#human consequences

[capableism]

Winter’s tail, an inspirational & cautionary story for humans

Winter was found in December 2005, her tail badly damaged from a crab trap."  Actually, the fisherman knew that dolphins often flock to the area where they put  the crab trap, but they did not really care about it and kept putting it in the area.  

Their indifference about the environment can endanger the dolphin." (The Impact of Human Behavior on Dolphin's Life in the Dolphin Tale Series 2011 & 2014, 126) The impact on Winter's life was lifelong. Her disability required her to live in captivity to survive. Under ordinary circumstances, the goal of the Clear Water Marine Aquarium is to rescue  rehabilitate, and release. This aquarium demonstrates the positive impact humans can have on animal life. In the case of Winter, the  aquarium saved Winter from negative human involvement. In the case of  Winter's companion Panama, she was a dolphin who required the safety of captivity because of old age. Becoming deaf, Panama actually relied on  human scraps. Her need to find and stay close to boats also put her in danger  of injury.   

Dolphins in captivity live around 12 or 13 years. They are adaptable  creatures but in captivity they depend on humans for food, and limited socialization with other animals shortens their life span. Winter's journey from  the wild to becoming a domestic animal is not a focus of the film. 

Winter's behavioral training she received to “warm up" to humans is not shown. Winter's side-to-side swimming is a variation of how sharks swim.

It caused scoliosis, and when Winter was fitted with her new tail, humans were the ones who had to teach her how to swim. 

Winter's problems with the tail in the film are solved when Dr. McCarthy makes a new "sock" out of Winter's gel. The gel in real life has helped people who had  previously given up on prosthetics. Unfortunately, Winter's tail slowly died and  broke down on its own. As the tissue died and the potential for infection  increased, the Clear Water Marine Aquarium staff slowly amputated, though, in the film,  it happened in one dramatic scene. The film modified the true story to  better fit in the Hollywood template. It must be traumatic for children to witness Winter losing her tail in this way. 

The prosthetic tail prolonged Winter's life by slowing the damage resulting from  her "shark" swimming pattern. This again highlights the positive possibilities of  human intervention and  dedication to animals. 

Winter's prosthetics were created and tested by a team of doctors and supported by the aquarium staff. It was a group effort that provided  an inspirational story.  

Dolphin Tale is more focused on the positive impact of humans on animals.  Emphasizing how humans can save animals' lives is important. The second  film, however, addresses the dolphin's need for other animals. Hope and Winter must be introduced and then accept one another in order to save Winter from  isolation and the possibility of losing her human companions. Isolation of  dolphins in captivity is illegal because it's cruel based on what humans know  about dolphin culture.

Sources

Maskurotal, A. K., Aminah, S. M., & Rizki, F. (2020). The Impact of Human Behavior on Dolphin’s Life in the Dolphin Tale Series (2011 & 2014). J-Lalite: Journal of English Studies, 1(2), 123-135. http://jos.unsoed.ac.id/index.php/jes

Learn more about Winter’s story https://www.cmaquarium.org/animals/dolphins/winter/

[ruporas]

dragon meat, you, and me

[n0thingiscool]

Trump's Disgusting Zero Tolerance Policy

tldr:

US home grown stages of fascism and population abuses implemented mainly by Jeff Sessions, Steven Miller, Gene Hamilton, and Tom Homan.

- These cunts ignored their colleague's concern for ethics and process in order to justify kidnapping asylum seeking children from their parents, including taking infants from their breast feeding mothers, immediately.

- They ignored the pre-emptive warnings given by Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona Marshals and district attorneys at the borders telling them border patrol didn't have the facilities or staff capacity to handle the increased prosecutions.

- They didn't even bother to consider what they would do with the kids once they stole them. They barely notified DHS of the plan and didn't tell HHS at all. Therefore the was no way to track or document the stolen children.

