The Sheep and the Wolves

The sheep and the wolves is a metaphor that has had much more influence than it ever deserved to have. According to this metaphor, some people are good (sheep); some people are bad (wolves); and some people are bad pretending to be good (the wolves in the sheep's clothing).

I do not see any reason whatsoever why so many people should believe in this metaphor. There are all sorts of other species than sheep and wolves; and many of them have far more to offer than either the sheep or the wolves.

I am neither a sheep nor a wolf. I have a strong antipathy toward both. The first overpopulate the world and consume all its resources; and the second has no conscience and treats people like dirt. I would rather see the lions or the gazelles get a passing chance. Yes, there are prey-and-predator relations among them as well; but they are far more interesting than the sheep and the wolves and also far more beautiful.

To claim that one must be a sheep, or else one is a wolf, is the true wrongdoing here. Sheep are only one out of many species. If one isn't a sheep, it doesn't mean that one is a wolf. It can mean all sorts of things, many of them much better than either the sheep or the wolves.

Having been accused of being a wolf in a sheep's clothing, I have to say this. I am not a sheep, and I am not a wolf. I am what I am myself, and I resent being portrayed as something that I am not. There are many possible things that people can be. The more this is understood, the more humanity has to stand to benefit from the efforts of people who are neither sheep nor wolves but are who they are themselves.