Crabs in a Bucket

[PurgedVoter]

During the summer that I was seven, I used to catch crabs in the Mississippi River, just a short walk from the Sherman Oak. At that time, the largest oak in the world.

I started out with three ringed nets and two buckets provided by my parents. I took a raw chicken bone with a bit of meat on it and tied it to the center of the net. When the string jiggled, I could lift the string and the the sides of the net to catch the crab. I learned that the net just made it harder and more dangerous to extract the crab. All I had to do to catch the crab was to tie a chicken bone with a bit of meat on it to a string. When it was being disturbed, shaking the string would anger the crab and he could no longer be counted on to be rational. Only a few crabs would ever decide to let go of the small hunk of meat and keep their freedom as they where lifted out of the water and dropped into a pail. So all I needed was two pails for balance and two strings with chicken tied to them. A few extra strings with chicken were nice to have, but only two where needed.

The next problem was the metal pail. The crabs were able to crawl out of the pail on their own. So until you caught a second crab you had to leave the chicken bone in the pail and threaten to take it by jiggling the string every now and then.

If one started to climb out, you could pull him back off the edge of the pail by keeping him mad and greedy. Once you had two crabs, they would try to get the other crabs food. This made it easy to take the bone back as they were more intent on the other not getting food than their own eating.

With two crabs, you occasionally had to prevent a crab from escaping. After you had three crabs, they could no longer escape the pail. The other two would pull any that came close to escaping back into the bucket. As long as the crabs still had to climb out of the bucket to escape, you could continue to add crabs. None of them would get away until you got greedy. Once you got greedy a crab might escape.

These methods, always worked and could be used by a child to control some rather dangerous creatures.

A crab can be manipulated by his rage, jealousy, and hatred. With a little jiggling of a string, a crab will loose his freedom, food and life.

If you feel like the string is being shaken and your chicken bone is going to be taken away, don't get blindingly mad. Don't just see the other crabs as your enemies.

Look carefully to see who has the string. A seven year old child with two buckets and two strings can take your food, take your life and keep the chicken bone you so desperately wanted. The string holder does not see you as family, or even as people. At best he will argue whether it is less cruel to put you in the pot and raise the temperature, or drop you straight into boiling water.

As crabs we may see it all as a conspiracy and get even madder at those who collaborate against us. The truth may be simpler. A few boys, exempt from fishing regulations, enjoying their summer on a pier is all the conspiracy needed. If their parents gave them some bait, string and buckets, they can spend their summer on the pier catching all the crabs they want to. Then they can go home to their grateful families and enjoy the sweet meat they caught.

[dionysus]

1. kick

[lumberjack_jeff]

2. Irony.

Well written, and excellent imagery.

Why so few recs?

The allegory could be used to justify/defend a variety of different world views. Are the crabs immigrants and native born? Are the crabs men and women? Are the crabs democrats and republicans? Working and middle class? Could be any of the above, I suppose.

Or maybe the crabs are our world views. "I like this, but I don't want anyone to use this as exemplary of my own particular polarized issue."

[PurgedVoter]

22. There are a few universal I take from this,

This is very open ended, it can be taken many ways. There are a few universals I think.

I would say that from the top, don't get too greedy, If the crab ever gets a chance to pinch you, he will pinch you where you are the most sensitive. Don't be foolish and take the mother laden with eggs. Leave some for next summer.

From the bottom I would say, learn calm wisdom. Solidarity, grace and generosity protect you from being a crab. Follow the money, follow the strings, and when you find the end of the string, pinch hard for all of us. Pinch as hard as you can.

[Angry Dragon]

3. k&r

[raccoon]

Ain't it the truth? k&r. nt

[buddysmellgood]

4. This is a great read for folks in Wisconsin.

[msedano]

5. it's a chicana chicano lament

this metaphor has long been a staple among raza. in the chicana chicano version, gente are like the crabs. as soon as one person begins to escape their communal fate by climbing out of the bucket, the other crabs pull the escapee back down with them.

but redwood city ca artist, "manos," turns the metaphor on its head. he sells t-shirts depicting crabs in a bucket. the one climbing out has a thought bubble. in spanish it reads,"as soon as i get out of this mess, i'll be back to help my brothers and sisters get out, too."

for many folk these days, there's more truth to "i'll help" than "get back here who the heck do you think you are?"

recommended.

mvs

[latinaliberal]

6. I agree

We in Panama say: " No da ni dice adonde hay" translated it means does not share and won't tell you where you can get yours (rough translation)

[The Backlash Cometh]

11. Definitely heretic in Panama.

[The Backlash Cometh]

10. Do you have the Spanish version of the story?

[Pharaoh]

7. great metaphor

are there still crabs in that spot?

