Marcos the comedian?
When I’m ‘between books’ I sometimes pick up my copy of Our Word is Our Weapon: Selected writings of Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos. It’s not the sort of book you can really just sit down and read as it is far too dense but it’s good to pick up on occasion and read a couple of the writings. So I thought I’d share with you what would appear to be a bit of humour on behalf of Marcos.
- Instructions on how to be named man of the year
- Carefully combine a technocrat, a repentant oppositionist, a sham businessman, a union bully, a landowner, a builder, an alchemist in computation arts, a “brilliant” intellectual, a television, a radio, and an official party. Set this mixture aside in a jar and label it “Modernity.”
- Take an agricultural worker, a peasant with no land, an unemployed person, an industrial worker, a teacher without a school, a dissatisfied housewife, an applicant for housing and services, a touch of honest press, a student, a homosexual, a member of the opposition regime. Divide these up as much as possible. Set them aside in a jar and label them “anti-Mexico.”
- Take an indigenous Mexican. Take away the crafts and take a picture of her. Put her crafts and the photo in a jar and set aside. Label it “Tradition.”
- Put the indigenous Mexican in another jar, set it aside, and label it “Dispensable.” Once must not forget to disinfect oneself after this last operation.
- Now open a store and hang a huge sign that says, “Mexico 1994-2000: Huge End-of-the-Century Sale.”
- Smile for the camera. Make sure the makeup covers the dark circles under the eyes caused by the many nightmares the process has caused.