The Wolf With the Red Roses

By Sass
Featured Rightgrrl May 1999
Founder, Write For Life
October 31, 2000

He: "On hot summer night, would you offer yout throat to the wolf with the red roses?"
She: "Will he offer me his mouth?"
He: "Yes."
She: "Will he offer me his teeth?"
He: "Yes."
She: "Will he offer me his jaws?"
He: "Yes."
She: "Will he offer me his hunger?"
He: "Yes."
She: "Again, will he offer me his hunger?
He: "YES!"
She: "And will he starve without me?"
He: "YES!"
She: "And does he love me?"
He: "Yes."
She: "Yes..."
He: "On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses?"
She: "Yes."
He: "I bet you say that to all the boys!"[1]

While on the surface, these words are no more than lyrics to music immortalized for those who grew up in the seventies; when we look closer, we see the inherant wisdom there for the taking. The wolf with the red roses. The woman in the tale is willing to give her very self to the wolf with the red roses, only to discover that once done, he won't think much of her and never did - he just wanted what she had to offer.

We too, have been seduced by the wolf with the red roses.

The World March of Women 2000 presented itself as the bearer of the red roses... "march with us, join us and help make the world a better place for women" is the implied message delivered to women the world over. The problem is, while women are hypnotized and seduced by the glorious scent of the roses, they have ignored the fact that the bearer of the roses is still after all, a wolf. We have been led to believe that as in the song, that the wolf will "starve" without us - all of us. Having been so overwhelmed by the heady perfume of the red rose, our other senses have left us and we are unable to reason that while we can see the wolf, we somehow cannot comprehend that the wolf is a wolf. Just as the teenage boy in the back seat of the car with his girl tells her that he loves her and that giving in to sex is the way to show it, the organizers of the March have led us to believe that if we care about other women, giving in to the March (and all it's demands) is the way to "show" women of the world that we care about them. The boy in the back seat, the wolf with the red roses, the World March of Women 2000.

The tragedy of the song, is that she did not realize that his profession of love was but a means to an end... the taking of her. No respect for her afterwards, no glorious and rewarding end, just a wasted gift of something most precious. The tragedy of the boy and girl in the back seat is similar. The tragedy of our compliance in the World March of Women 2000 is no less serious.

Sadly, the March events have taken place, and many women have given their "throats" to the wolf with the red roses, not aware that their gift of participation was a means to an end. Sadly, just as the wolf uses the rose, a symbol of life, to seduce and suck the very life from his prey only to toss her aside after her gift is of no further use to him, so too the March has used symbols of life, love and compassion to gain participation from women who might otherwise have saved themselves to give where their gift would be known as a gift of love, a gift of compassion and a gift of human bonding.

We saw the wolf, we knew he was a wolf, yet we did not realize that the wolf was a wolf.

While there are women out there who of course choose to give themselves to the wolf, choosing that the "red roses" are sufficient payment for their very selves, we also know that there are women who have not yet realized, but will realize that the wolf is a wolf. Those of us who already know that the wolf is in fact a wolf, weep for the hearts of the women whom we know will be wounded when they realize that they have been violated by the wolf with the red roses. We offer them our shoulders, our compassion, and encourage them to know that just as everyone who has ever re-committed themselves to a life of chastity after a mistake, they too may re-commit themselves. Secondary "virginity" after the wolf, is waiting for all who seek. Having given one's self in error to a wolf, does not mean one has nothing left to save and give again to the one who will take that gift in love, in kindness and with the spirit our Lord intended for us to give to each other in.

For more information regarding the World March of Women 2000, see:

http://www.geocities.com/sassme.geo/sass-march.html
http://www.geocities.com/sassme.geo/sass-march3.html
http://www.geocities.com/sassme.geo/sass-march4.html
http://lifesite.net/clc/womens_march/

[1] You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Nights), Performed by "Meatloaf"- excerpted from the album "Bat Out Of Hell".

This article copyright 10/00 by Sass Seagal, all rights reserved. Not to used in whole or in part, without written permission from the author.