- All of these assholes knew Trump was too stupid to comprehend the reality of the policy, knew all he was was a dipshit reactionary, and colluded to take advantage of this fact

- The rest of the rank and files had their heads so far up their asses it took thousands of displaced children, stories of parents suffering from grief, and actual leaked audio before they accepted what they were doing was wrong and/or what the news was reporting wasn't liberal bias

The full story:

"Trump-administration officials insisted for a whole year that family separations weren’t happening. Finally, in the spring of 2018, they announced the implementation of a separation policy with great fanfare—as if one had not already been under way for months. Then they declared that separating families was not the goal of the policy, but an unfortunate result of prosecuting parents who crossed the border illegally with their children. Yet a mountain of evidence shows that this is explicitly false: Separating children was not just a side effect, but the intent. Instead of working to reunify families after parents were prosecuted, officials worked to keep them apart for longer."

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"Elizabeth Neumann, Nielsen’s deputy chief of staff, told me she was shaken by the nonchalance with which McAleenan and Homan had proposed taking vast numbers of children away from their parents. “They were not grasping the humanity of the situation; they were just all about ‘I need Stephen [Miller] off my back. I need the president off my back,’ ” she said. (McAleenan denies this account.) Nielsen’s deputy chief of staff, told me she was shaken by the nonchalance with which McAleenan and Homan had proposed taking vast numbers of children away from their parents. “They were not grasping the humanity of the situation; they were just all about ‘I need Stephen [Miller] off my back. I need the president off my back,’ ” she said. (McAleenan denies this account.)"

----------------------------------------------

"In February 2018, Gelernt met a woman from the Democratic Republic of Congo who had been separated from her 6-year-old daughter. The girl had spent several months in an HHS shelter in Chicago; her mother was being held in an immigration detention center in the desert on the outskirts of San Diego. When she walked into a cinder-block room to meet Gelernt, she appeared gaunt and confused—“almost catatonic from what had happened to her,” Gelernt told me. "

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"The brutality of Zero Tolerance was immediately evident. The father of a 3-year-old “lost his s—,” one Border Patrol agent told The Washington Post. “They had to use physical force to take the child out of his hands.” The man was so upset that he was taken to a local jail; he “yelled and kicked at the windows on the ride,” the agent said. The next morning, the father was found dead in his cell; he’d strangled himself with his own clothing."

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"González said that at the height of Zero Tolerance, about 300 children were separated each day at her facility and crammed into caged enclosures. She spent most of her time inside the enclosures, helping children call their relatives. Sometimes the younger children didn’t seem to fully understand what was going on."

--------------------------

"Recently disclosed internal emails from that time help explain what Bash, Patrick, and the other U.S. attorneys couldn’t figure out—why the plan for reunifying families was faulty to the point of negligence. Inside DHS, officials were working to prevent reunifications from happening. Within days of the start of Zero Tolerance, Matt Albence, one of Tom Homan’s deputies at ICE, expressed concern that if the parents’ prosecutions happened too swiftly, their children would still be waiting to be picked up by HHS in Border Patrol stations, making family reunification possible. He saw this as a bad thing."

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"as the trump administration sought to defuse the anger over Zero Tolerance, White House officials proposed blaming separated families for what had happened to them. A damage-control working group developed fact sheets suggesting, without evidence, that most of the separated children were trafficking victims, according to two people who were present. At one meeting, one of these officials told me, “they were like, ‘Why don’t we just show these women throwing their children over the wall, and then people will think, How could they do this?  ’ ”"

(Two things I would to see after reading this all center around witnessing Steven Miller and his cunt wife, Kate Waldman getting their asses physically beat on public access. Absolute fascists.)

[lillylunala]

Fionna and Cake so far

[wanologic]

Don’t think. Feel.

