Tag: chantapufi

Seeing The World in Manichean Terms? Not All Have The Gift of Gab

November 9, 2024

UNSOLICITED ADVICE to my grandchildren, when they are old enough:

Have you ever been told that you see the world in “Manichean terms”? I have, many a time, and with derision. Which sent me on an expeditionary travel down the proverbial rabbit hole to understand exactly what this meant, other than the simplistic dualistic way of seeing things good or evil.

Through a bit of research, historical and theological, I was reminded that it is a heresy: the Episcopal Church has a short description, and the Catholic Church delves deeper into history and philosophy. St. Augustine dappled with it and in it (and no, I don’t mean dabble!).

I realized that if someone tells you you see the world in “Manichean terms”, they are, in essence, sophists looking for an easy and superficial way to insult your intelligence and bring you down. Don’t be fooled and fall for it! Not all of us have the gift of gab, so it can be difficult to have a quick and clever retort. It is especially so for those of us who speak more than 1 language! Trust me on this.

In general, lawyers are always labeled as sophists, because they are seen as engaging in the whys and what-ifs and what-thens, and as the devil’s advocates. Again, it is a superficial rendering of a profession that, although flawed, provides an alternative to war!

However, I also concluded that the reality is that modern-day sophists (who have no clue of the Platonic/Socratic/Protagoras discourses) have no real knowledge: they are just clever users of arguments that are presented as true but are really false, in order to deceive others. (If you like simpler rabbit holes, check Britannica).

They are obfuscators, who know how to lie and confuse with great finesse, use clever words, ominous labels, or grandiose terminology because they know the average person may not necessarily understand the whole context.

In other words, they are what the Argentines used to call “chantapufis”. So there! There’s nothing new under the sun…

Imaginary Fears and the “Chantapufi”.

October 6, 2024

This year alone will end for me, yet again, with many, many experiences with worthless but dangerous “chantapufis”.   I periodically revisit an old journal entry, because I keep encountering these unsavory human beings all the time! So, here it goes:

Chantapufis are totally worthless because their only contribution to society is bullying.  But they are dangerous because, when cloaked under the mantle of authority, they can turn regular decent individuals into cowards and servile vassals.  

The latest example of a chantapufi that I have experienced is an obnoxious type, someone who wields power because of his/her position, who issues “orders” like a master to his dog:  “Come”… And who resents what he/she perceives to be an underling who ought not to have better access to information and/or powerful individuals than he/she.  Yet, as always, when the chantapufi is revealed, he/she crawls back into the shell of isolation, like one of those crabs that move into another crab’s shell.  

I ought to feel benign at this juncture, because I like to think I am a better person.  But, right now, I want to squish the chantapufi like the cockroach that he/she is.  Not very noble nor charitable. Shame on me.

Sometimes we are our own worst enemies, especially when doubt in one’s principles and abilities creeps in. Everyone is prone to tsk-tsk clichés and proverbs and fables alike (though not many seem to have heard of Aesop or La Fontaine nowadays), because they sometimes invoke stereotypes.  But, stereotypes are not necessarily all evil and sometimes they do help identify a certain character or characteristic, based on the cumulative knowledge that we amass through the centuries of experience.

One particular such stereotype is what the Argentines refer to as a “chantapufi”, a slang term that means someone who has no qualms lying or deceiving in order to gain something.  More specifically, it is a person whose word has no value because he or she has no honor.

There are many “chantapufis” in this world, and I have come across them quite often, though -in some cases- it took me a long time to figure some of them as such.  The problem is that these “chantapufis” are hard to decipher initially, because they are master liars and obfuscators. They are very dangerous when they come cloaked in the veneer of reputable professions and organizations.

But “chantapufis” will forever be “chantapufis” so, when we are afraid of our imaginary fears, it makes sense to figure out who or what is originating that fear.  If it comes from a “chantapufi”, chances are we are hearing from a charlatan, like the fox in the Aesop’s fable….

The Fox without a Tail, by Aesop

A fox lost his tail in escaping from a steel trap. When he began to go about again, he found that every one looked down upon or laughed at him. Not liking this, he thought to himself that if he could persuade the other foxes to cut off their tails, his own loss would not be so noticeable.

Accordingly he called together the foxes and said: “How is it that you still wear your tails? Of what use are they? They are in the way, they often get caught in traps, they are heavy to carry and not pretty to look upon. Believe me, we are far better without them. Cut off your tails, my friends, and you will see how much more comfortable it is. I for my part have never enjoyed myself so much nor found life so pleasant as I have since I lost mine.”

Upon this, a sly old fox, seeing through the trick, cried, “It seems to me, my friend, that you would not be so anxious for us to cut off our tails, if you had not already lost yours.”

(Journal entry May 5, 2013)