The Village Mirror: The Dog in the Manger
Jerry Primm
Blocking Opportunity You’re Not Using
Sometimes the greatest obstacle to progress is not the lack of opportunity.
It is the presence of someone guarding it.
There is an old fable about a dog that wandered into a barn one evening and curled up inside a manger filled with hay.
The manger was meant for the cattle. The hay was their food.
But the dog lay comfortably across the pile and refused to move.
Soon the cattle returned to the barn after a long day in the fields.
They approached the manger, hungry and ready to eat.
But when they lowered their heads toward the hay, the dog jumped up, growling and barking, chasing them away.
The cattle backed up in confusion.
The dog did not eat the hay.
Dogs do not eat hay.
But every time the cattle tried to reach it, the dog snapped and barked until they stepped away.
The farmer watching the scene shook his head and said:
“That dog will not eat the hay…”
“…but he will not let anyone else eat it either.”
The Lesson
The story became a proverb that has lasted for centuries.
A “dog in the manger” is someone who blocks access to something they are not using themselves.
Not because they need it.
But simply because they do not want someone else to have it.
It is one of the most destructive forms of human behavior.
Because it doesn’t just stop progress.
It prevents others from making progress as well.
The Mirror
Across our communities, there are opportunities that could move many people forward.
Business opportunities.
Leadership opportunities.
Economic opportunities.
Platforms that could help others grow.
Yet sometimes those opportunities become guarded.
Not always by people actively building something…
…but by people protecting positions.
People who say:
“No one else is ready.”
“No one else should do it.”
“This is how it has always been done.”
And if we are honest, this is not something outsiders always do to us.
Sometimes it is something we do to ourselves.
Instead of asking how opportunity can expand, we begin protecting the little space we occupy.
Even when we are not using it.
Even when others could turn it into something meaningful.
Over time this behavior quietly limits an entire community.
Because progress requires open doors.
Not guarded hay.
The Question
Healthy communities understand something simple.
Opportunity is not meant to be hoarded.
It is meant to be used.
And when someone is not using it, the best thing a community can do is allow someone else to try.
Because a dog in the manger may protect the hay…
…but eventually the cattle will remain hungry.
So the question for the village is simple:
What kind of village do we want to be?
Jerry Primm
Founder, Black Vanguard Media
Black Vanguard Media explores ideas that strengthen the Black community through leadership, economic understanding, and thoughtful dialogue.
Well said!