Jay Inslee: our Honorable and Admirable Snake of a Governor

"I told [Vice President Mike Pence] not to be complimentary of that governor because that governor is a snake . . .. So Mike may be happy with him, but I’m not, OK?”: The Dishonorable He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, President of the United States, 6^th of March, 2020.

Why the President’s animus?  Not just because Governor Inslee, who would make a damn sight better President than the current incumbent, had a polite but forthright meeting with Vice President Pence last week in which Inslee expressed frustration over lack of testing kits and self-protective gear for nurses and first responders, but also because the President does not forget or forgive. February 26^th, 2018: ". . . we need a little less tweeting and a little more listening. . .", The Honorable Jay Inslee, Governor of Washington, in an Oval Office colloquy with the President over Trump's proposal to arm and train a quarter of our school teachers to pack heat.

We Washingtonians should be delighted that Inslee is so doubly honored — to be on the President’s I Hate You! I Hate You! List, somewhat akin to Nixon’s Enemies List, and to be likened to the snake; with the exception of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Book of Genesis, most cultures throughout history, throughout the world, have endowed snakes with symbolic virtues.  The following, for example, from Wikipedia:  

·         “The behavior of snakes and their facial features (e.g. the unblinking, lidless eyes) seemed to imply that they were intelligent, that they lived by reason and not instinct.

·         “In northern Europe and West Asia, snakes were associated with healing and transformation, and in some cultures snakes were fertility symbols.

·         “In other cultures, snakes symbolized the umbilical cord, joining all humans to Mother Earth.

·         “The Great Goddess often had snakes as her familiars—sometimes twining around her sacred staff, as in ancient Crete—and they were worshiped as guardians of her mysteries of birth and regeneration.

·         “Some cultures regarded snakes as immortal because they appeared to be reincarnated from themselves when they sloughed their skins. Both circles and spirals were seen as symbols of eternity. 

·         “Snakes were associated with wisdom in many mythologies, perhaps due to the appearance of pondering their actions as they prepare to strike, which was copied by shamans in the build-up to prophecy in parts of West Africa.

·         “Usually the wisdom of snakes was regarded as ancient and beneficial towards humans . . ..

·         “In East Asia snake-dragons watched over good harvests, rain, fertility and the cycle of the seasons,

·         whilst in ancient Greece and India, snakes were considered to be lucky and snake-amulets were used as talismans against evil."

Of course, in the context of Inslee dealing with disease and public health, the healing snakes on the Caduceus is the revered symbol of physicians throughout the world.  

Perhaps the most famous snake of all, revered by millions, is Naga, the seven-headed cobra who protected The Buddha from mud and water by coiling and providing him a seat above the muck.

Jay Inslee: other states would be lucky to have such a snake as Governor.