I once read a blog post that warned against the dangerous lesson that can be drawn from The Scorpion and the Frog.
This tale is an ancient one; so ancient, its origins are unclear. Alongside a river, a frog meets a scorpion. The scorpion asks for a ride across. At first, the frog is hesitant to grant this request, but the scorpion promises he won’t sting the frog. The frog trusts the scorpion and gives him a ride. But halfway across, the scorpion stings the frog. As the venom takes hold, and the two are doomed to die together in the middle of the river, the scorpion explains that it’s in his nature to sting.
There are other versions of this story. One with a turtle instead of a frog, where the turtle’s shell shields him from the sting.
And the one that has captured my imagination: The Scorpion and the Ladybug.
Here, the scorpion and the ladybug are good friends, who love each other dearly. Yet the scorpion inevitably stings the ladybug, killing his friend because… it’s his nature.
As the blogger pointed out, this story could be used to warn against giving too much trust towards individuals who have shown themselves dangerous. That’s fine.
But the story can also be used to discourage trusting those who are the “wrong type” of people. Muslims. Blacks. Gays. Anybody we can point to as our “abhorrent other” (as some philosopher defined it).
Encouraging fear and distrust – and discouraging people from helping those in need if they’re “one of them” – is a dangerous ‘moral.’
As I see it, there’s a simple way of repairing the lesson of the story. We tend to imagine ourselves as the innocent ladybug – or frog or turtle – when maybe it’s more accurate to identify with the scorpion.
It’s in our nature to harm others: by our selfishness, our greed, our careless words… even our careless silences.
This doesn’t mean we should avoid people because we can’t be trusted with anyone.
It does mean we need to be prepared to give up part of our very nature in order to truly love another person.
The tale of the Scorpion and the Ladybug enamours me by its very premise: a scorpion and a ladybug, as loving friends? What an oddly charming concept!
