Bah Bah Black Sheep



We've heard the phrase, "I'm the black sheep in my family."  What does this statement mean? 
Black sheep, in this sense, is a metaphor.  It compares a person, who is considered to be the worthless or the disgraced member of the family, to being a black sheep, which is the odd sheep among all the white sheep. 

In 1786, the first known record of 'black sheep' in a derogatory manner found in print is from Charles Macklin's The man of the world, a comedy:

"O, ye villain! you - you - you are a black sheep; and I'll mark you."

How am I the black sheep of my extended family? My family, parents, siblings,etc..., have disowned me because I chose a polyamorous lifestyle and to love many people over that of loving only one.  My parents, who are devout Christians, believe that I am living in sin.  Living in sin makes me not worthy of their love or affection.  Of course, I could argue their point here by saying that Jesus told us to love one another, but I think it would be an exercise in futility to try to make my parents and siblings love me unconditionally.  Who needs that stress?  Definitely, not me!

Interestingly enough being the black sheep is not as bad as it is made out to be. According to a contradictory long-standing English country tradition, black sheep are considered omens of good fortune. In 1878, the Folk-Lore Record, included this piece:

"We speak figuratively of the one black sheep that is the cause of sorrow in a family; but in its reality it is regarded by the Sussex shepherd as an omen of good luck to his flock.'"

So who knows, maybe I'm actually bringing my family good fortune?  LOL! Since I was young, I've always been known to go against the flow, so why start changing that now?