Wire 009: Pride
The proud man defends his pride in a bar, at work, and among friends; when he is slandered, when the boss tells him his work is not good, when he is disrespected by others, at every injury, every poke, jab, failed promotion, or slanderous calumny, his chest swells in anger; something unreleasable agitates inside him, throbbing like an infected finger, until he cannot repress it any more, and if he can not strike someone else, some stranger, perhaps he strikes his wife, or at the least he is suddenly cruel to her; and in doing this he reclaims some power from the world. She, the wife of the proud man, has no barrier against his hands, but she has other domains of authority, and so may scream at the children, who listen and mull on her words in quiet fear. The children, with dark grins and warm pleasure coursing over their weedy bodies, then torture the dog with kicks and sticks until it whines out with squealing, pitched remorse, its ginger-ale eyes brimming in shame. The dog begs for forgiveness and an end to the punishment. The children give forgiveness to the creature in its suffering. They have that power, and then everyone is proud, except the dog.