History Main / StubbornMule

* The [[AmericanPoliticalSystem American Democratic Party]] has a donkey for a symbol. This is sometimes said to originate--like so many American political terms--with an insult: namely, calling Democrats "jackasses" because they supported [[AndrewJackson Andrew]] '''[[AndrewJackson Jack]]'''[[AndrewJackson son]]. However, the link between the Dems and the donkey was cemented by [[PoliticalCartoon political cartoonist]] OgdenNash in the late 19th century, who drew the Democrats as a donkey stubbornly but futilely kicking the Republican elephant (itself chosen to represent the GOP's domination over [[TheGildedAge Gilded Age]] politics). Democrats continue to emphasize the use of the donkey as a representation of stubbornness...although today, the ''reason'' for the donkey's stubbornness (intelligence) is also emphasized.

* Averted in {{Disney}}'s ''Disney/TheSmallOne'' (directed by DonBluth) in which the eponymous ass is gentle, patient, and quite amazingly self-sacrificing.

** In one, an ass had to carry a load of salt, but accidentally fell into the river, the load dissolved, no more heavy weight. Next trip it threw itself into the river [[XanatosGambit on purpose]]. The master got annoyed and had it carry a bunch of sponges on the [[RuleOfThree third]] trip. It threw itself into the river again, but found that [[OutGambitted sponges get heavier when wet]].

* The United States Democratic Party chose a donkey as their symbol to show how stubborn they are.

[[TheBible http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Balaam_6010.jpg]]

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* ''{{Discworld}}''

[[folder: Religion ]]

* ''TheBible'': The prophet Balaam being hired out to curse the Israelites struggles with a stubborn mule, until the mule is granted the ability to speak and reveals that she was trying to protect her master from a vengeful angel.

* ''{{Patton}}'': During the invasion of Sicily, a pair of mules pulling a wagon refuse to move, blocking a bridge and causing a column of American troops to be strafed. Patton shoots the mules and has them dumped over the side of the bridge, allowing the column to continue.

** In one, an ass had to carry a load of salt, but accidentally fell into the river, the load dissolved, no more heavy weight. Next trip it threw itself into the river [[XanatosGambit on purpose]]. The master got annoyed and had it carry a bunch of sponges on the [[RuleOfThree third]] trip. It threw itself into the river again, but found that [[OutGambitted sponges get heavier when wet]].

** A later episode gives us Cranky Doodle Donkey, who's old, set in his ways, and very, ''very'' unwilling to deal with Pinkie Pie. After a while, you start to emphasize with him.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Balaam_6010.jpg

* In ''DerSchuhDesManitu'', while the Greek talks about the cleverness of his donkey, the beast steps on the rails, refuses to move and gets killed by an express train.

[[caption-width:252:And [[AsTheGoodBookSays Balaam]] calls ''me'' an [[{{Jerkss}} ass]]...]]

[[caption-width:252:And [[AsTheGoodBookSays Balaam]] calls ''me'' an [[JerkAss ass]]...]]

* In ''RedDeadRedemption'', while travelling through Mexico, you'll occasionally encounter a peasant leading his donkey down the road. The peasant will loudly and repeatedly curse the beast in Spanish.

* FriendshipIsMagic [[{{Troperrific}} (of course)]] has Applejack, who's actually less patient then an ''actual'' mule. Admittedly, the mule in question seemed to not mind the implications of the actual insult, but still...

* FriendshipIsMagic [[{{Troperrific}} of course]] has Applejack, who's actually less patient then an ''actual'' mule. Admittedly, the mule in question seemed to not mind the implications of the actual insult, but still...

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* In ''DerSchuhDesManitu'' (an underrated and troperrific [[GermanHumour German comedy]] gem), while the Greek talks about the cleverness of his donkey, the beast steps on the rails, refuses to move and gets killed by an express train.

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* The original {{Aesop}} had several fables centering on these. In one, an ass had to carry a load of salt, but accidentally fell into the river, the load dissolved, no more heavy weight. Next trip it threw itself into the river [[XanatosGambit on purpose]]. The master got annoyed and had it carry a bunch of sponges on the [[RuleOfThree third]] trip. It threw itself into the river again, but found that [[OutGambitted sponges get heavier when wet]]. Don't remember what the moral was.
** [[IncrediblyLamePun Don't Be an Ass?]]

