I spoke to a friend of mine who is an Entomologist (study of insects); and she described to me the unique but parasitic relationship ants have with aphids who are small sap-sucking insects.
The ants are just relentless and won’t leave the aphids alone; constantly milking their honey dew nectar, leaving them high and dry, having to start over again.
The aphids are minding their own business they don’t encroach on anyone else’s livelihood and just do what hardworking aphids do in order to survive. But the ants, being bigger, more aggressive and well organized like an army, just bully their way into the aphid domain and milk them for all they are worth.
I said, wait a minute, you’re talking about our Municipal City Councilors and just using this ant/aphid example as a parody aren’t you?
With all the draconian laws and outrages fines handed out (one example is a $250 fine for putting out our garbage bucket too soon), I couldn’t help see the similarities.
Undoubtedly the aphids see the ants as predators and they are there to stay, but we actually elect councilors and mayors into office, who customarily give themselves raises, then probably sit around devising new schemes to extort money from the hard-working, tax-paying middle class citizens of Mission.
Anyway, my conversation was cut short with this biologist and to this date I’m still not sure whether we were talking about politics, crime or insects. Darwin probably wouldn’t have seen any difference.
Egon Speneder
Mission
