The Rumkowski Rabbits

 

Nothing heavy here.  Just a sweet little parable about bunnies... and left-gatekeeper websites.

There was once a warren of rabbits. Most of them were content with being rabbits.  For one thing, they had no choice.  Furthermore, they realized they had certain talents that enabled them to thrive as rabbits.  This they were told by their own spirit long ago:

All the world will be your enemy, Prince of a Thousand enemies. And when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you; digger, listener, runner, Prince with the swift warning. Be cunning, and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed

 

There was one rabbit named Rumkowski who was not satisfied with being a rabbit.  “The Jackals think we are weak,” he said, “we are tough.  The Jackals think we dig holes.  Let us build towers.  That is progress.  We are progressive.”  The children in the warren were confused.

“We dig, we listen, we run,” they said. “We are cunning and full of tricks,” they said.

“Ah, but so are the Jackals,” said Rumkowski. “So I have negotiated with them.  We do not listen, we speak.  We do not dig, we build towers.  That is progress.  We are tough and progressive.”

“We have told our children differently,” said the others.  “Have we not all an equal say in the warren?  Is not the warren bottom-up, where we dig, run, and listen?”

“The Jackals laugh at us,” said Rumkowski rabbit. “We are tough and progressive.  This is a decision that the warren senior team has struggled with at length. We believe it is the right thing to do to move the warren in the direction we want it to go-- towards continuing to be a trusted, respected animal community where progressive ideas and visions are explored in a respectful tough minded way, and where progressive ideas reach all animal leaders, so our babies not only get their ideas out, but also reach, influence and make a difference. "

The Jackals demanded to see the babies who insisted on digging, running and listening.  At this point, Rumkowski should have examined his soul… but at this point. Rumkowski rabbit HAD no soul.  Instead, Rumkowski rabbit issued an edict throughout the warren:  “I must stretch out my hands and beg: Brothers and sisters! Hand them over to me! Fathers and mothers: Give me your children!”

Today, the warren is gone. The rabbits are gone… and the Jackals are gone as well.  Today, where the warren used to be, it is now a parking lot.  Today, there is nothing to park on the wide stretch of cracking asphalt so poisoned by toxins and self-interest, even weeds will not grow through the cracks in the multi-acre petrochemical slab.  At least a few birds make nests in the shell that was once a big-box “store.”  But the field where there were once animals and creatures great and small is barren.

Nothing grows there at all.