The Lonely Sheepdog

Tuner, nice quote. Did you get that out of a particular book?

Wyatt Earp is an excellent source to quote.

Passengers and driver alike regard him with aversion, without him and his pestilential (strong) box, their lives would be 90 percent safer...and they know it.

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This is an interesting line. Can't quite get this part...but it seems like the box is a key part of the dilemma/problem.

It ain't just the sheepdog and his shotgun...

that is a good/wise quote. i like.

That being that the sheep fear and loathe the sheepdog because he looks too much like the wolf

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Good thing I ain't a sheep dog.

"The time approaches
That will with due decision make us know
What we shall say we have and what we owe.
Thoughts speculative their unsure hopes relate,
But certain issue strokes must arbitrate:
Towards which advance the war."
MacBeth Act IV, Scene 5
---William Shakespeare

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Bringing in the Bard is always a little unsporting.
He is incomparable.
Wyatt did just fine.

Good thing I ain't a sheep dog.

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I am. And I love it!

I'm afraid I am a sheepdog.
I mean afraid in its most literal sense.
But I feel it in the deepest reaches of myself.
There's a feeling of deep love and caring, which wishes to manifest itself in violence on those who would harm the people who command the love that you feel...
It is scary, and many tell you that you should not feel it.
That you will are just a wolf cub, to continue the metaphor.
It's a horrific and wonderful feeling all in the same instance.
Horrific for the actions that you would have to take to fulfill your feeling.
Wonderful at the certain and undeniable place in society that it gives you.
Very strange.
We are a breed apart. Watchmen. Guardians.
Now I'm getting all poetic...

*woof*

I agree about the Wolf, Sheepdog and Sheep analogy.

But here is my favorite Poem.

Kipling, don't you know:

TOMMY

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!

-- Rudyard Kipling

Old but still my favorite.

Go figure.

Fred

Some of the more arrogant sheep think that they are owed a peaceful existence and it's not their job to procure it.

Life doesn't give a damn who lives it.

That being that the sheep fear and loathe the sheepdog because he looks too much like the wolf. He has the same weapons and the same capacity for violence on short notice...even though he is prepared to do violence on their behalf.

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They also fear the sheepdog because the sheepdog is essentially their jailer, a jailer that forces them to behave in manners they do not wish. Sheep that get out of line are barked at, frightened, prodded, and nipped into compliance. It is the sheepdog that is there to drive them to their destruction when the rancher decides it is time to butcher part of the flock. They are protected from the wolves only to be eaten by the rancher, the sheepdog's boss.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of sheep in sheepdog clothing out there...

All fine sentiments, I must admit

But, I do not consider myself a sheepdog. Sheepdogs are there to put their lives on the line defending a herd of sheep. I don't do that. Police officers and the Military are the sheepdogs.

I am just a sheep with a handgun. I don't need a sheepdog

Woof!

I can chew anything I bite.

Biker

sorry, but

A sheepdog is there to protect the whole herd from wolves. His JOB is to keep them safe.

My only job is to keep myself and my loved ones safe. I have no duty to keep other sheep in the herd safe. Therefore, I, and others in this conversation are not sheepdogs.

I always thought the Sheepdog tag was a self aggrandizing way for us to chat about CCW holders.

If you want to consider yourself a sheepdog for your own small herd/family, then I do think that is appropriate, but for the "Herd" en masse, then no. If the wolf goes after another sheep, not in my control, then that sheep should be protecting itself or have it's own sheepdog.

You seem to have missed the point.

That being that the sheep fear and loathe the sheepdog because he looks too much like the wolf. He has the same weapons and the same capacity for violence on short notice...even though he is prepared to do violence on their behalf.

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No, Earp is saying that they fear the shotgun man because his presence means there's a strongbox on board that is full of valuables that are going to be a target for thieves. It's not about the shotgunner looking like the "wolf"; rather it's about the fact that the shotgunner is always accompanied by something known to attract the wolf.

It's like going swimming in the ocean with someone who has a speargun and a bucket of chum. You're not worrying about the speargun, you're worried about the sharks that will be attracted by the bucket of chum.

There are few, if any, words that can describe the worth of the killology sheep dog commentary. I know my thinking was totally changed by the Wichita massacre and then 9-11.

I wonder how many who stepped away from sheepdom after 9-11 have regressed back. It's been almost 7 years and sheeple tend to forget/get comfortable too readily. My situational awareness is so much different (i.e. more acute) than it once was. As is often said, it is not so much the probabilities as it is the stakes, and thus, I aspire to be as good a sheepdog as I can.

To all sheepdogs: Peace and safety. If not us, then who?


Must respectfully,
fiVe

If you want to consider yourself a sheepdog for your own small herd/family, then I do think that is appropriate, but for the "Herd" en masse, then no. If the wolf goes after another sheep, not in my control, then that sheep should be protecting itself or have it's own sheepdog.

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A sheepdog isn't going to be able to tell the difference between "his" sheep or someone else's flock. If a wolf shows up, the sheepdog will protect any of the sheep he can, not just the ones he considers "his."