ROCKERS, ON AND OFF
What, precisely, is this “rocker” we are supposed to be “off of” so often?
May I withdraw that word “we”?
It is always some other person...never ourselves...who are in this
condition of “being off one’s rocker” and we seem to hold them in low esteem because of their plight. There is a tangent thought which says they could do something about it ,too, if they wished to do so.
The illustration of the term could be as real as it seems to be and make reference to a rocking chair without a rocker. In such condition it is useless and could create real problems if used as intended. Without a
rocker, it could not function at all. Or, if one abandoned it, as well.
Judging by previous experience with such folksy expressions and their beginnings, it would not prove to be a disappointment to me to find that the expession has nothing whatever to do with rocking chairs. We
have other expressions containing the same idea - “off base”, “off keel”,
“off limits” plus others.
It is, then, a standard , shall we agree, which we have set arbitrarily, by which we can judge a person’s conduct in relation to his or her success in meeting those standards or qualifications for holding active,
membership cards in the community of human beings.
How accurate is such a standard? Does it need revisions?
Have we set low standards to assure personal membership in the group? That has happened in many aspects of our living today, such as in the educational field and, to a degree in competitive sports. Rules are
tempered to suit the need of the average participant rather than the super-star. For those who excel in an endeavor the rules are tightened up a bit; just enough to make it difficult for the non-pro types to win consistently.
In general application, however, the term “off his rocker” has come to be associated with mental deficiencies or with temporary instances of poor judgment. A person who simply disagrees with you concerning a
stated subject judged by you to be “off his rocker”.. “a nut”... some one suffering from hallucinations, delusions“ or worse.
Are not inventors people who go against the accepted rules and standards of their time? They do not accept the idea that such a thing as they wish to do or make is “impossible.” They just go on and do it, and
often they have been aware of the fact hat they were breaking temporal or religious rules in doing so.
In recent years baseball and rock music have added new dimensions to the term “rocker” so the saying comes to mean less and less. If by “off his rocker” you mean that the individual plainly indicates by his
conduct, language or statements that his mental elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top floor; or that his or her mind is stuck in skid condition and not always tracking well on life’s surfaces, then you are not alone.
The important thing about it all may well be that we never know when someone is estimating where we stand on the charts. Be careful of statements and acts which may seem to be “too far out” or “too far in”.
Politically-minded individuals have put great store in that sort of classifying in recent years. It may be that someone you know who thinks you are a bit “off your rocker” when you do something you’ve been doing all along for years.
People ask me why, at eighty six years of age, I write every day; play guitar and sing a bit, as if I expected something to come of it all. I know what some of them are thinking, especially the couch potatoes, who
are doing the same thing watching TV reruns.
Which of us can be said to be: “ off his rocker?”
A.M.. Sept 4, 2002 [c658wds]
