are born with the potential to experience the world as having one of three distinct characters: the reality of the Outsider(clarks), the world of the Predator(scotts) and the life of the Herd Member(rogers). At a very early age, for reasons not yet understood, we settle into one of these three, where we grow and develop strategies and styles of interacting, aka personality.

The Wakefield Doctrine looks at personality types as the reflection of the world being experienced by the individual. Not a series of answers on a multiple choice test.

I have fairly poor posture, a tendency to mumble when speaking, a taste for the fringe and a ravenous, near-insatiable curiosity because those are representative of my best efforts to contend with, survive and thrive in the personal reality of the Outsider. A scott exhibits different behavior (yeah, that was for comedic effect…lol) but the fact is, the style of interaction that identifies a scott or a roger tells you about the world they are relating themselves to.

(btw, important: we have one and only one predominant worldview. we never lose the potential to experience the world as do ‘the other two’. This explains why at certain times (usually times of duress) we might exhibit behavior and interests not typical of type.)

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Monday -the Wakefield Doctrine- (this space reserved for interesting topic suggested in comments from weekend)

October 29, 2018 By

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

While we wait for the questions to begin, consider the concept of ‘fluency’.

No, wait. How about this?

Totally advanced Doctrine discussion followed by an easy, fun and rudimentary* description of the (principles) of the Wakefield Doctrine.

 

 

* the use of this word will help illustrate the three worldviews, in two contrasting contexts:

as the writer:

  1. a clark will, should the word come up, take a moment to look it up (including the inevitable comparison to ‘elementary’) and enjoy every minute of the process.
  2. a scotts already done with the post and is out the door; if that particular word was handy it went in, of not, he/she assumes we’ll figure it out
  3. a roger, with a core vocabulary already in place before sitting down, will use the word if it fits (think: jigsaw puzzle piece); they will, in all likelihood get upset if you ask him/her if they’d considered ‘rudimentary’ as opposed to what they did use*

as the reader:

  1. a clark will breeze past it, confident in their ability to apply the context which will serve to smooth out the comprehension process. (think: the chain on a bicycle, maybe it has a shiny-new link that’s not as broken-in as the original links. Not to worry, as you pedal, (the new link), will make the journey over the sprocket or hub or whatever-the-hell the round-toothy part on the wheel is and, soon as pie** any roughness or hesitancy is immediately eliminated
  2. a scott will actually remember (your use of the word) and, (when you finally caught up them), would laugh and (probably) punch you playfully on the shoulder “You fricken clarks you!”
  3. a roger will worry, and, depending on whether or not they thought anyone was ‘watching’ they might go look it up. (Those ‘watching’ can, and often do, include the 3,290 other people who ‘the Kindle’, says have read and possibly highlighted the word).***

* almost for sure ‘fundamental’

** a semi-rogerian expression

*** In keeping with ‘the Everything Rule’ in the matter of intellectual confidence1: a clark is to a roger or a scott as

  • a scott is to clark or roger in matters of personal, one-on-one nose-to-nose dominance or
  • a roger is to a clark or scott in comprehending the precise interaction of small parts that make up larger mechanisms (this, by the way, includes culture and society).

1) for our advanced Doctrine discussion: it is accepted that a male scott is not intimidated by intellectual prowess however, quite frequently, a scottian female is.

For extra credit: Compare and contrast the typical manifestations of the predatory character of a male scott and a scottian female. (Examples encouraged)

Times up! Pencils on your desk, please.

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TT (‘like the lady says’) ‘oT -the Wakefield Doctrine- ‘autumn noir’

October 27, 2018 By

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

 

Every weekend, door’s unlocked. Kristi’s joint is open. Once the dark repossesses the day, (and, no matter what your timepiece says, it’s 1:00 am somewhere), the crowd gathers like russet leaves on your car’s windshield after a nor’easter. The patrons? Well if blog-drifters full of thankfuls and virtual-world pen-jockeys are your style, this is the place to be. The jukebox is still ten cents (a quarter will get ya three); songs that’ll make you feel like a kid again and glad that you’re not. The regulars here, Mimi and Pat and a new blogger, Ana. They gots a way with writing a grat list that fills the joint with murmurs of appreciation like the ‘oohs‘ and ‘ahhs‘ at a 4th of July fireworks show.

yeah, thanks Kristi.

1) they say, ‘the dog is man’s best friend’, I ain’t gonna lie, it’s true

2) I got news for ya, ‘they’re also a woman’s best friend’.

3) sure, you could say Phyllis and I are married, thing is, we’d have this same thing if we just washed up on opposite shores of a desert island

4) I just might go on with this effort to write pulp-style. Who knows, even if I clear the joint, I just might get a little better at word-slinging.

5) Speaking of serial stories with a flash fiction pace, take a minute and get caught up with the story ‘Interlude’ ( Chapter 1 and Chapter 2)

6) You know, the work I do, it ain’t glamorous. The people who come to me always have a real big problem and, though l can’t say I always solve it the way they want, it keeps the electric for my computer on.

7) …had a dame come in a week or two ago, nice person, but messed-up all kinds of bad. Sure, she looked good on the outside, but one look at her eyes and you knew that when she looked in the mirror instead of the Hermès, Louboutin, Dior framing a million dollar smile, what she saw looked like well-trained Afghan with a zirconium collar after a ride through the QuickE Wash ‘n Buff, down on the corner of ‘Hopeful’ and ‘Self-Delusional’. Good kid, though, so I  wrote a link on one of my cards and stuck it under the cellophane on the pack of Luckies next to her drink, where she couldn’t miss it. It was to a place a friend runs, ‘Intuitive and Spiritual’. If anyone l know can get her back on the Path, its Cynthia

8) Sunday Supplement

9) THIS SPACE AVAILABLE

10) they got this house rule at Kristi’s called SR 1.3… no, it ain’t on the wall, not blue-thread-needle-point in a nice oak frame. If you look real hard past the neon sunset over the upper row of bottles behind the bar; it’s an old, type-written square the far held on the mirror with tape so old it looks like some Egyptian stuck it there…. behind the dusty bottles of Diet-Rite, Tab and Metrecal… the rule is real simple. You get to number nine, thank Kristi and move on…. there’s one more butt than she got a stool at the bar for the TToT

 

*

 

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