How Do We Use Menacing Animals In Human Society

"If we are to guard confronting ignorance and remain gratuitous, it is the responsibility of every American to exist informed."

–Thomas Jefferson

A Brief Introduction

This post has been 1 of the things I've been well-nigh excited to work on. For months, I've been thinking of all the different words we commonly apply in conversation to denigrate humans (which we probably shouldn't be doing anyway) by relating them to certain kinds of animals. Because I've found so many words, what was supposed to be a one-off mail will now turn into several. These will besides include special editions, like expressionless animals, swear words, and — for a more positive look — animal compliments instead of insults. While I will be focusing more often than not on what certain words connote and why their use is illogical when nosotros compare them to the animals of their namesake, you can learn more near the origins of animal-based terms and language from Colleen Patrick-Godreau'south Animalogy podcast.

Beast

Beasts are disgusting creatures; they are big, inhumane, unpleasant beings. When a human being is called a beast, this means they act in uncivilized, inhuman ways, typically by committing egregious acts against other humans. The give-and-take was too mutual in the past, a way to refer to "other" animals as an case of man superiority (what separates man from beast). Even today, the term has this connotation, as if no normal human could possibly commit certain vile acts but known to the creatures in the wild.

Lesser feeder

Though bottom feeders are, every bit the name suggests, aquatic animals that feed off the bottom of the torso of h2o they inhabit, the term, when used to describe humans, connotes something far less mundane. It is meant as an insult to someone that takes reward of others or intentionally causes them harm to amend their ain situation or status. Lesser feeders are too low on the societal nutrient chain, picking up scraps left over by their "superiors." They are generally regarded every bit unimportant lowlifes.

Catfish

A term coined far more than recently than the others on this list, catfish became popular after the release of the 2010 documentary and subsequent reality show of the same name. A catfish is a person that creates a fake persona online, using other people's pictures and/or personal data to hide behind the anonymity of the internet. They and then use this fake online person to become things they want from other people: friends, romantic relationships, money. Sometimes the purpose is even more nefarious — such as revenge on an old great or simply to mess with random people — just often catfish are lonely and are simply looking for companionship but lack the self-confidence to come across new people with their truthful identity.

Cow

Slurs against women are some of the virtually abhorrent, particularly since there are far fewer animal-based insults used confronting men. A cow is a rude discussion for a woman, and though there can be many different meanings based on context, it mostly refers to a adult female viewed equally large or stupid. Nosotros mostly want to think of cows — actual cows — as these lumbering oafs that were easily tricked into becoming the milk and meat machines we meet them as today. Because of our low opinion of the animal, nosotros accept created this insult as a way to hurt other females. In contrast, we also accept the term blind, an adjective to describe a person that is foolishly obstinate or stubborn. (Of course, that insult isn't virtually as condescending as calling someone a cow, only we volition see later that bulls, dissimilar cows, are also the source of a more favorable describing word.)

Dodo

Perhaps not a term often used specifically against humans, merely the intent remains the same. The dodo is a symbol of accented stupidity, as if it's their mistake that humans invaded their habitat and decimated the entire population. (What if we said these same things about, say, victims of the Rwandan genocide? That they were just too stupid to realize they were existence eradicated and become out before they were killed.) The blame for the dullard'south extinction rests solely on humanity'south shoulders, along with endless other species.

Leech

A leech is a parasite, someone that latches onto some other person in lodge to excerpt whatever they need from them at whatever toll. Leeches generally have footling or no regard for their host/hosts, just sticking around equally long every bit the human relationship is benign for them. Though real leeches are indeed a little scrap creepy, it is simply in their nature to attach themselves to and suck the claret of other creatures. That doesn't brand them inherently vile or evil; it's just how they survive.

Mole

Real-world moles are seriously some of the cutest little critters ever, merely the human connotations for them are less than kind. Because of the moles' burrowing nature, how they wriggle their fashion into the ground and often popular out in less than ideal places (for humans), they've come to correspond spies and infiltrators. Moles place themselves in enemy territory to garner trust from the other side and gather information to relay back to their people. Though this term isn't very relevant for the general population, it's ofttimes used in wartime movies, spy thrillers, and law-breaking shows, making the word widely known to virtually people.

