Posted 02 August 2010 - 10:34 AM
PIRATE PERSONA
Webster's definition of Persona:
"A role a person assumes in order to display their conscious intentions"
We all assume roles every day. People reveal different roles in every aspect of their life. How many people act the same at work as they do at home? Imagine going to your boss at work and say "Yes dear, right away dear what ever you say dear". You would not have a job for very long if you worked for any sizeable corporation. How about the other way, you come home and reprimand your spouse for not cooking dinner or taking out the garbage. Can you say "Dog house" People assume different personas in order to make their life uncomplicated. As a pirate I take on a persona to make my life more authentic. It pleases me and to my advantage it affords me the autonomy of being something different. This was an immense wall to break through when I first started dressing as a pirate. Family and work thought very different of me as I started to assume this role. First a person starts growing all their hair long, a pirate of the sixteenth century did not have the luxury to be shaven or well groomed. So the first thing the people at work see is their friend / boss going senile. This starts the remarks flowing. Which brings questions to mind of what the heck is wrong with me? The next step is to start dressing the part, ear rings, jewelry, and attire. This really starts bringing up the eyebrows. My wife still complains that I had more jewelry than her. As things progress you start buying clothes that aid your persona. Imagine the face of a lady as a five foot ten man comes out of the dressing room with a women's blouse on. Let alone a spouse of a coworker. Next comes the verbal education, a pirate can not simply walk around and say "Good afternoon Doug, how is the day is treating you? Did you catch the game last night?" This does not work if you wish to embrace the persona. So you learn "Afternoon Barnacle how be t' day? Watch the game mate? No matter how hard you try to contain this persona you'll catch yourself slipping, like when you learn Spanish you say "Hola" in lieu of Hello. Imagine the ladies face when you walk out of a dressing room with a blouse on saying "Aye this shirt feels like the caresses of a thousand wenches." Before you realize it, friends that do not accept the traditions of the pirate start to fade. You find yourself surrounded by people that validate your persona.
In the words of a dazzling (I here the trumpets of a thousand angels blowing) women
A pirate; first and foremost is absolutely fearless and cowers to no one. He moves through his life's work and journey as if nobody or nothing caged his soul. He is a renegade and answers to no one...not even a vicious god he cannot see. In his mind he is his own God. His own north star who is focused on liberating himself from conventional notions. A pirate is a man who does contain a moral compass and creates pathways of freedom not fear. He understands his masculinity and power and uses it as an umbrella to protect those who cannot protect themselves. His passion is unbridled. A pirate is an adventurer not a caged animal; although women try to cage him and weaken his inherit strength he refuses to be caged and brought to his knees. A weak spineless man is to be tossed out and trampled but a pirate mans backbone is fused to invisible titanium and will not bend--he will die first rather than give up the essence of what makes him a man.
I believe this explains a pirate's state of mind. In time it becomes increasingly difficult to return to the mundane dregs of everyday life. After all, a persona is a role a person assumes in order to display their conscious intentions.
All this happens slowly, most pirates do not realize that they have changed. You find that you are spending more time in the persona. You look foreword to donning clothes, using the persona as an umbrella to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Children are particularly in need due to society's interest to have them grow up faster. Children have less time to pretend, fewer activities besides video games. Children of today need a mechanism to be children. The pirate persona helps teach that you don't have to loose your childhood imagination as you grow older. Childhood is a place in your soul that becomes buried under adulthood. The pirate persona teaches people of all ages that having imagination and leaving the problems of the world behind for a few moments is a great thing. Even when you are an adult, it is acceptable to be a child at heart. Children are the most accepting, giving, loving people in the world. They are the true treasure of all time. If I were to bury a treasure, it would contain all the memories of being a child.
At parades pirates come up to children all scary and mean, stop, smile and make them laugh. Still to this day after entertaining at a hospital, parade or appearance I find myself continuing in the persona. While walking through a crowded mall in jeans and tennis shoes, I notice a young child walking in front me, they turn around and I snarl and growl a blood curdling ARRRRR. Believe me very few parents of children find this entertaining. With out the clothes people do not realize that you are a pirate
A pirate persona, face or public mask is an avenue used to carry out your pirate activities. This mask enables you to entertain in any environment. Generally speaking, people love the image of a pirate. So far I have entertained in four countries outside of the United States. The pirates have been accepted, invited and welcomed many times over. All you need is pirate clothes, a good ARRRR, and plenty of smiles. The pirate image has been very well received. It seams my brethren before me has paved the way long before my time.
The dilemma is this; it is simple to become lost in a persona. If a person believes long enough, the persona becomes personality. People laugh at this statement, but it is real. Let me ask you this, If you could first and foremost be absolutely fearless and cower to no one. Move through life and work as if nobody could cage you. Focus on liberating yourself from conventional notions. Have a moral compass and create pathways of freedom not fear. Understand your power and use it as an umbrella to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Be welcomed with open arms no mater where you go in the world. Entertain and teach people of all ages. Perform at parades, hospitals, and television would you become a pirate?
You already know my answer.
Iron Hand's Plunder Purveyor of Quality Goodes of questionable origins
Iron Hand, on 31 July 2010 - 09:31 PM, said:
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