And no I didn't mean known quantity. In retrospect I should have left out "known".

You may now pelt me with rotten fruit.

Eh, "known commodity" works fine, if you think about it. Don't beat yourself up.

And the village idiot had a purpose -- as an almost sacred clown, the village idiot would run around the town square, holler at respectable women, drink, cry insensibly, blaspheme and pick mock-fights with strangers. The crowds would laugh and jeer at him, sure, but the village idiot played an important role; he was the sociological equivalent of a Contrary, defining the boundaries of good taste and civility, demonstrating (and personifying) the absurdity and futility of transgressing ingrained social mores.

More hegemonic than philosophic, like Breitbart, like his Tea Party, like his GOP.

And like you said, this video is an inversion of that formula. Whereas the village idiot of Ye Olden Days defined the limitations of social conduct - beyond which, everything is "lunacy" - the village idiot today defines the scope of social conduct, pushing the boundaries out a little further each time he is inconvenienced or wants to make a point. The village idiot gave the shopkeep a handful of ashes and tried to convince him of their relative material worth and everyone laughed; Breitbart shills and lies for a 3-minute hit piece and a thousand disciples spring up in his wake - because Breitbart did it, and if Breitbart did it, then it's not wrong. As if the crowds queued up behind the village idiot with handfuls of ash and they truly believed they were clutching diamonds.

I'm just ranting now. Sorry.