[ilynpilled]

it frankly pisses me off that what is essentially “rapists and abusers should be depicted as monstrous caricatures because humanizing them is inappropriate” is considered a very moral and enlightened position to have on art by so many people. a rapist can feel pain, have moments of vulnerability, be amiable and charming, express remorse and compassion at times, be a victim themselves, and so on in real life. they are even capable of doing good things. they can have different sides to them and have individuals in their lives that they are kind to or have a decent relationship with. they will be a human being, and that fact encompasses a lot. conflating that with the claim that they are entitled to and deserve forgiveness or absolution is an issue. nurturing a mindset that believes they need to be one note and uncomplicated to be a correct and tasteful depiction of a rapist inadvertently falls in line with the logic of “how could they have possibly raped you? they are so normal and kind to me. they did all these good things here and there.” ok that doesn’t change that they are a rapist.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

hope you feel better soon!

I am riddled with ailments, but I stay silly!

[opera-ghost]

me on my death bed when this picture flashes before my eyes instead of cherished moments with my family and loved ones

[constellation-of-disasters]

PROTECT TRANS KIDS. LOVE TRANS KIDS. RESPECT TRANS KIDS. LISTEN TO THEM, HEAR THEIR VOICES AND DON’T STAND BY SILENTLY.

[furiousgoldfish]

After a while of abusing you, the idea that you're a human being becomes a threat to the abusers. It reminds them they did reprehensible and unforgivable crimes against another human being, and then instead of confronting remorse for it, they try to erase your humanity instead. They focus on convincing you that you somehow, are less than other humans, that you deserve this, that you're not good for anything else but this, that you asked for it, wanted it, that you have no human rights, no point of view, no perspective. That you have to take on their perspective of you, their view of how you should be treated. That their horrifying and cruel treatment of you is right and above criticism.

That's how far they go just to escape any consequences of abusing you, and once you believe them, once you feel that you don't deserve any better, they relax in thinking that the consequences will never come. That they can gaslight and brainwash you forever. And then they'll go back to abusing you. The entire scheme exists to enable them to abuse you and never suffer any consequences.

Just because someone manages to convince you that you're not human, doesn't make it true. Their lies cannot erase anyone's humanity. Victims realize what's been done to them when it's gotten too far, and they'll recognize they're dealing with an enemy who is trying to erase their humanity.

[capableism]

Humans aren’t the smartest creatures on Earth

For centuries, humans have assumed they are the most intelligent creatures on Earth. Human inventions, from essential tools to modern-day social media, must be proof of that. No other species has taken advantage of the Earth as much as we humans have. But human inventions are not necessarily superior to other species' cultures. They are just more bombastic. 

"Conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were  far more intelligent than man — for precisely the same reasons." (Learn)  

Humans have transformed the Earth to fit our needs above other animals and  plants. The ecosystem of Earth needs to be balanced to keep all life healthy for species to live on.  

Ecocriticism is important in examining human impacts on the world. It also helps us recognize other animals' value. 

"Ecocriticism directs literary  criticism into a social and public role by paying attention to the natural  environment." (The Impact of Human Behavior on Dolphins' Life in the Dolphin  Tale Series 2011 & 2014, 124) 

Dolphins are proven to be intelligent animals with  language, communication, and culture. Yet, for decades, dolphins and other animals have been trained to perform in circuses and other shows for human entertainment. 

Photo by Mick Haupt from Unsplash

This is because ordinary people are focused on themselves when supporting these events. They likely don't think about being superior to other  animals. They are "indifferent" to consequences to the animals that entertain them (therefore benefiting them.) In the case of Winter, the dolphin people are thinking and projecting themselves onto her. As a result, they are more likely to empathize with Winter. This is positive as she brings awareness to negative human impacts. And that awareness sometimes brings human intervention that benefits animals.

"Not all humans have a sense of responsibility in managing nature. In fact, there  are so many humans who often act as if they are separated from nature and  assume as if they can live without nature." (Schultz, 2002: 62).  

The "indifference" of people toward the environment is the main problem.  Focusing on human behavior can positively and negatively affect the animal kingdom. The story of Winter the dolphin demonstrates the good and bad aspects of humans' impact on intelligent species.