[PurgedVoter]

17. Crabs

There are probably crabs there still, them crabs are tough, I would worry about the corexit for at least a few more years, though.

[Horse with no Name]

8. Awesome. Very great read, K&R.

[Poll_Blind]

9. K&R

Excellent read!

PB

[SaveAmerica]

12. Holy mother of pearl, you've just described my experience in politics, local and district, the past

8 years.

[bvar22]

13. K&R

When The Working Class & The Poor realize we have more in common with each other
than we have in common with the Ruling Class Leadership of BOTH Political Parties,
we can have "change".
Until then....Status Quo.

Central & South America has shown us the way,
though you won't hear about it from the MSM or from the Political leadership in the USA.

VIVA Democracy!!!
I hope we get some here soon!

[bvar22]

14. K&R, love the metaphor, but....

...is there really a "Sherman Oak" near the Mississippi River?
I've lived on the River most of my life, from St Paul, Minnesota to Belle Chasse, Louisiana,
and never heard of the "Sherman Oak".

Also, I don't believe there are crabs in the Mississippi River,
certainly not Blue Crabs.
We caught them in the brackish (1/2 salt water) of Lake Pontchatrain,
Bayou St John, or the bayous and salt marshes of South Louisiana,
exactly as you detailed in your excellent narrative,
but I don't know of anybody who went crabbing in the Mississippi River.
.....now Catfish in the Mississippi River...yeah.

I KNOW this is a little detail, and I could be wrong,
but as someone who spent his youth fishing & crabbing & crawfishing in that area,
it bothered me.

K&R anyway, for the meat.

[PurgedVoter]

16. I just got off the phone with my Mom.

She says we were in Gulf Port. She also says it was not called the Sherman Oak, but I am pretty sure it was. I barely got to climb in it, but my older brothers even managed to play tag in the tree. This was in 67, so I am not sure this tree is still around. There were a lot of huge oaks in the area, but this one was amazing with lots of long, huge, low limbs. So we were in Mississippi, but not on the Mississippi river. Where I was you could see way across to the other side of the river and there was a large bridge way upstream to the right of the pier where I caught so many crabs.

[bvar22]

18. That is/was a beautiful area in 67.

Hurricane Camille took out most (all?) of those grand old Oak Trees in 1969,
along with those old antebellum homes and moss draped history.

THEN, the state opened Casino Gambling on the Gulf Coast and destroyed the slow paced Southern ambiance.
Long ago, I LOVED that stretch from Pearlington to Biloxi, and the seafood couldn't be beat.
I haven't been there since BP,
but like New Orleans, it will never be the same again.

Your OP was excellent,
and touched a place in me that still remembers.

I am sorry for nitpicking.

[PurgedVoter]

19. Yet another correction!!

I just talked to my brother and it was the Ruskin Oak, and we were in Ocean Springs. So much for my sense of geography when I was seven. Looking at google maps, it looks like the tree might still be there and there are still piers there. I'm glad you questioned me, it was fun going down memory lane with my mother and brother!

[bvar22]

20. I'll kick your thread again.

I just re-read your OP.
You have talent.

Now I'm hungry for hot, spicy boiled Crabs & Crawfish,
dumped in a big pile on newspapers spread over a picnic table
under an Oak Tree in the late afternoon with a cool breeze blowing off the Gulf.
Maybe some fresh ice cold watermelon for dessert. :cry:

[PurgedVoter]

21. Havn't had good mudbugs in ages.

Sounds about perfect. Just spicy enough to burn your fingers! Add some corn, onions and taters in that boil, a small bit of bread pudding and some Cajun fiddle in the background, it would be perfect.

[woo me with science]

15. "Look carefully to see who has the string."

Very nice. K & R

[Scuba]

23. Calm reasoning overcomes fear and greed. Nice story. thanks.

[Pooka Fey]

24. Thank you for your story.

I'm in a personal situation, a divorce, in which the events you've experienced are very relevant. I think I needed to hear this story. I think it's fate, actually, that I stumbled on this. I'm printing this out, and putting in my daily planner. You've really touched my life today, PurgedVoter, and I thank you.

P.S. just as an aside, my dad grew up along the banks of the Mississippi, in Louisiana. :-)

[liberal N proud]

25. Excellent synopsis

:applause:

[wcollar]

26. Crab Bucket Theory

Check out Terry Pratchett's "Unseen Academicals"  He
uses the same metaphor.
There is a nice summary of it at
http://gladbloke.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/terry-pratchett-unseen-academicals-and-alzheimers:
Crabs don’t escape from traps (read that as poverty and hard
work for our characters), and that a lone crab in a bucket
will often escape if there is no lid to prevent it.  When
there are two or more crabs in the bucket, they usually fight
each other and if one crab does manage to climb to the rim of
the bucket, then it is generally always grabbed from behind by
another crab who either wishes to avoid having to do any hard
work, or wants to pound the escapee for being such a clever
dick.  Instead of helping each other to rise above their
situation, they end up squabbling which condemns all of them
to a life in the bucket.  A short and brutal life.    

