“Joder is Spanish for ‘f*ck it.’ A politer translation is ‘to screw with’ -- not ‘to screw,’ but to ‘screw with,’ a crucial difference in semantics.
Coining a term to describe an ethical practice already occurring among the marginalized implies that this methodology of jodiendo already exists. ...An ethics para joder is an ethics that f*cks with the prevailing power structures. An ethics para joder fosters an effective response to the consequences of Eurocentric globalization, the oppressive normativity of social structures, and the pain of the domestication of communities of color.
A joderon is one who strategically becomes a royal pain in the ass, purposely causes trouble, constantly disrupts the established norm, shouts from the mountaintop what is supposed to be kept silent, and audaciously refuses to stay in his or her [or their] assigned place.
To joder is to create instability, upsetting the prevailing Panopticon social order designed to maintain the law and order of the privileged. Instability could lead some within the dominant culture to share in the hopelessness of overcoming the global neoconservative and neoliberal forces, creating an opportunity for change. Yes, a liberative ethics para joder is frightening to those accustomed to their power and privilege, because hopelessness signals lack of control. ...
To joder refuses to play by the rules established by those who provide a space for orderly dissent that pacifies the need to vent for the marginalized but is designed not to change the power relationships within the existing social structures. ...Joderones provide a moral justification for the employment of deception as a means of self-preservation for those who face overwhelming odds against surviving. Political and social change requires going beyond the rules created by the dominant culture, moving beyond what is expected, pushing beyond universalized experiences.
History demonstrates the futility of simply denouncing unjust social structures. Those whom the structures privilege will never willingly abdicate what they consider to be their birthright. The joderon as trickster creates opportunities unavailable as long as established tables remain stable. F*cking with oppressive structures that undergird exceptionalism might lead to new possibilities. If the prevailing history that justifies the dominant social order...exists to legitimize and normalize the privileges of the few at the expense of many, then joderones become tricksters who lie to reveal truth. They lie, cheat, joke, and deceive to unmask deeper truths obscured by the dominant culture’s moralists.
Such liberative praxis may be dismissed as immoral by the dominant culture; still, tricksters remain ethical, operating in a realm beyond good and evil, beyond what society defines as right or wrong. Joderones are consummate survivors, servings as exemplars for the disenfranchised in need of surviving the reality of disenfranchisement.
Disrupting the equilibrium of the dominant culture creates compromising situations for those in power, revealing their weaknesses, exposing what they prefer to remain hidden, and removing their artificial masks of superiority.”
- Miguel A. De La Torre in Embracing Hopelessness