Sources

Learn, J. R. (2021, March 26). Just How Intelligent Are Dolphins? Discover Magazine. https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/just-how-intelligent-are-dolphins

Maskurotal, A. K., Aminah, S. M., & Rizki, F. (2020). The Impact of Human Behavior on Dolphin’s Life in the Dolphin Tale Series (2011 & 2014). J-Lalite: Journal of English Studies, 1(2), 123-135. http://jos.unsoed.ac.id/index.php/jes

Schultz, P.W. (2002). “Inclusion with nature. In P. Schmuck and W.P. Schultz (eds.)” Psychology of Sustainable Development, 61-95. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

[merakiui]

a plot in which skully's portrait is kept in ramshackle. there's more legend and lore to the king of halloween than there are actual facts. you've always been curious about what kind of person he is and what sort of life he lived before he was traveling the world. there's so little documentation on him. it's a shame you'll likely never know the real story, but that's where fantasy can fill in the blanks! skully looks so devious in his portrait—with that sinister smile and extravagant pose. he's a mystery you've tried to solve with very little luck.

every morning on your way out, you pass his portrait in the hall and say the same farewell: "i'm off, mr. skully! i'll see you later!"

ramshackle dorm is no stranger to haunts. you adore the ghosts. they liven up your quiet, run-down dorm whenever they materialize in front of you for a lighthearted spook. sometimes you can sense them when you walk into a cold spot or you hear phantom sounds late at night. sometimes your face or your hands feel cold, and there's a disembodied smooching sound that follows the drop in temperature. it's all just part of ramshackle's paranormal charm.

on halloween morning, you stand in front of skully's portrait and wish him well. this time, though, you stand up to reach his face and press your lips against the canvas. "have a happy halloween, mr. skully. i'll see you later tonight!"

and then you're off to classes with grim. a pair of orange eyes follows your movements until eventually you're out of sight. the door shuts and then ramshackle is quiet.

when the halloween king reaches out, his hand goes through the canvas. he falls out of his frame and lands in a heap of lanky limbs with a thwump. peculiar. this has never happened before. he tries to climb back into his empty portrait, but it's no use. he can't return.

is he truly back in the world again in a corporeal form? :O !!!! oh, how exciting!!!!! there's so much he's wanted to do! he must find you first, though! he's been dying (lol) to meet you in the flesh. :)

[mxtxfanatic]

Why Lan Wangji Endures

I breifly touched on this topic before in this post, but I wanted to go more in-depth with it in combination with this post. When Lan Wangji says this:

"...When I went to see him, I told him, ‘Young Master Wei was already in the wrong, why add onto the wrong committed?’ And he said....... He can’t affirm whether what you did was right or wrong. But no matter what, he was willing to shoulder all of the responsibility together with you...."

—Chapt. 99: A Hatred for Life Part 2, boat-full-of-lotus-pods

...he is not making a statement on the morality of either his or Wei Wuxian's actions. In fact, his opinions about the moral righteousness of their actions are separate from his opinions on his clan's (and the greater cultivation world's) meted-out punishments. Why? Because the rules and laws of the cultivation world are now wholly separate from what is moral, and so Lan Wangji has matched Wei Wuxian in cleaving his sense of morality from what is considered acceptable by the status quo. Lan Wangji cannot confirm to Lan Xichen (or the Lan Clan, or the cultivation world as a whole) whether Wei Wuxian was right or wrong because they are not operating under the same understanding of "right and wrong." At the same time, Lan Wangji's (summarized via Lan Xichen's) speech above is not in conversation with his brother but actually in conversation with Wei Wuxian's speech back in Yiling:

There was no such road. No solution existed. Wei WuXian spoke slowly, “Thank you for keeping me company today. Thank you for telling me the news about my shijie’s marriage too. But, let the self judge the right and the wrong, let others decide to praise or to blame, let gains and losses remain uncommented on. I, too, know what I should and shouldn’t do. I believe that I’ll be able to control it as well.” As if he’d anticipated such an attitude since a long time ago, Lan WangJi nodded slightly and closed his eyes. And that marked their farewell.

