Political Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, the term called "kayfabe" alludes to the performers never breaking character when in public so as to keep up the illusion that they are enemies.
“You’re Fired!!”
“The Vermont Screwjob” - It all happened on SUPER TUESDAY when the “Heartbreak Kid” Pete Buttigieg went off script and turned heel on Bern the “Hitman” Sanders.
“You’re Fired!!”
This is how I see politics in the United States; the full-on pageantry of Professional Wrestling. The actors go back to the dressing room and have drinks together after the show, comparing numbers on t-shirt sales and “pop” from the crowd. I find it hilarious that people have looked down their nose at the "marks", or fans of pro-wrestling. "You know it's all fake right?!" But here we are, caught in the showmanship of political performers on Fox and CNN.
MachJoe Madness. Miss Elizabeth Warren. Trumpamania runnin’ wild on you!
“There are people who think that wrestling is an ignoble sport. Wrestling is not a sport, it is a spectacle, and it is no more ignoble to attend a wrestled performance of suffering than a performance of the sorrows of Arnolphe or Andromaque.”
If YA SMELLLLL… what BA-RACK… is COOKIN’!
“The Vermont Screwjob”
You can't make this up. Well... Vince McMahon can I suppose. If you don't specifically follow professional wrestling you might not know how closely our politics in the United States imitates it. There was a time when I would use calling politics pro-wrestling as a metaphor. That was before Donald Trump was elected President (by the electoral college) after already having been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Donald was undoubtedly schooled on how to perform by Vince and Vince's wife Linda was a member of Trump's cabinet and head of a Super PAC for his reelection in 2020.
I used it as an allegory before Joe Biden announced his running mate as Kamala Harris. It was a joke before I discovered that a character I remember vividly from my childhood days of watching the WWF had recently passed away. His name was "Kamala". His legal name - James Harris. "Kamala" Harris died on August 9th and Kamala Harris was announced a few days later as the nomination for Vice President. He died from "complications due to Covid". Of course, he was battling diabetes and had lost both of his legs, and struggled simultaneously with a heart condition. But... you know... Covid.
I look back on this character now without fondness. As an adult, I see how shamelessly racist this "Ugandan Giant" was. James himself said he disliked having to play the character in spite of the fame it brought him; a double-edged sword to be sure. The character was actually imagined from a Frank Frazetta painting that was equally racist. Frazetta claimed that he hated painting many of the stereotypes the publisher asked for and in turn, he would try to lampoon them with outrageous over-the-top images. Jerry Lawler was a fan of Frank's and saw the image that stoked his imagination for helping create Kamala. Vince got his hands on it and of course, ran full steam ahead. 2020 seemed as though we were living in Vince's head as he was sick with this terrible flu and our reality was his fever nightmare.
Vince McMahon. A great friend of Donald Trump who also sat on his economic advisory board. The same man that shaved his head when he lost to Donald Trump at Wrestlemania 23 in the Battle of the Billionaires match.
“I do think the standards of the media have dropped to an all-time low in terms of credibility.”
“You might have some support from this audience, but 95 percent of them are idiots!”
“When you think about it, second only to me, Donald might very well be a great president of the United States.”