“Portrait of A Scab”

by Jack London

 After God had finished the Rattlesnake, the Toad, and the Vampire, he had some awful substance left with which he made a Scab.
    A Scab is a two-legged animal with a corkscrew soul, a water logged brain and a combination backbone of jelly and glue. Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles.
When a scab comes down the street, men turn their backs, angels weep in Heaven and the Devil shuts the gates of Hell to keep him out.
    No man has a right to scab as long as there is a pool of water to drown his carcass in, or a rope long enough to hang his body with. Judas Iscariot was a gentleman compared with a scab. For betraying his master, he had character enough to hang himself. A scab has not.
    Esau sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. Judas sold his savior for thirty pieces of silver. Benedict Arnold sold his country for a promise of a commission in the British Army. The modern strikebreaker sells his birthright, his country, his wife, his children, and his fellowmen for an unfulfilled promise from his employer, trust or corporation.
    Esau was a traitor to himself; Judas was a traitor to God; Benedict Arnold was a traitor to his country. A Scab is a traitor to his God, his country, his wife, his family and his class.