David Corn of The Nation

[chipotle]

David Corn of The Nation writes:

There's a hornet's nest out back. You and your buddy talk about what to do about it. He says, "I'm going to hit it with a stick." You say, "No, don't do that. Let's think about another way to deal with the problem."



He says, "I'm going to hit it with a stick." You plead, "Don't do this. Maybe we can smoke them out. Ask others what to do. Find some other solution."



He says, "I'm going to hit it with a stick." You reply, " No, really, let's—" He then hits the nest with a stick. Hornets go flying everywhere. They sting whomever they can find. As chaos ensues, your friend looks at you and says, "Hey, don't tell me that it was wrong to hit it with a stick. That would be a waste of time. Tell me what's your solution for dealing with the problem now."

While I'm keeping my unofficial policy of not getting too political (because, honestly, commenting on political situations through punditry isn't nearly as interesting as exploring them in fiction), I can't help but chuckle at that analogy.

(N.B.: Yes, Virginia, there really are political themes sometimes in Chipotle's furry fiction, even if they're not as in-your-face as Phil Geusz's stories can get.)

Comments

[rancourt.livejournal.com]

While there is certainly a good bit of wisdom in that stance -- the planning, the considering of consequences, over simply acting on the first impulse that comes to mind -- I can't help but look back at my own life and note that a few times, hitting the damn nest with a stick was a godsend, even if I got stung head to toe.

I think, once in a while, you smack the nest knowing fully well you're going to get stung, and it's going to royally suck to be you for a while while you heal -- but it's going to get you the result you want, ultimately. Sometimes you don't have have smoke, or exterminators, or other means at your disposal. Sometimes the 'hell' is staring at the nest, knowing you only have a stick, afraid to strike it and end the wait for the hornets to multiply and make your yard uninhabitable by non-hornets.

I realize this wasn't your intent with your post, but it got me thinking about my own life. Many would say I'm the idiot with the stick in many cases. On the other hand, looking at the many times 'hilarity has ensued' in a FARK sense, I'm not sure it was such a bad thing, much of the time. Sometimes, all I had was a stick, and in hindsight, even if it was hell for a while -- I'm glad I smacked the damn nest down.

And I'm still here. Those damn hornets didn't kill me.

[wordslinger.livejournal.com]

I think that pretty well fits my assessment of the situation. While I was behind the action in Afghanistan, I felt that the threat from Iraq wasn't as great as the threat from Al Qaida, and that efforts could be better spent doing a multinational coalition to get rid of those guys rather than going after Iraq.

I did see a link (not sure how accurate the report is) that they're considering surrounding troublesome towns with barbed wire fences and giving everyone passes to get in and out. I'm sincerely hoping that this is just someone's Stupid Idea (tm) and is not in serious consideration. Turning Iraq into a country of concentration camps would be a disastrous move.

I'm mostly relieved that Bush didn't decide he wanted to try for a piece of North Korea while he was at it.

[tacit.livejournal.com]

Ooh! Ooh! I know! I know!

First, round up all your friends and neighbors. Then, give each one of them a stick. Then, send them all into the back yard with instructions to hit each hornet, or additional hornet's nest, they see with their stick.

[nekomavin.livejournal.com]

You forgot a step in the analogy - the part where your friend notes that the nest has grown larger while you're sitting around discussing it. And discussing it. And discussing it...

Sometimes, action is needed. Because you can't talk the nest out of the tree.