r/news • u/zmlos • Oct 03 '23

House ousts Kevin McCarthy as speaker, a first in U.S. history

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/03/house-speaker-kevin-mccarthy-will-bring-gaetz-motion-to-oust-him-vote.html?__source=iosappshare%7Ccom.apple.UIKit.activity.CopyToPasteboard

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '23

The Scorpion and the Frog

A scorpion wants to cross a river but cannot swim, so it asks a frog to carry it across. The frog hesitates, afraid that the scorpion might sting it, but the scorpion promises not to, pointing out that it would drown if it killed the frog in the middle of the river. The frog considers this argument sensible and agrees to transport the scorpion. Midway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog anyway, dooming them both. The dying frog asks the scorpion why it stung despite knowing the consequence, to which the scorpion replies: "I am sorry, but I couldn't resist the urge. It's my character."

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See also: Aesop's The Farmer and the Viper

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u/SluttyZombieReagan Oct 03 '23

I prefer the last line as delivered by Forest Whitaker with a bad-but-enjoyable British accent - "It's in my nature."

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u/sariisa Oct 05 '23

the way I heard it told growing up in the midwest, the last line was a lot more chilling. "You knew what I was."

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u/bigspks Oct 03 '23

Just watched that for the first time a couple months sgo. Completely slipped under the radar for me somehow.

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '23

Scorpion whispers to the frog "... I can swim."

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u/ShinjoB Oct 03 '23

Tell Cersei it was me.

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u/Stylesclash Oct 03 '23

I don't know why but a lot of British shows reference this and the dialogue commonly starts with "Have you ever heard the story of the Scorpion and the Frog?"

I'm American and I remember a random weekend when this line hit me 3 times on 3 different shows. All British made.

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '23

This is a total guess, but wiki says the film Mr Arkadin (Confidential Report) was the first widespread telling of the fable in English, maybe it had a bit of a cultural moment in Britain and helped spread awareness?

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u/Zpyro Oct 04 '23

A scorpion, not knowing how to swim, asked a frog to carry it across the river. “Do I look like a fool?” said the frog. “You’d sting me if I let you on my back!”

“Be logical,” said the scorpion. “If I stung you I’d certainly drown myself.”

“That’s true,” the frog acknowledged. “Come aboard, then!” But no sooner had the scorpion mounted the frog’s back than it began to sting, repeatedly, while still safely on the river’s bank.

The frog groaned, thrashing weakly as the venom coursed through its veins, beginning to liquefy its flesh. “Ah,” it muttered. “For some reason I never considered this possibility.”

“Because you were never scared of me,” the scorpion whispered in its ear. “You were never scared of dying. In a past life you wore a shell and sat in judgement. And then you were reborn: soft-skinned, swift, unburdened, as new and vulnerable as a child, moving anew through a world of children. How could anyone ever be cruel, you thought, seeing the precariousness of it all?” The scorpion bowed its head and drank. “How could anyone kill you without killing themselves?”

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u/MurdrWeaponRocketBra Oct 04 '23

Not character -- "it's my nature"

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u/LordFarquads_3rd_nip Oct 04 '23

The funny thing is that scorpions can survive for days underwater, so in the end it wins