“Flexibility” Versus “Rigidity”

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Papa Tony: I was recently passed this article from 1997, by Gayle Rubin.  I’m actually surprised by how much I agree with the author.  Usually, the whole “Old Guard” vs. “New Guard” discussion heads right into the weeds, with much stressful grinding of axes.  Based upon the definitions in the article, I’m a proud veteran of the 1970’s “hippy fisters” sub-group.  The custom license-plate on my car was “MR FISTR”, back in 1977-1981!

What I would add to the article is that nowadays, the biggest dichotomy that I see is between “flexibility” and “rigidity” as personal styles.  I don’t think that it’s any mystery that I land on the farthest extreme of the flexibility scale. That’s okay, and so are the folks at the OTHER end of things.  There is a market for people who create 23-page, itemized lists of protocols that MUST BE FOLLOWED.  I get that. I would love for them to succeed.

On the other hand, I have been ridiculed many, many times over the decades for not being sufficiently Old Guard. I’ve written many articles about this.  Generally, the folks who struggle the most with our ever-changing world and its viewpoints tend to be the least able to shift with the changes.  I like to think that I have been able to succeed so much as a Tribal-style community leader (and kinky sumbitch), by dancing lightly on the tip of the wave of change.

As many here have heard me say many times, I am not “Old Guard”, and I am not “New Guard”.  I am PREHISTORIC Guard: I am Tribal, and I want every member of the Tribe to have worth and respect with all others in the Tribe.  That’s what humans are wired for, and I want that to be the future of our community, going forward.