Is there too much humor in religion? Can comic analysis of the last great taboo help save Humanity? Does this parade make me look old?
I’d answer….no, maybe, and yes.
I fell into the professional Fool business forty years ago, by accident. Too much education, seven years of college, and living in one of the wackiest areas in the world–San Francisco Bay–led me to instigate a gathering of like-minded extroverts to take to the streets for the purpose of sacrilege. A show of comedic, historically correct insubordination in the face of the dominate religion of America…free market capitalism.
There is a movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (the Charles Laughton version) in which he is crowned King of Fools. He is paraded past the cathedral in raucus style till the fun is stopped by a church official and he is sent back to the bell tower. A classic movie from a classic book. The street party, the Feast of Fools, was a safety valve for the populace. In medieval European times the peasant worked for the crown or the cross. A little springtime paganism was allowed to let off steam for those whose life was grim and short. Today, the true temples and cathedrals of modern times are the towers of finance. The dollar is King. The canyons of the financial district of San Francisco became the focus of my/our frustration with the ‘way things are’. The first Saint Stupid’s Day Parade took place April 1, 1979.
What led me to this was the confluence of nature and nurture? As a kid growing up in a working class household in East Cleveland, Ohio, I displayed a talent/curse for backtalk. This led me to the principal’s office, a corner of the room and /or the receiving end of a back of the hand. I was hardwired for asking the uncomfortable question and making the ‘smart’ remark. I was a ‘wise ass’. This attitude helped me avoid the several varieties of Christian brainwashing my family was exposed to and skewed my grades in high school to put me in line for mandatory military service. Political radicalization took place within my seven years of duty as a mechanic on submarines in the Navy during the 60s. Ending up Oakland, California, with the GI bill gave me the chance to start again. The last days of the once golden era of California education found a match for my wise-ass attitude with theater and the mandatory History of Costume class final project, design a costume for a Shakespeare character, led me to the history of the Fool. A discussion with friends about societal rituals gave birth to the “Holy Fool’ factor and St. Stupid was born.
The first parade consisted of a dozen friends, all performers semi or un employed and available for a noon weekday walk thru the financial district. Over the years the rituals and chants grew along with number of participants. Good weather’d days will have 300-400 folks. Rainy days, and we do parade in the rain, will have 100. Weekday parades are sidewalk parades with stops at the Stations of Stupid; tossing dead lottery tickets at the Federal Reserve Bank HQ (You do play the lottery, don’t you?), knocking on the door at the Tomb of Stupidity, tossing pennies at the Banker’s Heart (a large black marble sculpture), the Leap of Faith, the Parade Rest and oaths, chants, and songs. All to an audience of us and the lunch time business worker crowd. Weekend parades are thru North Beach area, from the Pointy Building (Transamerica Pyramid) up Columbus Ave to Washington Square Park or Joe DiMaggio Playground, for a staged mini-service by the First Church of the Last Laugh. A thousand or two will show up for the weekend event. Permission for the weekday events is ignored. The Feast of Fools IS a day of license and so far, we’ve gotten away with it….except for that one year. Weekends require some permits and hoops to hop thru. Volunteers, friends, family and low budget to no budget make it happen. A few spin off parades in other locals have occurred; Dallas, Eugene Oregon, Atlanta, Raleigh N.C., and I was invited to speak at the Feast of Fools in Montreal Canada in 2000. India has Holi, Europe has numerous festivals with roots in the Feast of Fools, Los Angeles has the occasional DooDah Parade…and now you need to create your own!
My motivation for making fun of the Business of Religion and the Religion of Business helps satisfy my internal need to speak truth to power. What is yours?
