The Egoas and the Plebs

by Madeleine Kando

Once upon a time, a long long time ago, there was a group of individuals who went by the name of ‘the Egoas’. Lady Luck had been very generous with this group. She had given them a special place to live, a place called ‘Egoasville’. She had also endowed them with the ability to never doubt their own superiority with regard to the rest of the world.

They went about their business feeling very pleased with themselves because in Egoasville all the signs on the walls read: ‘Egoas are special, beware of imitations.’ Another poster read: ‘Please come to our special meeting on Wednesday night to discuss an impartial view of world affairs. Non-Egoas are not really welcome’. Unfortunately, as time passed, the Egoas got older and lazier. The Egoas needed fresh blood. Egoasville was situated in a country called Plebsland. That’s where the Plebs lived. The Plebs were not very privileged and many of them really wanted to live in Egoasville where they would become as special as the Egoas.

One day a Plebs just marched right into Egoasville, rented a room in a nice street and went about his business. The Egoas demanded that he fill out a questionnaire, to see who he knew that lived in Egoasville. The form clearly showed that he did not know one single Egoa personally, so out te went, along with his suitcase and already unpacked toothbrush.

Word spread of his appalling treatment and before you could count one two three, friends, family members and sympathizers rushed over to Egoasville and staged a protest march. Egoas aren’t comfortable with conflict so they allowed the Plebs to stay in Egoasville but dedicated a special section of town to them, which became known as the ‘Dontgothere’ quarters. They gave them money for schools, hospitals, libraries, anything to keep them out of the rest of Egoasville.

The Plebs initially were pleased. Life was easy. They spent their ample spare time trying to impose their religious views on the Egoas who didn’t go for any type of religious nonsense. But soon the Plebs began to feel like second class citizens. After all, they were ready to pull their load, but filling out forms, being pressured to stick to your own kind and having your friends pre-chewed for you was not something they enjoyed. They started a movement called ‘Letusin’. There was no opposition to their aggressive slogans, their unreasonable demand for equality, their obsession with religion. But all of this was to no avail. The Plebs couldn’t budge the Egoas’s obstinate attitude.

No one remembers exactly when it started, but Egoasville became a place where noone dared walk around after dark. The Plebs in the meantime, were wondering if admiring the Egoas was still a good thing. I mean, they really had made a mess of things, hadn’t they? Their treatment of the Plebs became known as the ‘Great Gaffe’ and the Plebs’ admiration for the Egoas started to wane.

As time went by more and more Egoas died out or left for greener pastures. More and more Plebs came to Egoasville. They didn’t put up with any Egoas nonsense any more. Gone were the days of admiration and servitude. In fact they decided to rename ‘Egoasville’ and called it ‘Plebsville’. The Plebs were in control. They became the new Egoas.

One day, without any warning whatsoever, a stranger appeared in Plebsville. He didn’t understand the rules of Plebsville very well. He was used to go as he pleased. So he just marched right into Plebsville, rented a room in a nice street and went about his business… leave comment here