The metaphor of the circus is most often used to infer chaos and incompetence. It is one of the stock insults the PM of the UK throws at the conservatives. It basically means that you have no idea what you are doing and no expertise to do it. The metaphor is most associated with being a laughing stock.

The use of the metaphor (circus) is most associated with the semiotic of clowning and clowns. The implication is that the clown is a laughing stock for an audience primed to see stupidity. When I was at school teachers used the metaphor often about the class ‘clown’. The class clown was the one who drew attention to themselves but couldn’t answer the question. The class clown attracted attention, made heaps of noise but was usually isolated and out of sync with the rest.

So, it is no surprise that a Safety thinks ‘The Circus of Safety’ is a good idea.

Yet again, we see the common safety culture paradigm rise to the surface, speaking on matters with no expertise. Yes folks, if you want to know about culture, ethics, anthropology, semiotics, psychology, neuropsychology or linguistics, just ask Safety.

The idea of safety as a circus also shares much in common with HOP, that thinks that safety is a ‘performance’. Indeed, we also associate the idea of a performance with what is not real, making a performance is something turned on in a theatre. Making a spectacle of oneself is usually a mask for incompetence.

The trouble is, many lack the critical thinking required to see that much of this stuff is ‘an act’. There is no new methodology, there is no new ethic, there is no method; it’s just traditional safety wrapped in more slogans and spin.

It is no surprise that the metaphor of the circus is used to apply to the ‘performance’ of Trump.

What we see in just a few days is utter chaos unleashed in the USA, as if dysfunction is a good thing (https://www.deccanherald.com/world/its-a-circus-trump-unleashes-chaos-at-key-us-science-agency-3397318). What we also see in the cult of Trump (https://www.simonandschuster.com.au/books/The-Cult-of-Trump/Steven-Hassan/9781982127343 ) is a denial of reality sprouting forth nonsense (eg. owning Gaza, invading Greenland etc) as sense. Do a search for ‘Trump Circus’ and look what shows up.

This is what you get when you claim the metaphor of the circus.

I know, let’s get a group of safety people together and lecture the sector on what we don’t know. But as long as we are passionate about ignorance, Safety will follow.

The only people who don’t know they are a laughing stock are those who parade ignorance as expertise and then normalise nonsense, a key characteristic of safety culture. This is the safety way, declaring what is by what isn’t (https://safetyrisk.net/declaring-what-is-by-what-isnt-hop-as-traditional-safety/). What a circus!

Slogans are not substance and claiming the word ‘professional’ doesn’t make one professional. (https://safetyrisk.net/ethics-and-the-foundation-for-being-professional/ )

The best way to move forward in safety is to NOT listen to those with no expertise in critical areas of risk. Don’t go searching for expertise in tackling risk or culture from the ‘class clown’. Don’t listen to the noise of a ‘performance’. Being entertained is no substitute for learning. If you want more traditional safety then keep listening to the ‘circus’ or ‘punk rock’ and then complain about how there’s nothing enriching in the safety sector.

If you are looking for competence and professional development in understanding culture and how to tackle the challenges of risk in a positive and practical way, perhaps start here: https://cllr.com.au/ or do some reading here: https://safetyrisk.net/safety-culture-3/