LOCOFOCO

February 15, 2010

Locofoco
\’lo-ke-‘fo-ko\ n 1: a member of a radical group of New York Democrats organized in 1835. 2: a member of the Democratic party of the United States*

“Social Studies” (as it was called in grammar school) was never really my strong suit. I did well when I applied myself yet found that the amount of memorization was too overwhelming for my brain, it was just like science, way too much remembering was required
From what I do remember and what is commonly displayed throughout present political occurrences, a rivalry has always existed between the two parties. Many Republicans have more often than not been stereotyped as staunch right-wing individuals who do not typify the liberal label; most Democrats on the other hand are advocates of topics that are what I like to call “eye-brow raisers.” (It is important to note that not all members of either of these parties agree with all policies or stereotypical beliefs). It is safe to say that Republicans and Democrats do not often see eye to eye.
A subject that I did do particularly well in was Spanish and was taught that the word “loco” meant crazy. So imagine my surprise when I noticed that Democrats in the mid 19th century were labeled as locofocos. Thinking it was somehow related to the Spanish meaning, I chuckled and thought if I were a Republican, this would definitely be appropriate.
However, I was wrong. According to Page-A-Day Calender by Workman Publishing, the word locofoco is derived by two Latin words that are joined: loco (which can be interpreted as meaning self-propelled but which actually means place) and fuoco, which means fire in Italian. In 1835, a few Democrats had learned of a scheme by their foes to hinder their meeting by extinguishing the gas lights. As soon as the plan was brought to fruition, the locofocos struck the matches therefore ruining their rival’s plan of sabotage.
After reading this, I chuckled and thought to myself, if I were a Republican, would I have thought of that?

*letter “e” is upside down and creates sound of “uh”