hidden image

Bob’s Banter by Robert Clements Blind Dogs and the Dog Farm..!

Robert Clements Robert Clements
20 Feb 2023
The leader dog used the same fear tactic at every doggy election and moved from strength to strength using only this method.

Once upon a time, there was a dog farm, with many species of dogs in it. The dogs in the farm had won their freedom from foreign dogs who had ruled their farm for many years, and who ruled by using the ‘divide and rule’ method, causing a huge division between dogs who ate bones holding them between their paws and dogs who chewed directly.

The foreign dogs had been kicked out, through a ‘Quit the Farm’ movement but not before the farm was divided and some of the dogs who ate using their paws carved out their own farm, from the big farm and the others remained in the original farm.

For over fifty years the dog farm, even with a few upheavals managed to stay quite peaceably together!

But suddenly a new canine fostered himself as their ruler, using the old method, that the dogs who had remained and ate with their paws were slowly growing in number and would uproot the majority of dogs who ate directly. The ‘direct’ eating dogs, who still remembered the days of the partitioning of the farm, immediately grew insecure, and even though the ‘paw eating’ dogs were much more miniscule in number, grew afraid, and voted for the ‘fear mongering’ leader.

The leader dog used the same fear tactic at every doggy election and moved from strength to strength using only this method.

Meanwhile the reputation of the dog farm became worse among all the other surrounding farms. ‘Dog News’ a canine newspaper mentioned that the dogs in the farm were not allowed to bark, also that the farm had a lot of starving dogs. These news flashes were immediately refuted by the doggy leaders who instead created more rifts among the ‘paw eaters’ and ‘direct eaters’!

One of the dog colonies sent their investigative dog who returned and howled every night about ruthless tales of the doggy leader. The leader immediately put up sound barriers around the farm to prevent the ‘howling’ news from reaching the dogs in his farm.

This insulation method continued for many years, and while the two dog communities went on fighting about the correct way to eat, their leader dog, continued his destruction of the farm bit by bit, quite often selling tracts of land to business dogs he favoured.

The other dog farms scratched themselves sore wondering why the dogs in the farm couldn’t see what was happening to them and their farm, till one day, a giant light from the skies above shone on the farm dogs and the whole dog world realized that the dogs inside were blind.

They had scratched each other’s eyes out, and their leader dog, with only blind dogs under him, ruled like a tyrant!

His formula, ‘Give them something petty to fight about, then grab their liberty’

And the blind ones continue to fight, as the farm ‘goes to the dogs’..!

bobsbanter@gmail.com       

Recent Posts

From Socrates and Jesus to Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., history bears witness to the use of character assassination to silence dissent. In contemporary India, manufactured labels and personal at
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
02 Nov 2026
Rahul Gandhi has placed electoral integrity and constitutional democracy at the heart of national politics. But allegations and rallies cannot replace grassroots organisation. Unless the Congress stre
apicture John Dayal
02 Nov 2026
A doctor who abandoned urban comforts to serve impoverished tribal communities is now behind bars for allegedly standing with villagers resisting mining.
apicture A. J. Philip
02 Nov 2026
I am deeply concerned about the situation in our country and, equally, about the response—or the apparent lack of response—of our Christian communities. I write not to promote any political party or i
apicture Monsignor Susai Sebastian
02 Nov 2026
From Serbia's leaderless student movement to Brazil's resurgence, democracy draws strength from mobilisation, persistence and collective courage. These developments offer a vital lesson: lasting polit
apicture Joseph Maliakan
02 Nov 2026
Years of Indian training had taught me to approach a public toilet with caution and reluctant bravery. Before entering, the mind begins its negotiations: Can I hold it till home? Should I risk this? H
apicture Sujay Daniel, SJ
02 Nov 2026
These virtues tie us to humanity, link us with the divine, and make us responsible to and for one another. It implies and expects action. Compassion alone is not enough. We must act! To act, we need t
apicture Dr Mudita Menona Sodder
02 Nov 2026
The citizen continues supplying his phone number to buy socks, his birthday to order lunch, and his entire family history to recover a forgotten password. His privacy seems remarkably negotiable. Some
apicture Robert Clements
02 Nov 2026
Recall that Pope John Paul II came from Poland, a country that suffered much during the wars and between them, and Communism took away the little freedom they had. He himself suffered and witnessed th
apicture Stanislaus Alla
27 Oct 2026
India's youth and civil society are rallying under the tricolour to reclaim Democracy, challenge injustice, and defend rights. Despite arrests, barricades, and repression, a nationwide movement is gai
apicture Cedric Prakash
26 Oct 2026