—Chapt. 75: Distance, exr

Wei Wuxian was put into a dead-end situation where any act of self-defense or defense of innocents was an automatic crime. In the end, he experienced the ultimate consequence of death because his act of self-defense led to the death of an important individual, a death that was seen as "unforgivable" in the eyes of the cultivation world, unlike the deaths of Wei Wuxian and the Wen remnants. Likewise, Lan Wangji's actions in protecting Wei Wuxian against his clan were met with punishment, because even though he had good cause in rescuing the Wen remnants' only protector, going against his clan is "unforgivable" in the eyes of a society ruled by tradition and orthodoxy over morality. This is why Wei Wuxian says that the self must judge the self, and why Lan Wangji is following that creed by enduring the Lan Clan punishment while maintaining an unshakeable belief in Wei Wuxian's righteousness.

It was never about Lan Wangji doubting his or Wei Wuxian's morals. It was never about Lan Wangji putting love above righteousness. It was always about how Lan Wangji so much believed in Wei Wuxian's morality and the righteousness of his actions that he was willing to protect the man when the entire world said he was in the wrong, when his own family stood opposite him. And just like Wei Wuxian eventually accepted the consequences of his actions and used his last moments to attempt to destroy the Stygian Tiger Seal, Lan Wangji, too, endured being whipped 33 times by the discipline whip, then went on to rescue Wen Yuan and raise him and the other Lan disciples with morals so strong that they could transcend the mob mentality that their parents never learned to unsubscribe from. Lan Wangji's steadfastness in the face of the incredible hypocrisy and corruption baked into the system he lived in is why Wei Wuxian is able to resurrect into a world where the new generation can look up to him as a hero and a mentor rather than a scourge and a terror.

This endurance is Lan Wangji's ultimate act of love.

[springtrappd]

marta svetek -- voice of gregory, vanny, roxanne wolf in fnaf: sb and its dlc, ruin -- has joined kellen goff in voicing her thoughts on ai reproductions of her voice. again: if you want voice actors to maintain a living wage (and their own mental health), please respect her wishes and ensure that this kind of behaviour is heavily discouraged in the future.

full text of thread below the cut for brevity:

Been getting tagged in all kinds of posts and popular TikToks of people using AI voice clones of my FNAF characters to have them sing or say all kinds of random stuff. You might think it's fun. But really it's contributing to the problem all VAs are facing in the wake of AI. The more these AI voice clones get used, the more they're normalized, and the more businesses see it as a viable alternative to real VAs when making content for you. Slowly but surely, most of your favourite VAs will be out of work. Not to mention what this will cost in terms of future generations of VAs. Incredible performances we'll never get to experience because most businesses will more often than not go for the cheapest, quickest option as soon as the technology is up to scratch. This is made even worse by the fact that we currently have very few legal protections against the unauthorized use of our voices using AI. And we're being pressured to waive those too, for a fraction of their worth. This is one of the big reasons the current strikes are a thing. If you enjoyed my work in FNAF and have any respect for the amount of time and effort VAs put into bringing characters to life, don't use AI voice clones in your fanart. I can't express how violated I feel every time I hear my voice say words that aren't my own. And just in case it wasn't clear - I have never consented to having my voice, likeness or any of my performances synthesized into AI voices/avatars etc.

[chiangyorange]

This place is a message…and part of a system of messages…pay attention to it!

isles echoes so much of s1 that it felt like a show play. theres something harrowing as an unknown entity. nothing primordial like the light and dark, or maybe it is. isles wasnt a True universe in the way that mianite seasons 1 and 2 were. it was called mianitian isles. something close, something similar, but not quite the same as the others

it wants to be adored by silly little mortals who will devote themselves to its cause. it wants to be human, but only the shape of one. it wants to be greater than mere mortal beings. it wants to be indescribable.

sounds kind of like it wants to be a god

[bloodybellycomb]

Everyone is so boring, all anyone says is “How dare your hubris in thinking that you can escape the natural order of the world,” and “Good God, what have you done?” but no one bothers to ask, “Was it fun, shedding your humanity to ascend to a higher level of being?” Well, the answer is no.