My Love Affair With Overreaction

I realize that I may be construed as a little ‘odd’ at times, but I find that I’m okay with that. I don’t need the sheen of respectability about me, in fact the times in my life when I was respected and admired turned out to be nothing but trouble. In a nutshell, I’m creepy, but respectable. But considering what turns up when you Google “donkey sex”, I think I’m pretty tame and normal. Sure, I live the life of quiet desperation that Thoreau so accurately pointed out, but at least I’m in touch with the darker corners of myself.
On that happy note, I love it when people overreact to perfectly normal circumstances. Overreaction has a long and storied history within the human race and I just want to share with you two of my favourites:

The War of the Oaken Bucket (1325-1337):

In 1325, soldiers of the Italian city-state of Modena invaded the neighbouring city-state of Bologna to… steal a wooden bucket. The victorious soldiers of Modena succeeded in winning the bucket (and killing thousands of Bologna citizens in the process). Undaunted Bologna launched a counterattack against Modena and after 12 years and thousands dead, Bologna was defeated and Modena kept the prized bucket. It was never clear what was so special about the bucket that would warrant such a slaughter, but I doubt that any excuse would make sense. Good job!

Desperate Father (2006)

I love it, and I mean I love it when people set themselves on fire. Self-immolation is the way to make a statement in this world. No matter how kooky your idea is, people will at least believe in your conviction. It’s no good to shoot yourself, cut your wrists, or swallow pills. Where’s the drama in that? Lighting yourself on fire is the 4th of July of self-destruction.

And really, lighting oneself on fire has been at the forefront of popular culture. Consider this image:

This is one of the most enduring and haunting photographs of the twentieth century and along with Huyn Cong (Nick) Ut’s photograph of the fleeing naked girl, one of the defining images of the Vietnam war. In no small part, these images helped to shape public opinion about the war and its effects on the native population.

Carrying on this fine tradition is one Nicola De Martino, a father’s rights activist who while appearing on an Italian news show with the son he hasn’t seen in 12 years, douses himself with lighter fluid and attempts to “flame on” as they say. Sober people would think maybe there was a good reason why he’d been kept away from his son so long. And while he didn’t actually succeed in lighting himself on fire, I think sometimes it’s the effort that counts. I say bravo!

~ by porterism on March 6, 2007.