"BIG DADDY"
by Mickey Z.
Dissident Voice
February 17, 2003
Once
upon a time
"But
we're hungry, Big Daddy" the children cried, their emaciated bodies a testament
to their neglect.
"We all
have to make sacrifices," Big Daddy declared, "and if I spend money on
food for you, I'll be too broke to join the gym. And if Big Daddy's muscles
don't stay strong, you kids will have a lot more to worry about than being a
little hungry."
"We're
not a little hungry, Big Daddy. We're starving. We're dying."
Big
Daddy eyed this particularly brazen child before bashing him with a clenched
right fist. The child sailed across the room and landed in a bloody heap
against the wall.
"I
didn't want to do that, children," announced Big Daddy as he flexed his triceps
in the mirror. "But if you allow one bad apple to act as a cancer, the
whole barrel will rot. Sometimes it's necessary to exert force to promote peace
and stabilize a situation."
"Oh,
Big Daddy, we're just asking for you to fix the hole in the roof so we don't
freeze again tonight."
"What?
Exert myself in such a petty affair? What if Big Daddy hurt himself? Who would
fight off our neighbors? What would you kids do then?"
"But
I like our neighbors. They don't want to hurt us."
Big
Daddy hit this child with his left hand. "Don't ever let me hear you say that.
You kids aren't smart enough to know danger when you see it and if that sneaky
neighbor ever heard you speak kindly of him, he'd take advantage of our
weakness. We must stick together to fight the evil he's building next door. If
even one family member isn't behind me, I can't use these muscles. I need all
of you to support me. Do you understand?"
Big
Daddy's bellowing scared the children and they agreed. He told them some of the
stories that his parents had told him and the children saw that it was long
family tradition for the Big Daddy to spend all his time, energy, and money to
build himself up in order to protect his weaker family members. It truly is
sometimes necessary to destroy something in order to save it. The children
began to see what "family values" really means.
The
two kids who were hit crawled back and apologized to Big Daddy for forcing him
to hurt them. Another child tried to thank Big Daddy for keeping his biceps so
strong, but the words wouldn't come out. The child was too sick and too cold.
Big Daddy hinted that this particular child wasn't fit to be in their family.
And, as Big Daddy conveniently turned the other way to flex his back muscles,
the fit children ganged up and beat their unfit sibling before sending him from
their home.
"Go
out there," one kid yelled, "and see how long you last without Big Daddy."
They
all watched from the window as their evil neighbor emerged from his house with
a blanket and some food for the sick child. This confused the children and they
were tempted to join their exiled brother when suddenly, Big Daddy appeared. He
roughly pulled his child from the clutches of evil and proceeded to beat the
wicked neighbor senseless.
"Keep
your filthy hands off this child!" Big Daddy screamed as his children cheered
him on. The police arrived and arrested the neighbor for kidnapping while Big
Daddy re-entered his home with his prodigal son.
"Children,"
Big Daddy stated, "your brother is home. He was lured away by that clever
animal next door."
"But
now," the child interrupted, "I see how wrong I was. Please take me back."
Big
Daddy beamed proudly as all his skinny children embraced him. He flexed his
muscles in the mirror and made sure his hair was in place.
THE
END
Mickey Z. is the author of
The Murdering of My Years: Artists and Activists Making Ends Meet (www.murderingofmyyears.com) and an editor
at Wide Angle (www.wideangleny.com). He can be reached at: mzx2@earthlink.net.