Douglas Mercer
November 24 2024
Story is that at a meeting of Soviet leaders Trotsky got in a real zinger against Stalin that left him speechless. Afterwards Trotsky was sky high on what had happened and he couldn’t stop talking about it. According to his associates he then went on to say what he’d say next time, this or that; he’d really let him have it. Finally one of these associates stopped him and said: You don’t get it do you? You’re over here thinking up your next set of clever words but he’s off somewhere thinking about how he’s going to kill you.
Story is that a group of fugitive Englishman (maritime treason was a capital offense) washed ashore in their boat on a uncharted Island somewhere in the vastness of the Pacific. As their boat lay in the surf they began to argue vociferously about whether they should burn their boat. If they did not any passing British Navy ship would spot it and their goose would be cooked. But if they burnt it and spread the remains inland they would be stranded to the tender mercies of the Island. The debate ratcheted up and got heated. It was surely that they were on the horns of a dilemma and faced a Hobson's Choice, one of those damned if you do and damned if you don't situations. As both sides screamed at each other making their arguments and warning of dire consequences should their position not be adopted, a lone man left the debating group and unseen by the others simply torched the boat. The argument raged on and on until eventually the flames became so intense that the men in the group were forced to look at what was going on. Once they realized the import of the vision they ceased their bickering, as the verbal back and forth had been rendered moot.
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Notes:
Fait Accompli is a French term that refers to something that has already happened or been done and cannot be changed
The idiom "burn boats" means destroying all possible ways of returning to a situation. It is often used to describe a situation where someone has made a decision and is committed to it, with no possibility of turning back.
