New York Concrete Jungle

Note: This blog post is obviously not about South America... but I went to New York on the same trip! So there's a few posts lined up about NYC.

There are some interesting social hierarchy dynamics in New York. It is a city which accentuates capitalism's class division and highlights the wealth inequality problems of the USA. It is, after all, the peak of capitalism's empire.  It's the modern version of Ancient Rome or Athens. It's the top of the rock. An extended metaphor seemed necessary:

The concrete jungle at its finest hour.

The pumas and jaguars rule the concrete jungle, rarely seen on the forest floor during the hours of daylight. Instead they hide out in the canopies - comfortably observing. In the early hours of the morning and evening they speed through the shaded trees, virtually unseen.

The anteaters spend most of their day in the canopy. They pray  on the ants, the commoners, and exploit their nests for all they're worth. Their hunger never subsides.

The ants navigate the forest floor during the daylight hours. They work until they die, either from fatigue or eventual consumption by the anteaters. At sundown, they scurry to their homes which are nestled in the canopies below where the puma rests. They live in the middle sized, poorly constructed trees, which are often breaking and crumbling. Many are subtly exploited by the anteater, even when they are in their nests.

The bird worries little about these dynamics, migrating to the rainforest at the best time of year. It observes, but rarely interacts with the puma, anteater or ants. It parks itself in the most lush part of the rainforest, among the puma in the highest, most central canopy. The bird, however, cannot afford to stay in such a well sought after area for long. Soon it will migrate home where it will spend the rest of the year. At home, the bird struggles for food in the local park, dreaming of the luxuries that their migration to the rainforest provides.

Occasionally, you will spot a pig in the rainforest. Confined to the forest floor, the pig longs to be among the canopy. The pig stinks, as pigs tend to do. It is avoided by the ants, the anteaters, pumas and jaguars. It bothers the migrating birds with its relentless cries for help. The foreign birds, unlike the local animals, are not used to hearing these horrid cries. While the ant, anteater, puma and jaguar have learned to ignore the pig and avoid its gaze, the touring birds still startle easily at the sight and sound of a pig.

The pig is reliant on the scraps of others. Unable to reach the canopy's fruits, it relies on the sympathy of the bird, who occasionally drops food for the poor pig.