History is written by the victors, as the saying goes. The dominant culture of the time dictates what is preserved, and what isn’t, who is vilified, and who isn’t. But recently, there’s been a push to recover the untold histories of those who were never provided a voice. The plight of the disabled is one as old as time itself, and as such their defenders are just as ancient, starting with the firstborn of Adam, Cain. Oft maligned by the history of his enemies, Cain finds himself in a pantheon of social justice alongside the likes of John Brown, and Guy Fieri.
One of history’s greatest injustices towards Cain was the ALLEGATION that he choke slammed his brother, Abel. This is a common misconception based on confusion between Cain, the (peaceful) farmer, and the wrestler Kane. In reality, nothing could be farther from the truth! Cain struck down Abelism, through his invention of the eponymous cane.
In fact, most of Cain’s life has been fabricated from a poor understanding of WWE. For example, many believe him to have built the city of Enoch. This is actually a mishearing of the city of Knox County, Tennessee, which Kane served as mayor in. Even the term “Mark of Cain” comes from a mishearing of the 2013 match between Mark Henry and Kane, in which the ref repeatedly attempted to get “Mark off Kane”, when Henry proved too powerful for the wrestler.
Cain’s works extend further than just the physically disabled, too. He was also a champion of the neurodivergent – most notably helping fight and reclaim the term “maniac”, by holding banquets in their honor, stating that he and the disabled were inseparable to the degree that they were a combination. This effort expresses itself today in the chicken franchise Raising Cane’s [sic], most obviously in their Caniac Combo, which you will note has 6 fingers, for those of us with polydactyly.
The message here is clear: striking first is never the right answer. We could really learn to take a leaf out of Cain’s book, and treat those different from ourselves as brothers.