The New York Times tells us today that approximately two dozen people were injured -- some reporting second- and third-degree burns -- after doing a firewalk on Thursday at a seminar in San Diego sponsored by motivational guru Tony Robbins.
The New York Crank sees the story as a metaphor for U.S. politics ("What the hell did those morons think was going to happen when they went for a promenade across a pit of hot coals?... Hey, you wanna know why people, against their own self-interest, will vote for Willard Romney in the coming presidential election? You wanna know why Michelle Bachmann hasn't been laughed into oblivion by her own constituents? You wanna know why batshit crazies believe global warming doesn't exist and dinosaurs walked the earth with people a mere 4,000 years ago? Just fill a pit with burning coals and invite some gullible nincompoops out for a stroll.")
I look at it somewhat differently. I've seen explanations of why firewalking is supposed to be harmless (here's one from the Skeptic's Dictionary), so I guess it's not entirely crazy to do it. And, after all, Robbins has been pulling this stunt for decades.
But what I find striking is how unwilling these people are to consider the notion that perhaps Robbins and his crew prepared the firewalks improperly, or coached the walkers improperly. They all seem to believe that any injuries are the injured people's own damn fault:
Madina Kaderi, 18, who walked over burning coals and suffered blisters during a Tony Robbins seminar here, returned to the San Jose Convention Center on Sunday for the fourth and final day of motivational talks.What's the matter with Kansas? Why do so many voters favor politicians whose policies hurt them? Why are we possibly on the verge of electing our second reverse-Robin-Hood Republican M.B.A. president this century? Why is a guy like Rick Scott in the governor's mansion rather than prison?
She called the fire walk a positive experience and blamed herself for her injury. "I got scared," she said.
... Carolynn Graves, 50, a real estate agent from Toronto, ... suggested that the people who burned their feet "were out of state," a term that participants said meant having the proper mental attitude.
... Ms. Kaderi's sister, Safaa, 16, said Mr. Robbins had "worked all night to prepare people" before the walk. If some people were injured, she said, "it's not his fault."
... "The media wants to concentrate on the bad news, when so much good goes on," said Danny Davis, 43, who owns a roofing company in Denver....”
"It was 20 people out of 6,000," he said with a shake of his head....
Because a lot of us are much too willing to believe whatever a rich, successful guy tells us -- especially when he tells us that our problems are exclusively our fault and not the fault of people like himself. If a guy is rich, and he tells us he and his class are helping us when they're really hurting us, a lot of us just believe him -- after all, he helped himself, didn't he? If we're not being helped, it must be our fault.
It's crazy, but that's what a lot of us believe.
I can see it now, Wayne Bobbitt as some "Sexual-dysfunction Guru" grifter, telling his male audience members, "Listen, the thing you need is some shock to bring your member to life.
ReplyDeleteNow, you have to have faith in me any my methods, which have worked for thousands of people. You need to have faith in ME - and yourselves.
And for that test of faith, I've brought everyone here a blender. Just stick your pecker's and balls in the warm water, and turn it to 'Frappe!'"
'AAAARRRRRRRGHH!!!
You've hacked-off all of our private parts! We're now all Eunuch's!'
"Well, it's not MY fault. Either you didn't 'Frappe' right, or you didn't have enough faith in me and my system."
In a falsetto voice:
"He's right! I had some real doubts about sticking my manhood into a blender, and turning it on. The fact that I'm now a Eunuch, hemmoraging to death, is ALL MY FAULT!'
"My name is Wayne Bobbitt, and now you know what I felt like, when my wife hacked-off my manhood! Welcome to the club!!!"
'Wait, Wayne Bobbitt? THAT WAYNE BOBBITT? How could we have been so stupid!'
Feckin' Idjits!!!
I think this is a great metaphor. Below is a Kos diary I did linking to this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/23/1111733/-What-s-the-Matter-with-Firewalkers
Bare-footed rubes blindly following an Ambien, Prozac, Viagra and crotch-shots on CNN/Fox Kool-Aid induced "charismatic leader" to suicide.
ReplyDeleteI don't much mind these animals dying off, it's the taking me - and my grandchildren - with them I have a problem with.
Maybe it's time to stand my ground.
"I look at it somewhat differently. I've seen explanations of why firewalking is supposed to be harmless (here's one from the Skeptic's Dictionary), so I guess it's not entirely crazy to do it."
ReplyDeleteGo tell it to Joan of Arc.
Very crankily yours,
The New York Cranbk
"I look at it somewhat differently. I've seen explanations of why firewalking is supposed to be harmless (here's one from the Skeptic's Dictionary), so I guess it's not entirely crazy to do it."
ReplyDeleteGo tell it to Joan of Arc.
Very crankily yours,
The New York Cranbk