Three Little Wolves & the Big Bad Pig

From the Author
PIGS AND WOLVES- EXCLUSION EXCALAION AND STEREOTYPING
My book ”the three little wolves and the big bad pig” is not just an irreverent play with a traditional theme. The story offers an alternative way of looking at certain important issues. Indeed it was my experience as a criminologist and criminal law specialist that prompted me to write the story.In the traditional story the wolf demolishes two houses made of straw and wood . Only when the little pigs build a third house made of brick, they are really safe. The big bad wolf is unable to blow it down and his desperate attempt to violate their sanctuary by entering through the chimney ends in his horrific death in a kettle of boiling water. What does this story tell us? What messages does it transmit to the contemporary reader? The first message conveyed by the original story is that if you want be secure you should retreat to and be surrounded by progressively stronger and stronger structures. The recommended policy is exclusion, isolation, distrust and prevention of communication. The problem with this attitude is that exclusion often leads to escalation. This has clear parallels not only in the arms race debate, but also in the area of criminal justice Each and every method of protection leads to corresponding ways of circumventing and neutralising it. Weapons are getting progressively more lethal and violence more dangerous. Exclusion is detrimental also for the potential victims. We have reached the point instead of imprisoning or imposing house arrest to the criminal , we do it for the victim. As Linda Phillips Ashour points out in the New York Times, in her review of the TLW – this is a reminder ”on how many of us live today with fear and 37 padlocks.” Moreover by excluding, stigmatising and isolating we may reinforce or even create whatever danger we are afraid of. Isolation and segregation make illegal activities even more attractive for the offender. In my version of the story an alternative message is conveyed. The three little wolves erect first a solid brick house. The big bad pig comes along and when huffing and puffing fails to work, he uses a sledgehammer to bring the house down. Next the wolfs build a home of concrete: The pig demolishes it with his pneumatic drill. The three little wolves choose an even stronger design next time round: They erect a house, made of steel, , barbed wire armour plates and video entry system, but the pig blows it up with dynamite. It is only when the wolves construct a rather fragile house made of flowers, that the pig pauses to smell the lovely scent, has a change of heart, realises how horrible he has been, undergoes a radical transformation, and he becomes a big good pig. The wolves invite the pig inside the house and the story ends with a party with strawberries and wolfberies (the summary is composed of review extracts) Instead of confrontation, exclusion and destruction – this version of the story advocates communication, reintegration, inclusion and restoration of trust. The message is not only that beauty facilitates change, and sometimes tenderness may work better than toughness, but that by being open we may be able to win over our adversary. There is no denying that this way of responding to adversaries in certain circumstances is appropriate, in others inappropriate and certainly it has its risks and dangers, but so does the attitude recommended in the original story. The second message conveyed by the original tale is that there are clearly differentiated good and evil characters.In my reworking of the story, instead of the three little pigs and a big bad wolf, we have three cuddly little wolves and a nasty pig bad pig. That is not only a deliberate reversal of the bad press given to wolves but a reversal of good and evil characters in general. Wolves are not necessarily the embodiment of evil, nor always something to be loathed. Indeed it may be easier to make friends with a wolf than a pig. An