PowerBloke's

Unseat the suits

Excuse me Mister, but I’m a Mr too, and you’re giving Mr’s a bad name, Misters like you’, sings Ben Harper. I’m with him. There’s a type of bloke that lowers the tone.

The historical lean towards PowerBloke leadership is understandable. As more of us feel like pawns pushed off the board, we look for a fix, so we’re easily drawn to the entertainer. PowerBlokes always have a court jester. Such an item leads a merry dance and says he’ll fix it. Of course he will. When things don’t pan out and the Blokes sense a pawn swarm, tone on the turn, it’s bunker down/double down. Powerblokes fear pirates and peasants with pitchforks, lanterns in the night. I would too.

They mostly like to accrue stuff and status, despite such a fleeting lease on property and wealth. Gotta be fun to dance your worth around the globalised financial mkts and back before breakfast.

Control is hands down the Bloke’s first move on the board. Nail the narrative and the rest falls into place, sorted. But for that pesky online world, which keeps busting out alternative truths. Serious PB’s know this and buy up the portals, mainstream, fringe, whatever, to champion particular lines of reason, negate others. They’ll clean you out if they have to, actions once taken in the night but now daytime’s all good too.

We’re definitely best-by on capitalism’s over-reach, a knowledge both arresting and motivating. I see it more as human under-reach, ie we tried the World as a Market, splendid for a while here in first world land, but now we’re running out of World. Damn.

We under-reacher’s are excited about the work we can do to help Mother World back to some form of natural rhythm. It’s hardly selfless, there’s no end of self interest when it comes to saving our arses. Good news is there are peep’s doing this, stuff that is within our control. Lets not forget our got-it-right PowerBlokes, there’s some goody’s, using their heft to build community, collab on good stuff. Big up’s you lot.

‘Bloke’ is used loosely here, not gender specific, and it’s a jovial dufferish label mostly one of ageing endearment, a younger version of a geezer maybe. Some of the PB’s we witness in action definitely deserve a terser nametag. Like evil narcissistic fckrs. Or woefully underinformed. The two conditions often pair up. But in keeping the tone of this blog light and forgiving, Bloke it is.

Onto it PowerBlokes know all about the importance of containment. My intermediate school principal was one. I recall the school getup - matching overcast grey shirt, shorts, socks in sandals. Principal mirrored us in his grey suit, sweet of him to notice. Told us to line up, shut up and put-up. No need to shout I thought at the time. In hindsight, poor teachers, battle-weary for sure. Serious seeds of dissent took root that year. My chum and I snuck into the staffroom through the backdoor one night at badminton, nicked their krispies and pissed in their tea urn. Heartless. I can’t believe I just admitted that. Six of the best. By form two I had the school record. Playground respect doesn’t come better than that, sticking it to the man. PowerBloke Jnr right there.

Now that I’m 36, I’m a lot more seasoned with PowerBloke interchanges. I can smell the bait, read the assault and prepare for rear guard action before Blokemoves catch hold. Doesn’t mean I always escape. Those pincer movements get you from the side, just look at the banking and finance industries. How many arms does your krishna have ?

Powerbloke likes the suit when it suits, but undercover casual chic runs pretty hot these days. In fact the suit is more often the tat now of the lowly paid security or hospo worker. Such a clever flip of class struggle in the costuming dept. Ace move. And poor chaps the blokes, they carry a lot, power comes with responsibility whether you’re ready for it or not. It’s not easy being up there, there’s generally a try-hard or two looking to usurp. So the PowerBloke becomes a night watchman. Sleep can require medication when Lady Macbeth’s giving you the side eye.

I’m in there too. I might mock the type, the PowerBloke, but I can be one, where’s my medication. When I put a guitar on and play a gig, I’m the local incarnation of yesterdays rock god, a would have been if I could have been has-been. There’s stars in someone’s eyes I guess, the soul screamer, the vegan folksinger, guitar hero, hurt before but willing to try again country music lonely heart. I am the holder of the torch for those few hours, I am PowerBloke_music, rebooting dreams and memories for the punters. Can’t touch this.

When the kids were younger, me I’m dad in the house, alpha male, issuing commands to the kids, PowerBloke right there. In my defence I did try and be PowerBloke_light, suggestions and rewards rather than commands and threats. Authority can wear slippers and find a sounder outcome.

I spotted a good number of PowerBlokes rallying deals at the recent NZ Rural Fieldays. Sizeable payouts in the dairy industry means a lotta guys talking turkey on big machinery. Most of it diesel dependent but we’re not mentioning that today. Blokes in gumboots and swandri’s upwind of the silage pile.

What if I was one, a moneyed, status’d PowerBloke? Would I rail against my own ilk ? Or be ‘sweeeeet, not gettin off this ride with its baubles of wealth and choice’. I like to think that ship sailed, the baubles of wealth at least. I recall deliberately sabotaging some opportunities cos I wasn’t up for the snakes and ladders of its aspirations. Dunno why, self aggrandisment, whether stuff or status, just hasn’t been my jam. Sure I’ve been selfish, possessive at times, spank me. I’ve also been railing against Reagan/Thatcher’s twist in the tale ever since my freshly minted economics degree. But you know, it’s hard reasoning with people who live alternative truths, when their livelihood and how they feed their families, is dependent on belief, I‘M no different… It’s just not going to land. Working on that.

Goodwill is the big payer. I’ve made some real powerplays in attempted goodwill. I say attempted cos yeah, some bellyflops. It’s when you put the welfare of others/mother nature at least up there with yours, if not before. When you work hard for community, not your own stash pile. My own experience is that rather than lessen yourself in service to others and nature, the inverse happens. There is born a new kind of wealth. A big warm inside capital gain. Given our limited tenure on this planet and our need for collective, that’s really the only power we have to gain - or lose. Goodwill.

Gotta be medication time. Music and dance cross lines. I’m thinking I might offer monday evening music jams to PowerBlokes - the proud/closet/recovering/aspirational, likely a community notice on facebook - I’m visioning a mens circle with harmonicas, some dance moves and we can all suck and blow to our hearts content. Great therapy especially if we lost the footy in the weekend(see below). We’ll work with Wheels on the Bus first and then I’ll break out the accordions, you can chose your colour, who’s in ?

Till next time :)

Screengrab here of Blokes losing the footy, the Chiefs going down to the Hurricanes 60-5 in the Super rugby finals - Hamilton took it hard. I could go to work with the harmonica’s right there.