“So-and-so
is the black sheep of the family (or other group).” English speakers have all
heard and spoken those words--maybe even to describe themselves. A “black sheep”
is someone who doesn’t conform to the rules, values, and expected behaviors of
the flock of presumably white sheep. Anyone (like yours truly) who’s ever been
a card-carrying member of the Black Sheep Society can attest to the fact that
their “blackness” has afforded them many a scornful stare or shaming word. More
often, it’s brought loneliness because “white sheep” avoid the company of “black
sheep” out of fear, judgment, pride, or all of the above.
There
must be a lot of proverbial black sheep wandering this planet of ours because the
“black sheep” idiom is also common in 17 other languages! The expression even
appears in the Bible:
“…He
{Jesus Christ} embraced the company of the lowest. He took on His shoulders the
sin of the many, He took up the cause of the black sheep.” –ISAIAH 53:12 (MSG)
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