If you haven't ready any of his books, please check them out,
they are a fun read & provide great insights into human
nature.

[nolabear]

27. Beautifully done. And a little cooperation solves the whole problem.

Btw as a childhood crabber this took me back!

[KoKo]

28. K&R...brings back memories...dock in SC lowcountry.

observed what you did...cousin gave me the tips about crabs.

Interesting to think about how it relates to some human behavior...in these times especially.

Thanks for posting that.

[BrklynLiberal]

29. Who would have guessed that man and crab are so closely related psychologically???

[felix_numinous]

30. Fighting amongst ourselves

is how I interpreted the crabs in the bucket story--that people who find themselves in a tight situation can be so enraged as to turn on each other rather then give each other a hand up to get out.

But the other side to the story-from the point of view of the crabbers I never thought about. That we are only caught if we TAKE THE BAIT that is put out for us. We should feed on other food, and be wary of the traps set for us.

I have thought about left-baiting, all of the hot button issues that drive us off our game and focus. Yet aren't all Americans in the same pot? So there are endless ways to bait us and trap us in endless fighting amongst ourselves--when we could put our differences aside just this once, stop fighting over the scraps and help each other get out of this trap we are in!!!

This is how I am reading this story. Thank you PurgedVoter :) There is a lot to learn from these old stories, they got passed down through the generations for a reason!

[PurgedVoter]

32. Jung considered old tales very important.

I first heard the crabs in a bucket tale from an old man descended from slaves, I won't relate that version as it was a bit self racist. He was a wise and caring man, a bit worn down by his experiences. He said to me, "The only real way to end racism, is for blacks to befriend white people and remain loyal and decent friends for life."

My father heard the crab story in the same context when he was a child, in the days when you had to be able to safely clean the hoof of a horse to be employable.

This was such a memorable and iconic metaphor, since I actually saw it as a child.

The politics of the Tea Baggers made me think of it, and the relations of the Koch brothers and the Tea Baggers made me realize that the metaphor extended to the men holding the strings, and to the anger and greed making the crab hold onto the meat while being lifted from the water and being lowered into the bucket. While extending the metaphor, I left it clean as I realized that it relates to many unequal relationships and to greed in general.

As I explored the metaphor, I realized that all it takes is one selfish bastard with a plan to infect other selfish bastards with the same plan.

My family wanted crab meat, so they got me started. I refined my methods and learned refinements by talking to other kids. Eventually my methods were simple and clean, as they have to be for a small child to effectively manage armored sea monsters. If you don't tie the string to the pier railing, you will eventually drop it. If you try to pull the crab through too small an opening of the railing, you may distract the crab and he will drop off, possibly near your foot. Bigger kids my reach out with the bucket, but that may end up with the bucket lost. Keep the bucket where it will not be kicked over when you are distracted by the inevitable variations in the game.

It only takes a week or so of learning, and you come up with a pattern that is probably as universal and ancient as water, children, string and buckets.

All it takes is one greedy man capable of a bit of misdirection. A lot of folk want to be good and noble while not doing any of the actions that good and noble people do. While inventing or adopting a scenario where a man can be noble while doing what he really wants to do, it is easy to con or persuade him into taking actions that resonate with his own profit. At the top, by preaching fear of unions and governmental control, eventually all but the ethical and empathic men of high station will come to believe that they are being selfless by being selfish. Eventually they may even go far enough down this rabbit hole and decide that Rand and Jesus can exist side by side.

It doesn't take a conspiracy. As I persuade politicians local, state and national, to ignore inconsistency and allow me to obtain control of land, money or power cheap, I learn that I might as well get more than one deal at a time, and keep this politician loyal to me. Whenever the laws stop reflecting the ethics and desires of the people, you can bet that that is happening.

It doesn't take a conspiracy, as kids on a pier we didn't hate these crabs. We just liked messing with them and eating them. We didn't see it as a war on crabs where we all conspired to perfect each others methods and destroy all crabs. We enjoyed the game, the weather, the waves and the sun. The crabs remained short sited and competitive.

By my view, barn raising made America great much, much, more than competition ever did. We don't go into business to compete, unless we are crabs. We go into business to improve our lives. Win-Lose is OK for games, but in life Win-Lose means you are a crab. Win-Win is the only way for people to live.

If you think greed is good, then you are either holding the string or you are a crab.

[riderinthestorm]

31. Great story that deserves another kick (and rec) to the top.

I saw it as a financial allegory personally. Excellent though on many levels. Its interesting how everyone is interpreting it through their own personal lens. Great OP.