This parable works like all parables. It’s for you to read into it what you think the author is saying. Comments below should focus on what you think is being said. ‘Let those with ears, hear’.
Eating Marmite is a disgusting behaviour. Imagine a world where this beastly substance, brewed from something that for hundreds of years was considered gross industrial waste, is banned. But you like it. No matter what others do to change your mind, you still like the taste of its sweet black bitterness. Friends turn themselves away from you in disgust. Family members try to dissuade you from finding small amounts of it to put on your toast. Close friends try aversion therapy by making your eat large amounts of it. They tempt you away by force feeding you a diet of brussel sprouts. You eat brussel sprouts, but don’t enjoy them. You need to eat them with roast potatoes, but you really would rather leave them on the side of the plate. And then you discover that other people also like marmite, no matter how shunned they are by the rest of polite society. Some never eat it, fearing the harsh judgement of the people around them. Some try a little occasionally, opening a pot of it to smell it, or hiding it in their lentil chilli. Some go off the rails and gorge themselves on it secretly, ridden with guilt and shame. Others revel in the controversy of eating handfuls in public, the shock of their behaviour being a greater delight than even the marmite. Over time, however, the social disgust of marmite wanes. A social movement grows to tackle the discrimination and hatred that marmite lovers experience. It gets to the point that marmite is even available in the shops, albeit on top shelves and on request. But a new shift in social values means that brussels sprouts becomes the new disgusting taste. Suddenly, brussel sprouts are left rotting in the street as shops throw out their excess stock. You find yourself liking brussel sprouts too. You didn’t before, but somehow, over the years you like marmite a little less, and brussel sprouts more. You are the same person, but the flavours that you can stomach have changed. You don’t like to eat all brussel sprouts, though. Those excessively boiled until they have a bitter metallic aftertaste still make you want to be sick. But you find that new brussels, stripped of their leaves, the white core discarded, lightly fried with bacon is just delicious. A dab of marmite in it just sends you into paroxysms of delight. But roast parsnips are still the most disgusting and offensive thing ever invented.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorAcademic, priest, family man and problem solver Archives
October 2023
Categories |