Farting in the face of "The Man"

Yes, that's a painting (by 15th century painter, Tver) depicting Jesus' procession into Jerusalem shortly before his crucifixion, which we now remember as Palm Sunday--which just so happens to be today. Palm Sunday is one of my favorite days in the whole year to go to church. There's joyful celebration, often the waving of palms...but yet that joyfulness is tempered by the ironic and potent reminder that just a few days after celebrating Jesus' entry into the city, the people decided to crucify him! Palm Sunday church services tend to haunt me for this very reason. The nature of the occasion, all laden with irony, prompts self-examination on my part...It's a humbling day for me, to say the least. 

However, today I didn't attend a Palm Sunday church service because I was working at my human services type part time job (which was pretty fun today, by the way). So when I got home this afternoon I decided to look up a few online sermons...and discovered that there are some pretty weird ones out there, some of which I can even relate to the job search process! So, here goes. A Palm-Sunday-themed job search blog post. 

The connections I've drawn between Palm Sunday and the job search process (however loose they may be...) began with a little history lesson. Back in the days of the Roman Empire, the government was a pretty big deal. Such a big deal, in fact, that the Jews had to strike a kind of "bargain" with them to celebrate Passover. It went a little something like this:

1. A Roman Governor would process into the city of Jerusalem at the beginning of Passover on a horse (the animal symbolizes war and power). 

2. The Jews were expected to "worship" the civic official to show their dedication to the state religion.

3. The Jews could then, once they had paid their tribute to the state, worship throughout Passover however they liked. 

Sounds like an alright deal, right? Not quite. Judaism requires that the Jews worship no one besides their God. So they added a step...

1. Governor processes in...

2. Jews wave palms, shout, etc., to show their worship...

2a. Jews sneakily shout foreign words like "Hosanna" which means "Save us!"...they were actually insulting the government official, not worshiping him. Those sly foxes. 

3. The Jews do whatever they want for the rest of Passover. 

Now here's the part I really like. One of sermons I read includes an Ethiopian proverb here that goes like this: 

When the great king passes by, the wise peasant bows deeply, and farts.

Isn't that classy? But it's essentially what the Jews did to avoid worshiping someone they felt didn't deserve it. As far as the Governor probably knew, the Jews were fulfilling their end of the bargain--they could worship their God if the worshiped the state as well. And they appeared to do so to anyone who didn't know the double-meaning of the word "Hosanna"...in a worshipful sense "Save us" can have quite a bit of meaning. But add a few tablespoons of irony and a cup or so of political dissatisfaction, and they take on a whole new meaning. I find that there's something inexplicably loud about quiet protest. There's something particularly resonant about mockery when the mocked aren't aware that they're the butt of a joke. 

Alright, so how the heck am I going to relate this to the realm of all things career? Well, it just so turns out that  this kind of "secret mockery" is something that us Generation Y twenty and thirty somethings are criticized for in the workplace. Fortune Magazine goes into it in some depth in an article from waaaay back in 2007, but the idea is echoed in many of the blogs I frequent. Generation Y workers are just annoyingly confident enough  to question everything, yet at the same time care very much about overachieving and standing out as, well, outstanding, in the workplace. In other words, we care enough about our rep at work to feign a little butt-kissing for the boss...but underneath it all we disapprove of a lot of office practices. We question the legitimacy of 9-5 workdays and late nights and weekends at the office. We find office bureaucracy just pointless enough to disregard. And yet, we remain outwardly charming and compliant enough to not get canned. The writer of that Fortune Magazine article finds all of this pretty annoying. I, however, see it as us simpling channeling our inner (excuse my French) badass Ancient Jews. 

So yeah, I, like many of my Generation Y peers, get frustrated with the modern workplace...however, as the Ancient Jews and Ethiopians so appropriately remind me this Palm Sunday, there's a time and a place to let out a little toot in the midst of your apparent butt-kissing, just to remind those who understand your plight that you're not afraid to fart in the face of "The Man."

Comments? Put 'em below. Have a friend who would enjoy some clandestine flatulence? Share this link! Have a great night :-)