Hairy Maclary, Wellington Zoo, and Friends
July 6, 2022
By NZB3
The famous Harvard criminologist sociologist Robert K. Merton provided a map almost 100 years ago that shows society in normal and anormic states. His paper is still famous and an excellent way to bring clarity to what’s constantly going on in New Zealand. How else to explain what has happened in the last few days with Hairy Maclary, Wellington Zoo, and 90s sitcom Friends?
At a given time there is one way to be ‘normal’ or mainstream and, in the model, 3 other ways to be anomic (non-normal.) The normal group is called the Conformity. These ways have been explored in a previous post with relation to the COVID Hysteria. Ref. Anomie and COVID, NZB3
Those who belonged to the old Conformity are pushed out by the new Conformity. Without changing their values, behavior, or relationships they become anomic deviants almost overnight. Some even find themselves criminalised.
What was the Conformity is now rejected. That is what is taking place with celebrated Kiwi children’s author Lynley Dodd. Another person, another cannon of work, is consigned to the new Retreatist quadrant. Old Normal out, New Normal in. This work is performed by proud and brave adventurers and knights of the new Conformity and they will be rewarded for it. They light the way. When mainstream media sanctify it the Ritualists will swing into assent. Lynley Dodd belongs to the Old Conformity and must be exiled by the New Conformity that cannot live with a children’s author whose Hairy Maclary books about pets lacks ‘diversity’.
Many will be left behind by the New Conformity but that’s the whole idea. Those who can drink of this get to remain the ever-changing Conformity. Those who cannot will self-exile. Staff and even customers alike will Retreat and eventually wither away. Most will mindlessly, Ritualistically, find a way to live with this because they want to take their kids to…Wellington zoo.
It’s official! Wellington Zoo is Rainbow Tick certified!
, Wellington Zoo; Facebook (July 2022)
The other example from this past week comes from a co-creator of Friends. Old Conformity maven, Marta Kauffman, is trying to buy her way into a place in the New Conformity by repudiating her Old Conformity self. Apparently she’s not ready to let her social life or career be ended just yet and wants to stay in the game. Even if she must reject her creation to do so! She has seen the smoking crater where creators like Lynley Dodd and Joanne Rowling once proudly stood.
The New Conformity is here. Few really feel it in their hearts, most are of the Ritualistic deviant group (swing voters) who just go along with it for fear of missing out. The peer pressure is powerful and pretending to be in the Conformity and going through the motions is, to them, better than admitting they’re not part of it. Some of us are in the deviant group who will go down swinging with our doomed Old Conformity ideas wishing for the Good Old Days until we find our grave. Others, like Anarchists, I trust, will create a new Innovation deviant group and go on to become the next Conformity group.
For those stressed out and going crazy about the changes and these three latest examples I want this post to help bring some clarity to what’s going on and what these cases have in common.
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Image ref. ‘Green Zoo Greats You’ sign at Wellington Zoo from a previous iteration of the Current Thing; AHNZ Archives (2013)
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