树倒猢狲散 (pinyin: shù dǎo hú sūn sàn)

Literally: When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter.
Usage: When a leader loses power, his followers become disorganized. This proverb is often used to describe fair-weather friends.

Are fair weather friends something you need?
This person, someone who is around quite often that they are something more than an acquaintance, but still not quite a good friend. This person can never get themselves into the realm of a "good friend" for one reason and one reason only. when you are back against the wall, chased by the mob, down on your luck or up shit creek, they are as scarce as a clean bill of health on a prostitute.

I hate the term "fair weather friend" because why would I want to know about a condition that makes a friend's flight instinct kick in as opposed to the fight one. Can you picture that moment? Your in a large body of people, when a Lumbering Kong mistakes the girl you are with as a trophy to hold above the empire state building. You assume the roll of the fighter plane poised to strike because you know you have your wing man, but as you make your first pass you realize that you are a lone wolf, your team has run off and left you in the mitts of an uneducated beast. one swipe from this barrel tossing freak of nature and you are knocked out of the sky with no hope of retribution because there is no one there to defend or cover you.

In the aftermath of that humiliation, A Hiroshima sized realization would hit and destroy all pre-built up thoughts of these "friends". How could they up and run away on you? The capricious beings would now reside in a place held for criminals. Trust would be lost, confidence would be lost, history would be lost and the ability to look your friends in the eyes and see a brother or a sister would be lost.

Under the microscope of an extrem situation like a fight, are we all fair weather friends sometimes? I can think of a person that has convenient perks that I can benefit from, as I'm sure all of us can. have you even taken advantage of someones kindness only to leave them high and dry when the event, need, night was over? my answer is yes, and my feelings towards each moment differ from guilt to indifference. Truth is we all do it. Know this is what makes me disgusted by those who do it, because it is seeing in the mirror. we are very capable of setting sail wile the port is burning and our people are stuck on the dock. you can't count on someone like that, and I want to be counted on.

Find your friends and prepare for hell and high water, fair weather only exists at the end of Disney movies.

Now get outta here.
It's starting to rain.