The Wolf......

D

dean1818

New member
I saw this posted on facebook

The Wolf, the Shepherd, the Sheepdog, and the Sheep

The wolf wants to kill and eat the sheep. That’s what a wolf does.

The wolf HATES the shepherd and the sheepdogs, because they each keep
the wolf away and protect the flock of sheep.

The shepherd has a very large herd of sheep. Because the herd is so large, and the number of wolves, seem to keep growing, sheepdogs are also necessary to protect the herd.

The wolf, by nature, will approach the edge of the herd, and whisper to the sheep that will listen, that a sheepdog just isn’t necessary.

The wolf will use great sounding arguments of where a sheepdog actually bit a sheep. They will repeat the same story, and add exaggerations to this story to make the sheep believe.

They will convince the sheep that will listen, that there are only a few wolves, and that they are misunderstood, and are really no threat to the herd.

Some of the sheep may begin to tell other sheep that they don’t need a sheepdog, using the same argument as the wolf.

Because of these few sheep, the sheep herd may approach the sheepdog and tell him that they only way that he can stay if for him to remove his front teeth. The sheepdog’s front teeth are sharp, and scary looking, and there obviously isn’t a true need for them.

Because of these few sheep, the rest of the sheep may get together, and drive off the sheepdog, or force him to remove his sharp front teeth to stay.

After the sheepdog goes away, the wolf will again come back to the edge of the herd, and tell the sheep that will listen, that there is not really a need for the shepherd.

The wolf will use great sounding arguments of where a shepherd mistreated a sheep. They will tell the sheep that will listen, that the shepherd only likes sheep of certain color wool. They will repeat the same story, and add exaggerations to this story to make the sheep believe.

The wolf will tell the sheep that the shepherd doesnt need the staff and spear, as these are scary looking. The wolf will tell the sheep that the shepherd can do his job, but he doesn’t need to come around so often, as there really isn’t a threat.

Some of the sheep may begin to tell other sheep that they don’t need a shepherd, using the same argument as the wolf

Because of a few sheep, the sheep herd may get together, and drive off the shepherd.

At the end, the only thing left is a growing pack of hungry wolves, and the herd of sheep.

Can you guess what is on the menu?

The police and the legally armed citizen are the good guys, 99.9% of the time.

(Can you guess who they are in the story?)

Other than that…….. the Wolf, and those influenced by the Wolf, may not be your friend………
 
Very creative.

The sheep are praised by the Wolf and other sheep for regular sacrifices to the Wolf. It's very popular when there is perceived safety in numbers. Appease the bully.

I personally don't know how I feel about the whole "sheepdog" analogy, likely because I don't know a lot about sheepdogs in real life. In the eyes of the government it may be more like sheep and armed sheep. But still sheep. This may be petty, but sometimes when I hear people talk about being sheepdogs there is a little more ego and less humility involved. But I suppose no more than the general population.

To me there is another dimension: Sheep hurt sheep, sheep fall to addictions, disturbed sheep take terribly impulsive action that sometimes must be stopped. Some sheep have incurable habits (in this life anyways) But still just sheep.

Is the Wolf merely someone doing something harmful, or a force that has a more intentional long-term malicious goal? Is the Wolf the criminal? All crime? Misguided government? A social movement? The devil?

The analogy is present in the Bible for a specific illustration. But the picture gets a bit muddy when it's applied to other contexts because we don't start out labeling all the characters the same.
 
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The only problem is that there's no clear evidence that private gun owners fill the same function in society that sheepdog do for a flock.
Further, the sheepdogs are under the complete control of the shepherd; from my experience that's the last thing private gun owners want.

Better analogy for banks, regulations, regulators and citizens imho.
 
I recently went through a 21 hour training for CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). They had a story somewhat similar to the one above. There are Sheep (most all people) There are Sheep Dogs that watch over and help out the Sheep (CERT) and there are the Wolves, those that wish to harm the Sheep. Moral of the story, be a Sheep Dog, not a Sheep.
 
The shepherd has a staff, the sheepdog doesn't.

The analogy doesn't really work for me, because historically shepherds were persons that weren't capable of performing regular work of their time, so they were assigned the duty of watching the sheep (goats)

Sheepdogs (I've raised goats) will become part of the herd that they are watching and form a deterent to predators.

I know one thing, sheep don't care that they are sheep; but call people sheep.... They get really upset. As soon as the word sheep comes out of someone's mouth they become an Alex Jones conspiracy nut and the argument falls on deaf ears.
 
The Sheepdog and Wolf often get their roles reversed . But then agin Sheep dont always act the way you expect them to .
 
Old story,, I've heard it several ways. Most of them a little different from yours.

The main difference is that in your version the wolf(s) convince the some sheep, who convince the rest to rid themselves of the sheepdog(s) and eventually the shepherd. Nice touch.

The versions I've heard before differ slightly. The Wolf doesn't even talk to the sheep, he doesn't NEED to.

Sheep, being sheep, and not the brightest of animals, FEAR the sheepdog, as much as the Wolf. They BOTH have scary teeth!!! Sheep fear the scary teeth, and really can't tell the difference between the wolf and the sheepdog.

(conveniently not realizing that the wolf eats them, and the sheepdog, does not)

otherwise, same general story, with the predictable result.

The Wolf does not need the sheep to get rid of the shepherd, or his arms, the Wolf only needs to be rid of the Sheepdogs, who are everywhere with the sheep. The Shepherd can only be in one place, at one time, so without the threat of Sheepdogs, the wolves simply strike where the Shepherd is not.

There is also a version where some sheep learn that they too, have teeth, and can protect themselves and the flock. But the rest of the flock fears them, as well, BECAUSE they have TEETH. And unless they keep their teeth hidden, they are shunned.

