Human beings love to assign themselves into a special category of "different from everything else," with the (often implied, but sometimes explicit) addition of "better too."
There is no firm line separating humans from anything else that I've ever found. Heck, many people not in the "Western" hegemon understand that perfectly - indigenous and "Eastern" beliefs regularly place humanity in a position recognizing that they are an interwoven part of a tapestry which directly incorporates everything else too and honors the importance of all things in how they contribute. And frankly, it's my opinion that humanity could stand to remember that we aren't unique in any particular non-replicable way. Other creatures demonstrate language - even spoken language. Crows give each other (and us) unique names. Even plants communicate, on a scale and in a way we have yet to fully discover. Many animals have a sense of self, too, and interior worlds which match human emotions.
The only thing that makes us "different" that I've actually found is our own insistence that we're "different." And even that may not be unique. 🤷
>> Human beings love to assign themselves into a special category of "different from everything else," with the (often implied, but sometimes explicit) addition of "better too."<<
LOL yes.
>> The more we learn, the more obvious it is that that's simply not true. <<
I would say, there are things which are common and others which are rare. Tool use, language, those are among the scarcer examples. I've heard it argued that only humans use timebinding -- the ability to pass down knowledge, not just directly, but indirectly. Well then, do scent marks or territory scrapes not count as communication between individuals who are not present together? And so it goes.
>>There is no firm line separating humans from anything else that I've ever found. Heck, many people not in the "Western" hegemon understand that perfectly - indigenous and "Eastern" beliefs regularly place humanity in a position recognizing that they are an interwoven part of a tapestry which directly incorporates everything else too and honors the importance of all things in how they contribute. <<
I'm sorry. You are valuable (and valued) as you are, and you do not deserve to be seen as "lesser" just because you have a different set of things and views to contribute to existence. As someone with autism who constantly has to advocate for myself on this sort of thing, I take the same stand for you - you are not a "problem to be solved."
You are. That's it. The only "problem" is that people can't figure out that someone not like them doesn't need to be forcibly gone at with societal "hammer and tongs" until they either fit the common view of acceptable or irreparably break. 😑
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: Oct. 21st, 2024 04:43 am (UTC)Sigh... I'm sorry that's happened yet again.
no subject
Date: Oct. 21st, 2024 05:43 am (UTC)hopefully will get to see world where happen less and less ...
Well ...
Date: Oct. 21st, 2024 09:58 am (UTC)Why cats rub all over humans: "Maybe if I smear enough pheromones on this idiot, he'll figure out how to communicate properly."
Re: Well ...
Date: Oct. 21st, 2024 11:42 am (UTC)Human beings love to assign themselves into a special category of "different from everything else," with the (often implied, but sometimes explicit) addition of "better too."
The more we learn, the more obvious it is that that's simply not true. Not only do other creatures have methods of expression that humans simply have not learned to comprehend, but even those creatures without spoken language show clear signs of interior worlds and emotions which go beyond the simple dichotomy most people hold of either "intelligent species capable of communication" or "dumb beast."
There is no firm line separating humans from anything else that I've ever found. Heck, many people not in the "Western" hegemon understand that perfectly - indigenous and "Eastern" beliefs regularly place humanity in a position recognizing that they are an interwoven part of a tapestry which directly incorporates everything else too and honors the importance of all things in how they contribute. And frankly, it's my opinion that humanity could stand to remember that we aren't unique in any particular non-replicable way. Other creatures demonstrate language - even spoken language. Crows give each other (and us) unique names. Even plants communicate, on a scale and in a way we have yet to fully discover. Many animals have a sense of self, too, and interior worlds which match human emotions.
The only thing that makes us "different" that I've actually found is our own insistence that we're "different." And even that may not be unique. 🤷
Re: Well ...
Date: Oct. 21st, 2024 03:44 pm (UTC)Re: Well ...
Date: Oct. 21st, 2024 03:54 pm (UTC)😊💚
Re: Well ...
Date: Oct. 22nd, 2024 09:49 am (UTC)LOL yes.
>> The more we learn, the more obvious it is that that's simply not true. <<
I would say, there are things which are common and others which are rare. Tool use, language, those are among the scarcer examples. I've heard it argued that only humans use timebinding -- the ability to pass down knowledge, not just directly, but indirectly. Well then, do scent marks or territory scrapes not count as communication between individuals who are not present together? And so it goes.
>>There is no firm line separating humans from anything else that I've ever found. Heck, many people not in the "Western" hegemon understand that perfectly - indigenous and "Eastern" beliefs regularly place humanity in a position recognizing that they are an interwoven part of a tapestry which directly incorporates everything else too and honors the importance of all things in how they contribute. <<
Mitakuya oyasin.
no subject
Date: Oct. 21st, 2024 11:49 am (UTC)I'm sorry. You are valuable (and valued) as you are, and you do not deserve to be seen as "lesser" just because you have a different set of things and views to contribute to existence. As someone with autism who constantly has to advocate for myself on this sort of thing, I take the same stand for you - you are not a "problem to be solved."
You are. That's it. The only "problem" is that people can't figure out that someone not like them doesn't need to be forcibly gone at with societal "hammer and tongs" until they either fit the common view of acceptable or irreparably break. 😑