Disruptive Play: The Trickster in Politics and Culture

In a world ruled by conflict and competition, non-competitive play is insurrection.
Mischief-makers and culture jammers have transformed society again and again, from ancient folkloric appearances of the Trickster as Raven and Èṣù-Elegba, to the twentieth century's dada and hippies, to contemporary social actors like the graffiti artist Banksy.
Original Play is the frolic and noncompetitive play that animals and human babies do in order to have fun and to keep on playing…not to win or to lose. It is a substance of the universe that occurs in all life. It is the behavior by which love and belonging are expressed, given, and received.
When play moves into contest or other roles and rules, with winners and losers, it becomes Cultural Play. Issues of ego and narcissism are issues for Cultural Play, not for Original Play.
Disruptive Play occurs in the rare times when the rhythms of Original Play suddenly appear in a political or cultural setting, settings conventionally fraught with Cultural Play. Like driving a clown car across the field during an official NFL game. Or Raven tricking Chief into releasing the sun, the moon, and the stars into the sky. Or a surreptitious Banksy graffiti that invades a museum or the public commons. Tricking power into performing an act of love.