TIL that poor neighborhoods in 60’s-era Washington DC suffered massive rat infestations until Julius Hobson began catching the “possum-sized” rats in a cage, strapping it to the roof of his car, driving them to the rich neighborhoods, and threatening to release them.
Hobson caught “possum-sized rats” in Shaw and Northeast, and transported them up to Georgetown, promising to release the cage full of rats in the middle of the wealthy district unless the city government acted to curb the epidemic.[1] Since he was, as a piece in The Washingtonian put it, “[a]ware that a DC problem usually is not a problem until it is a white problem,”[2] he decided to go ahead and make it a white problem.
Every Saturday, Hobson would have almost a dozen huge rats on top of his car, hosting “rat rallies” where he would loudly reiterate his threats. He claimed to have a “rat farm” somewhere in the city, where he and his associates had “chicken coops” full of rats, and they vowed to release them all unless the government implemented rat extermination programs that would range outside of rich and white neighborhoods.[3] What’s more, Hobson had done his research, and found that he had no legal obligation to keep the rats once he caught them, so he could not be prosecuted for following through on his threat. As many of the city officials (not to mention Congressmen) lived in Georgetown, this, naturally, sent the city government into a panic…
In reality, Hobson never had more than ten rats at a time…
However unorthodox they were, Hobson’s strategies were undeniably effective. In the rat protest’s case, the results were almost immediate: after some panicked phone calls, the city funded rat patrols for Northeast and Southeast.[9]
Reminiscing about the operation in later years, Hobson said that despite the fact that he never had more than a dozen rats, he had intended to fulfill at least part of his promise if the city didn’t back down: “I was going to turn those rats loose on Georgetown,” he said…[9]
You just go for it! Take it at your own pace and try your best to not be impatient with yourself! Your level and speed of growth might be faster/slower than someone else’s, so focus on your own path and let the journey take you to amazing places and opportunities! There’s obvs going to be obstacles in the way of what you want to do, but the greater the accomplishment requires even greater challenges, though the real question is if you’re willing to take the plunge and try anyways?
I was thinking about the Grim Reaper recently. They’re not tied to any particular religion, they just personify death and collect the soul and take them…where? What if they’re like afterlife HR?
“So hey! You’re right on time! Okay, your chart says ‘Hellenic.’ Got your coin for the ferryman? No?! Alright, here’s the deal: sign here, River Styx is down the next hall on the left, but you can’t cross for another hundred years. Hey, I don’t make the rules! What do you think a last will and testament’s for, Felix?!”
“Gina! Almost had you there in ‘93 with that heart attack, eh? Eh? Anyway, Catholic, right? Hang a left, St. Peter’s waiting behind the gates, he’ll give you your assignment.”
“Hey boss, this one didn’t believe in afterlife or having a soul– I’m headed to my next appointment.”
“Sanjay! Nice long life you had there, buddy. So you remember where the Great Revolving Door of Reincarnation is– oh wait! You qualify for nirvana! Look at you!”
“So Sam, you’re…agnostic. Come to my office, we’ll discuss your options.”
I really love this take on the Grim Reaper, actually. It takes everybody into account. Kinda reminds me of the afterlife several mediums have described.
yesterday at target the cashier said ‘your receipt is in the bag’ and i responded with ‘you too’ so i’ve been dealing with that for the past 18 hours but i’m slowly coming to terms with it which is cool
Just once I would like the mentor’s beautiful daughter to actually, sincerely hate the hero’s guts.
Like, not like ‘belligerent sexual tension’ hate his guts. Not ‘learn a valuable lesson about resentment and gets over it’ hate his guts. No, just straight up, 100%, wouldn’t-piss-on-you-if-you-were-on-fire, the-sound-of-your-name-makes-me-puke-a-little-in-my-mouth hate his guts.
And my entire kingdom for a story where she ‘helps’ him train and then goes and hands a detailed list of all of his weaknesses and strategies to his rival like ‘kick his fucking ass’.
Alternatively, how about the ‘hero’ is actually the villain, because it turns out that the mentor not trusting his own daughter’s capabilities enough to let her be the chosen one and instead granting phenomenal cosmic powers to the first rando farmboy who comes along actually wasn’t the smartest idea he’s ever had.
nomad-hermit 