#comprachicos

Dea: '' God closed my eyes, so I could see only the real Gwynplaine ''

Song Score: 1600/10

“ "Comprachico" has been adopted as a pejorative term used for individuals and entities who manipulate the minds and attitudes of children in a way that will permanently distort their beliefs or worldview. Twentieth-century philosopher Ayn Rand referred to educators of the time as "the Comprachicos of the mind" in her article "The Comprachicos." Her criticism was targeted especially toward educational progressivists, but also grade-school and high-school educators. “ - Rand, Ayn: "The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution", pp. 41–95. Signet/NAL/Penguin, 1975 - Ayn Rand and her thoughts on Rational Education Michael S. Berliner, Ph.D.

 Comprachicos (also Comprapequeños and Cheylas) is a compound Spanish neologism meaning "child-buyers," which was coined by Victor Hugo in his novel The Man Who Laughs.[1] It refers to various groups in folklore who were said to change the physical appearance of human beings by manipulating growing children, in a similar way to the horticultural method of bonsai– that is, deliberate mutilation. The most common methods said to be used in this practice included stunting children's growth by physical restraint, muzzling their faces to deform them, slitting their eyes, dislocating their joints, and malforming their bones.[2] The resulting dwarfed and deformed adults made their living as mountebanks or were sold to lords and ladies to be used as pages or court fools. “The Comprachicos worked on man as the Chinese work on trees. A sort of fantastic stunted thing left their hands; it was ridiculous and wonderful. They could touch up a little being with such skill that its father could not have recognized it. Sometimes they left the spine straight and remade the face. Children destined for tumblers had their joints dislocated in a masterly manner; thus gymnasts were made. Not only did the Comprachicos take away his face from the child; they also took away his memory. At least, they took away all they could of it; the child had no consciousness of the mutilation to which he had been subjected. Of burnings by sulphur and incisions by the iron he remembered nothing. The Comprachicos deadened the little patient by means of a stupefying powder which was thought to be magical and which suppressed all pain.”   - Hugo, Victor. The Man Who Laughs. A. Lacroix, Verboeckhoven & Ce. ________ Research on the Fool: Beatrice K. Otto Fools Are Everywhere: The Court Jester Around the World

because oh my wow

John Boynton Kaiser writes that although Victor Hugo invented the term, the practices themselves may have existed long ago or at least were based on existing practices then possibly exaggerated. For example, stealing children dates back to ancient Rome, at least.