Feeding Big Man (a story for adults)

Once there was a village near the river
like other villages, but in this village stood a man
taller than the others, jolly and bright. He built huts,
ploughed fields, caught fish, forged tools.

There was nothing he couldn't do. He grew
faster, stronger, with each passing day 

while others so impressed with his speed
saw their own skills pale in comparison. 

So in awe of his strength they left him to his jobs
while they struck a committee, elected a chairman
wrote up a roster to feed, wash and clothe him.
Villagers laboured to keep him strong and beefy.

Big man got bigger, got stuck behind his door.
Couldn't leave his house, couldn't do his chores
so the villagers had to do them as well as care
for him in the style and manner to which

he was accustomed, his large appetite, rich tastes

too big for his humble home, he demanded more

– a castle or a mansion, while the villagers bore

the cost with their labour, health, and savings

they were tired, worn down, enslaved by his needs 

but what could they do? What could they say?

Trapped! Until a child crept with courage to the castle
late at night to plead and show the man how the village

had become so poor, so weary, her last feint hope 
for reason and compassion and he wept, overcome with guilt 
he thanked the child, promised to care for all, the way
he had been cared for. She ran home to tell her folks

who were relieved, happy, and praised the child
until the mayor and town planner heard the story
charged the girl with treason, banned her
from the village for going above her station.

Just who did she think she was to enter
the sacred castle of the big man? The good
villagers argued with their neighbours.
Was the child right or wrong? 

Alone with a broken heart she wandered hills
and valleys, starved and cold she died
in a distant valley by a different river
while villagers wrote laws and manners

so that no child would embarrass her elders
by showing more courage and gumption
than they. Never again. The lesson well learned
life got back to normal, a solemn duty bound

tradition, a weary acceptance, the sober 
second thought, everyone in their place.
A trap they felt but never dared talk about.
The way things are. 

The Anthro-Hyena

In an earlier post I proposed a  new class system consisting of Anthro-Hyenas, Gate-Beavers and Field Mice.  This post is a closer look at the Anthro-Hyena.

The anthro-hyena is a hyena in character with human intelligence. A creature not confined by capacity or ability but by narrow vision.  He/She seems unable to connect his/her actions with outcomes unless the outcome benefits the self. The anthro-hyena is capable of creating tools, weapons, machines, systems and alliances that may destroy millions of people or hectares of land, but lacks feelings of remorse or reflection on the harmful results. The anthro-hyena is not a person with a personality disorder, or incapable of feeling empathy - but exhibits a reverse of empathy, in that he/she gets a greater sense of power and accomplishment based on the numbers of those harmed or the area of control.

It's important to point out, that the anthro-hyena is not defined by a particular religion, gender or socio-economic class, but by their focus on power as the basis of life's meaning.

The four legged hyena is satisfied with enough food to eat but the anthro-hyena keeps grasping for more of whatever is out there.  Their mantra is a whisper  held almost under the breath, repeated over and over again  - "wotsinitforme".

They are often but not always, highly educated, well dressed and show impeccable manners. This is to enable their upward mobility.  They are very skilled at manipulation, and can be found in the clubs and back rooms of the most influential and powerful institutions. They seek careers in the police force, the military, law, education, politics, finance, management - not for the love of the discipline, or to help and protect, but for the power invested in the position.

The extent to which the anthro-hyena is successful  depends on his or her ability to groom others for their own benefit. They crave followers and adoration but feel no loyalty towards anyone or anything unless it elevates their interests.  The truly genius among them gain enormous powers of influence without any notoriety or fame. They manipulate and control yet always manage to escape blame for the crises they create.

The world of wealth and power is controlled by the anthro-hyena, but they are not entirely the cause of all that is unjust and evil. They succeed because of the work and discipline of the gate-beavers, and the ignorance of the field mice.

The New Class System

I remember being cornered at a party, back in the sixties when I was a new immigrant to Canada, by a young man telling me why the UK is going down hill.  The nation was mired in a class system, he thought, that kept them from reaching their economic potential, whereas Canada was free of any such out-dated confinements. 

Back then the familiar terms were upper, middle and working class, and although Canadians didn't often allude to class, there was a vast gap between the wealthiest Canadians and the poorest.

The notion of a working, middle and aristocratic class has a genteel ring to it, but we know the reality was more brutal than was ever talked about.  Therefore I propose that the class system should be renamed - either because it has changed, or because it's more in line with reality.

I would call the three classes "anthro-hyenas", "gate-beavers" and "field mice".

Anthro-hyenas very much in the minority, are the ruling elite. Fiercely carnivorous and protective of their own friends and family they are not content to simply fill their bellies as their four legged cousins might. They are hungry for everlasting security. This means controlling world resources (including labour) by creating systems of oppression for everyone else by whatever means necessary.

Field mice are us.  We are so busy trying to survive, caring for and protecting our families we barely have time to look at the big picture.  Being vulnerable to manipulation we tend not to blame the causes but the victims of the system - particularly if they are even more vulnerable than we are.

Gate-beavers are the class created to keep the field mice from knowing how the system works. They are well trained to protect the position and power of the anthro-hyenas - to be the impenetrable walls that keep the field mice out. Gate-beavers build institutions, create laws, design wars, co opt media and do whatever they can to maintain the ideology that power is a zero sum game.

Who is to blame for this?  Is it the ruling elite, the anthro-hyenas, who have abused power for thousands of years? Is it the field mice getting dizzy running around their particular wheels unable to see the landscape?  Is it the gate-beavers who invest their lives in a system of oppression by pandering to wealthy interests?  Or is blame a construct we use out of habit, because systems of oppression have always relied on setting up enemies in order to maintain the status quo?

Is it possible that the destruction of this planet might be halted by new ways of organizing human capacity as we discover the interdependent web of self interest and social responsibility? Will there be a time when left wing and right wing become redundant phrases as Canada becomes a nation free of class structures as the young man in the sixties proclaimed?