Cockroaches and Rats

We often use metaphors when we are trying to draw attention or put a different face on an issue we consider important. There are a couple of metaphors that no longer ring true or have value in our discussions. I’ve often used rats and cockroaches to identify the evil that goes on in our culture and government. I have decided that cockroaches and rats are no longer good metaphoric tools, and here’s why.

Historically, you wake up at night and turn on the lights, cockroaches and rats scurry off to hide wherever they came from. Then in the morning you would call an exterminator to come and take care of your rat and/or cockroach problem. The cockroaches and rats knew, at some level, there were consequences for being discovered, and thus they scurried to their hiding places away from the lights. Now, if you failed to call in an exterminator whenever you discovered cockroaches and rats, the cockroaches and rats, after a period of time, would be conditioned to know that when the lights were shined on them, there were no consequences to fear, so they no longer scurried for cover. At some point, the rats and cockroaches learn to relish the light.