* [[{{Discworld}} Bad Ass, Lancre]] was named for the fact that a donkey got stubborn there. The village was founded by the people riding in the wagon it was pulling. Now Lancrians have to explain it to everybody.
* Benjamin, the donkey in ''AnimalFarm'', is never taken in for a moment by the Utopia advocated by the pigs, and refuses to undertake extra labor for it as some of the more idealistic animals do.

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* Averted in {{Disney}}'s ''Disney/TheSmallOne'' (directed by DonBluth) in which the eponymous ass is gentle, patient, and quite amazingly self-sacrificing.

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Interesting trivia from the American West: The Mormons once had a member of their leadership named J. Golden Kimbell, who was infamously known as ''The Swearing Apostle''. His excuse? As a young man he had worked as a mule driver. "And as everyone knows, mules are twice as stubborn as any other creature on earth. And these were Church-owned mules! Church-owned mules are 10 times as stubborn as ordinary mules. You had to blister them with the coarsest oaths known to man for over two hours just to get them to move 10 feet. I was the best mule driver in camp, and my language showed it. I've improved a lot since then." "I am sorry about my swearing, but it is the only language animals understand. Mules and horses never respond unless you swear at them." When asked for his thoughts on mules: "There's one thing I've never been able to figure out: how Noah got two of those sons of bitches on the ark!" Since his voice sounded something like DudleyDoRight, the effect was rather humorous, and false Kimbell stories have been passed around the Mountain West ever since.
* This is the reason they were used to carry equipment in mountainous terrain, horses were just too damned obedient to choose a safe path. They're also generally tougher than horses, making them a good choice for the military for getting to places where vehicles can't go (the USMC started using them in Afghanistan).
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[[AC:RealLife]]
* Interesting trivia from the American West: The Mormons once had a member of their leadership named J. Golden Kimbell, who was infamously known as ''The Swearing Apostle''. His excuse? As a young man he had worked as a mule driver. "And as everyone knows, mules are twice as stubborn as any other creature on earth. And these were Church-owned mules! Church-owned mules are 10 times as stubborn as ordinary mules. You had to blister them with the coarsest oaths known to man for over two hours just to get them to move 10 feet. I was the best mule driver in camp, and my language showed it. I've improved a lot since then." "I am sorry about my swearing, but it is the only language animals understand. Mules and horses never respond unless you swear at them." When asked for his thoughts on mules: "There's one thing I've never been able to figure out: how Noah got two of those sons of bitches on the ark!" Since his voice sounded something like DudleyDoRight, the effect was rather humorous, and false Kimbell stories have been passed around the Mountain West ever since.

Note that strictly speaking, a donkey (or ass, of which a "jackass" is the male and a "jenny" the female) is a separate species; a mule is a (usually) sterile hybrid, a cross between a male donkey and a female horse, as opposed to a hinny, the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey.

Note that strictly speaking, a donkey (or ass, of which a "jackass" is the male and a "jenny" the female) is a separate species; a mule is a sterile hybrid, a cross between a male donkey and a female horse, as opposed to a hinny, the offspring of a male horse and a female donkey.

* In ''DerSchuhDesManitu'' (an underrated and troperrific German comedy gem), while the Greek talks about the cleverness of his donkey, the beast steps on the rails, refuses to move and gets killed by an express train.

*The original {{Aesop}} had a fable centering on one of these. It had to carry a load of salt, but accidentally fell into the river, the load dissolved, no more heavy weight. Next trip it threw itself into the river [[XanatosGambit on purpose]]. The master got annoyed and had it carry a bunch of sponges on the [[RuleOfThree third]] trip. It threw itself into the river again, but found that [[OutGambitted sponges get heavier when wet]]. Don't remember what the moral was.
**[[IncrediblyLamePun Don't Be an Ass?]]
*[[{{Discworld}} Bad Ass, Lancre]] was named for the fact that a donkey got stubborn there. The village was founded by the people riding in the wagon it was pulling. Now Lancrians have to explain it to everybody.