They are nice stories, but sadly the people who most need to get their point, usually don't.
 
Old story,, I've heard it several ways. Most of them a little different from yours.
Click to expand...

Me too, but one thing is always the same. The person telling the story is trying to convince us he is a wolf and others that do things differently are all sheep. IOWs, me strong, intelligent, brave wolf, you weak, cowardly, stupid sheep. In reality, there are plenty of dumb, weak wolves out there that die young, just as there are sheep other than those that are domesticated and huddle together in constant fear. In reality, even domestic sheep don't talk to each other about whether or not the sheepdog is needed.....thus the story is just a fairy tale intended for the intelligence of children.
 
As I see it, a Wolf pack only wants a few sheep to satisfy their apatite. However, the Shepherd wants to enslave as many sheep as he can to periodically steal their wool and/or to slaughter and butcher them for meat, right? Is the sheepdog protecting the sheep or the slave-owner's investment? So, the sheepdog is really nothing but a lazy wolf who works for the Mutton Company in exchange for payment of organically grown kibbles & bits.
 
Yes, beware of the shepherd, he is the one that ensures the demise of every sheep. It is guaranteed that all in his care will be slaughtered.

The wolf only does what's natural for him, not evil. The sheep do what sheep can do within the constraints of its captivity. The sheepdog has been trained.

The shepherd is the one .... Shifty eyed shepherd.
 
"the Wolf only does what's natural... not evil"
"Wolf pack only wants a few sheep to satisfy their appetite"

So the conclusion is....? Let the Wolf pack be and accept losses?

If the Wolf is an attacker acting in a harmful way, he/she is excused because it's what they always do? The wolf needs to be stopped regardless of WHY they are attacking a sheep. One could also say a corrupt shepherd is only doing what's natural too (on a personal level), except preferred rewards are kickbacks, prestige, fame, not blood. Both should be stopped.

The whole sheep analogy just doesn't extend to the nitty gritty. That's it's limitation. It works for attacks by the wolf and defense by the sheepdogs. I don't think ANY agricultural analogy where people are the crop would not appear to make us slaves. For example, people care that their chickens and eggs are free range, but do farmers let their chickens just wander off to die of old age out in the woods?
 
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The shepherd ensures the death of his herd after he has gleaned all profits from them. The wolf will die at the hands of the shepherd if he threatens the shepherds profits. The sheepdog seems to be the one to assure his own safety by going along with the shepherd.

Depends on your perspective on who's right and who's wrong.

The wolf only looks to survive, his pack helps increase his odds.
 
The sheep are smart and greedy and spend their days trying to find more and better ways to take what others have worked for . So the sheep should be left to protect themselfs .
 
"The shepherd ensures the death of his herd"

Again, a limitation of the agricultural analogy, and death is not always the goal of a farmer/shepherd.

"Depends on your perspective on who's right....The wolf only looks to survive"

Whoa there. I thought it's general agreement that the Wolf prey on the sheep. Robbery, identity theft, assault, murder, rape. Preying on other people is NOT OKAY no matter the reason. When we apply the analogy to people, these wolves were sheep first. They choose to act out or not. To work and save up their money to "survive" or not. We can have compassion but they are still responsible for their actions. I cannot imagine how this is a matter of perspective for the Wolf to be right. When the Wolf acts, he is not striking a righteous blow against "the man" or "the system" but it comes at a direct cost to the person he hurts.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding you here. But preying on others is not right, even if others (corrupt shepherd) do it too through more "legal" means.
 
That's why comparing humans to mindless herd animals will never work.

In the natural order, the wolf has a place, the sheep has his place. Both completely separate species. A third species (human) trains the wolf into a life of servitude (sheepdog), and forms a parasitic relationship with the sheep.

This can be spun in fifty different ways.

But, humans are not sheep. They are devided into simple groups:
Some are law abiding, some are not. Some are in charge, some are not.

Somehow we are saying that being a carrier of a weapon, puts us in a class other than those that I've mentioned, that's silly.

Now I don't think people are sheep... Some think differently than me, that's ok, doesn't make them sheep. Harm may befall them, harm may befall me. I try to mitigate those chances, but I can't stop everything.
 
Sheep herd A, believes that its own shepherd is righteous and calls sheep herd B "sheep" and doesn't think of themselves as sheep. Sheep herd B laughs at herd A and says "silly sheep, you haven't a clue."

Both have: the shepherd, the sheepdog and the wolf calling the shots.

No sheep knows he's a sheep; some sheepdogs think they are sheep. Some sheep think they are sheepdogs.

Sheepdogs are appointed by the shepherd. So if your not a shepherd, wolf by nature or a duly sworn sheepdog... You are indeed a sheep,like (believe) it or not, your flock is the best flock in your mind. Your position in the flock may be your own delusion.
 
I knew someone with sheep who was experiencing a rise in coyote activity and was afraid their sheep would get picked off. They decided to buy a sheep dog to protect the sheep. Paid decent money for a papered dog whose breeders raved about what good sheep dogs the breed was and set it loose in the field with the sheep. That night they hear sheep crying. Think, oh the dog is out there everything will be fine s it is watching them. It continues for a bit so they go to check. The sheep dog has one of the sheep laid open with most of its guts spread over the ground.

My experience with people referring to themselves as sheep dogs isn't much different. A lot of arrogance and contempt in the analogy. I can't remember the last time someone helped me who was arrogant or contemptuous.
 
"Only winners are sharks. Sharks never look back, because they don't have necks. Anyone who's not a shark is fired. And I'm proud to be shepherd of this flock of sharks."

I think any allegory that tries to lump all of humanity into four buckets is likely to be inherently flawed.

TCB
 
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