Pig

Like with cows, we often use our perceptions of "nutrient animals" to create insults. Though pigs are incredibly intelligent (and adorable), nosotros demand to view them as dirty, disgusting beasts so nosotros can go along to eat them. To call someone a pig can accept various meanings: that they are foul, filthy creatures; that they are a cop, connoting that they are corrupt and discriminatory; that they are gluttonous and selfish, particularly when it comes to eating food; or that they are ugly and fat. To be pigheaded, yet, means that they are stubborn to an extent that even when it negatively impacts them, they refuse to modify. This insult is likely a event of pigs' thick skulls (which is itself an insult, besides), making it incredibly difficult to incapacitate or impale them through caput trauma.

Quack

A quack is generally a person that cannot be taken seriously, someone that talks without really knowing what they're talking almost. This is often a term reserved for doctors, professors, or other persons of intelligence in fields that aren't taken seriously: acupuncture, chiropractic, philosophy, etc. It is too used for persons that merits to have certain knowledge when they actually don't (or when that knowledge tin't be proven): psychics, healers, spiritualists, etc. A quick Google search says that this term is actually derived from 17th-century Dutch (quacksalver), but to us modern English speakers, nosotros associate the word virtually solely with the sound ducks make.

Shrimp

Nosotros often telephone call smaller people shrimps or shrimpy merely for their slight stature, equally shrimps are tiny little creatures. Yet, these terms are often used to refer to someone every bit not only minor, but as insignificant or irrelevant. Of course, it is no fault of shrimps or of smaller humans that they are the size they are, but it seems that humans are incapable of not judging each other based on appearances. So, if you are small or brusk, you lot are deemed less worthy of credence by "normal" people. This is probably why shrimps are regarded as nigh worthless by humans, used and thrown away like trash.

Sloth

Information technology'due south interesting how sloth is one of the seven deadly sins, as if presuming that because sloths movement slowly that means they're lazy. A sloth-like person prefers to allow things happen to them instead of taking an agile role, even though their complacency could exist detrimental. In fact, these people often feel pity for themselves, as if everything is entirely out of their control and they are at the mercy of the world around them. However, this couldn't be further from the truth for existent sloths. They are simply ho-hum-moving, a way to conserve energy as they climb through the forest. Ironically, the idea of slow and intentional living has get much more pop today as a way for humans to have a pause from the mindless, fast-paced globe around them. Maybe nosotros should larn a footling more from these friendly woods-dwelling herbivores.

Ophidian

Almost humans have a natural fear of snakes; they are so different united states of america, slithering beyond the ground without even legs to walk on. Because of this, we experience more comfortable maligning them with words. Snakes stand for people that are conniving, sneaky, untrustworthy. They will often lie or mislead you to get something that they want. Though snakes and serpents also correspond intelligence, snakes usually use their intellect in a way that is corrupt or evil. (A common popular-culture example of this is Slytherin House at Hogwarts — the house of the serpent — in the Harry Potter franchise, the house known for producing more evil witches and wizards than the other three houses.) A ophidian in the grass lulls you into a false sense of security before pouncing, but this is just the nature of an ambush predator. They must covertly and speedily attack their prey. That does not make them intentionally savage; it's simply how they must survive.

Urchin

A less-common give-and-take today, urchin, or street urchin, was generally a fashion of describing dirty or mischievous children. Streets urchins are poor or homeless children, frequently resorting to pickpocketing and other small crimes to sustain themselves. Similar to bottom feeders, urchins take the scraps leftover by others, finding value in things generally considered garbage. Because of this, urchins are generally deemed worthless.

Vulture

This is 1 of those terms that doesn't really make sense. To phone call someone a vulture means that they exploit others and prey on their weaknesses to go what they want. Still, vultures and other scavengers don't actually prey on anyone. They just eat the leftovers of animals that had died beforehand. So, while many people recall vultures are icky and creepy when they see them digging into some roadkill, remember that what they do is far more humane than what the boilerplate man does to other animals on a daily ground.

exist witting, be kind, exist vegan

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Related posts yous may enjoy:

"How to Get Vegan in 2020"

"Does Linguistic communication Thing?: How Carnist Euphemisms Threaten Peace"

"Standard Arguments Against Veganism, Pt. v"

"Animal Rights vs. Brute Welfare"

"Is Veganism a Privilege?"

Source: https://introverted-activist.com/animal-insults-1/

Posted by: confernotilen.blogspot.com

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