Ministry of Unsilly Walks

8 Feb

Parody of a parody.

WiP recently came across this bit of walking qua walking in Terry Eagelton’s On Evil:

But evil is also boring because it is without real substance. It has, for example, no notion of emotional intricacies. Like a Nazi rally, it appears spectacular but is secretly hollow. It is as much a parody of genuine life as the goosestep is a parody of walking.

And it turns out that recent research has suggested that goosestepping is, surprisingly enough, not the favored form of circumambulation for radicals and iconoclasts. But the study goes further, beyond the mere goosestep, to root out the normalizing effects of practices whose nefarious qualities are less obvious:

Researchers have found that if groups perform tasks in unison, such as marching, dancing and chanting, they show more loyalty towards each other and are less likely to go against the norm.

Which, obviously, leaves WiP with one question: Is America’s Best Dance Crew, in fact, part of a secret plot to eradicate youth rebellion?

goose-squared-stepping

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