The Wasp
- An Allegory of Registered Sex Offenders in the U.S.
Terry Brown, The American Chronicle, April 25, 2007
I just came in from cleaning the pool. While I was doing so a wasp flew
around looking for a drink. He was minding his own business just going
about his daily activities trying to survive and not bothering anyone.
Immediately I became irritated by his mere presence. Unknowingly, he
carried on his back a reputation created by those few wasps of the
millions in our airways who have stung a fellow human. Immediately,
instinctively I wanted to stop him before he had the opportunity to
inflict that same pain upon me. In my mind his mere presence represented
a threat to me.
I used the long reach of my skimmer pole to cast a net over him and
force him below the water. As I held him there, basking in the glory of
my ability to control my own destiny by ridding the world of one more
threat, I noticed several of his brethren flying around also seeking a
cool and refreshing beverage. After several minutes I decided he must be
dead, and even if he wasn't it was sort of pointless as there were
simply too many of them to kill them all. I pulled the skimmer up and
laid it on the deck of the pool in its usual spot.
I then laid on my chaise lounge to soak up some rays and enjoy the
relaxation of the music. I didn't give that insignificant wasp a second
thought.
Just when I started to doze into unconsciousness I felt a sharp pain on
my foot and looked down to find a dripping wet wasp walking around with
his wings raised as if in a fighting posture. This wasp had just stung me!
I said to myself, "hmmm, guess I asked for that." |