Andy Kaufman Isnt Dead

That's not quite Rocco because Rocco has not "returned." He has been generated anew out of simple frustration or (perhaps) hope, called into physicality by thousands of NO votes.

His sudden appearance out of nothingness isn't the publicity stunt or self-aggrandizement the media would make it; indeed, my colleagues have (correctly) observed that Rocco is performance artist Andy Kaufman. But "who" was never the question; the question was "when," and the answer is "now" in this triumph of the popular will, this almost supernatural invocation of true democratic principles that signals a sea change for the better in the city of Orange.

With his installation on the board this Tuesday, the residents of one of the county's most troubled school districts will receive the balm they have long been crying for: with Rocco on the board, progress toward the (trans)formation of long-stymied collective desire is finally possible. The alternative would have been the total collapse of human dignity within the Orange Unified School District. But with Rocco's ascension, the people have better than their say: they have their will. To paraphrase something pertinent, if Steve Rocco did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him. They did. (Steve Laughner)