Driving about on errands last evening, the phrase “marrow-sucking weasels” came to mind as I pondered:
The utter nihilism of a political movement that claims to eschew elitism while seeking to concentrate wealth and power with:
a cadre of Randian überbermensch enthralled by the myth of Reagan and the character of John Galt, and/or
End Times Dominionists with visions of King Davidism or Queen Estherism.
The horrifying stupidity of a group that claims to exemplify reason while engorging the numbers of the powerless, burdened, neo-feudal masses by denying women access to contraception and family planning.
The appalling hypocrisy of a “pro-life” platform that does not support a decent quality of life for the post-fetal American, and is fond of war and torture.
The total ridiculousness of a group that seeks to use labor and resources as cheaply and rapidly as possible despite enormous environmental and health impacts while calling itself “conservative.”
The complete emptiness of a movement that waves the Constitution and screams FREEDOM but defines freedom as the freedom of the tyrant and the fortunate son: the freedom to seize, to control, to conquer, to rape and pillage, and to rule (the world) with impunity.
The unmitigated audacity of a privileged class that rejects paying royalties on resources they monopolize whilst ruining environs they inhabit at their convenience, and extorts subsidies and bailouts from citizens whilst praising the virtues of the free market and the vices of socialism.
I question their motives. Is there a density of misery that “conservatives” must visit upon the Earth and its creatures before Moloch can be appeased and Armageddon can ensue? Are the Mayan gods making a comeback in 2012 and a boatload of human sacrifice is required to appease the second coming of Chac? Is there a cosmic law that says every single resource must be expended to the luxury of the few before humans learn, too late, that sustainability and common cause are more sensible approaches to organizing life? Is the mothership returning to pick up slaves for the next planetary colonization and if quotas are not met our imbedded overlords are going to catch hell from the brass at Galactic Empirecorp? For me, these are the only types of motives that account for the policies that “conservatives” pursue. Otherwise, they make no sense — common or otherwise.
Though we live in times where saying something outrageous is acceptable as long as it is catchy or clever or you are physically attractive, I like to know if the words I am putting out there are either grounded in reality or are a bemused (or disgusted) poke at reality. Since I don’t know that weasels actually suck marrow, or suck anything else for that matter, I decide to look into the sucking habits of weasels. After arriving home, I google marrow sucking weasels and receive the following first result:
Solitaire of love – Google Books Result
Cristina Peri Rossi, Robert S. Rudder, Gloria Chacón de Arjona – 2000 – Fiction – 111 pages
The weasel, sated, vomits out detritus from the act of sucking and devouring. … the little gnawed bones, the squeezed liver, the sucked-out marrow, …
Gross, yet oddly poetic, and sensual. Curious, I go in search of the context for this googlult. I click on Solitaire of love – Google Books Result and read non-contextualized bits of a novel that includes a sensual character named Aida. I get a sense of darkness in the story, but lush writing … a hint of Flaubert, Colette, Nin and National Geographic. But I only read three pages of non-contiguous text, and the English translation at that, so what do I know?
Though interesting, Rossi’s marrow-sucking weasel serves as a metaphor for a femme fatale, so I move on to Wikipedia to check out the viability of my new totem for the “conservative” movement.
A well-dressed weasel
I find that “weasels are small, active predators.” Check.
It is believed that the name “weasel” comes from the Anglo-Saxon root “weatsop” meaning “a vicious bloodthirsty animal.” Yeah, metaphorically that works.
In English-language popular culture, the term “weasel” commonly is associated with devious or treacherous characters … in reference to the weasel’s reputation for skullduggery, the phrase “weasel words” means insincere or devious speech.” Well, that quality is predominant in politicians of all stripes, so, yepper.
I also learn that weasels suck marrow. “The wolverine (a type of weasel) can crush bones as thick as the femur of a moose to get at the marrow” and is associated in some cultures with gluttony. Check.
Shakespeare mentioned weasels sucking eggs in Henry V and As You Like It, though there seems to be some controversy as to whether the weasels’ mandible is suitable to the task. If the Bard had Google, he might have made weasels suck something else or have something else suck eggs. Though it is also possible the mandible controversy would not exist were it not for Shakespeare’s egg-sucking attribute. Who knows, maybe he would have ditched the sucking altogether.
But one thing I do know. A marrow-sucking weasel is an apt totem for those few among us who support policies that are primarily detrimental to the least among us.
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