My aunt has a cat named Genevieve,

[darkstar3]

and a dog named Riley. They both live in the same house with her and my uncle.

Now cats and dogs are old and obvious adversaries, and in order to train the two of them to live together my aunt was very attentive and strict. Any aggressive behavior was immediately corrected, no matter which party it came from. But my aunt loves to tell (and so do I) an interesting story about how that correction backfired.

You see, Genevieve figured out 2 things about Riley: 1) He would attack immediately if provoked, and 2) he was incapable of attacking silently.

So one day, while standing in the kitchen, my aunt hears Riley snarl and bark, to which she immediately responds by turning and correcting him. With both animals looking at her with somber eyes, Genevieve put upon by the dog and Riley sorry to have earned his master's ire, she turned back to chopping her potatoes, and happened as she turned her back to the animals to catch some motion on the reflective glass oven door. Genevieve swatted Riley on the snout, and immediately, without being touched, flipped onto her back to cry woe, suffering, and persecution. It was then that my aunt realized that Genevieve had learned to goad her unwelcome opponent, and was feigning persecution in an attempt to see Riley punished, or even banished, and thus cement her place as alpha pet.

The story of Genevieve and Riley features strongly in my mind when listening to American Christians, of late. I wonder why...

[KT2000]

1. Great story

Cats rule - that'a all there is to it.

[laconicsax]

2. Recommend.

[TexasProgresive]

3. Sounds like my boys lol

This is just human nature and has nothing to do with religious belief or not-people are people and will act accordingly. Rarely someone of us will rise above and do the unhuman thing, such as stand for what is right no matter the personal cost.

[A Simple Game]

4. The antagonist playing the victim is

indeed a good analogy for American cristians.