Quillus q.

Sunday Mood versus Monday Mood 😬

This longnose lancetfish, Alepisaurus ferox, was spotted at 1,235 meters (4,050 feet) in Monterey Bay with our remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts. It was only our third observation of a lancetfish with MBARI ROVs, but surprised beach walkers often report deceased ones that wash up on our local shore. This open ocean swimmer can be found in all oceans except the polar seas and can grow to two meters (nearly seven feet) long.⁠ For more cool ocean news about the longnose lancetfish check out this article by The New York Times.

Siljarri looses a spear into the still waters of Two Sky River, Nil close behind as enthusiastic retriever and seadart-wrangler.

Possibly The most surprising thing I have discovered on the internet is the number of people who will unironically refer to others as "degenerates" without expecting anyone reading this to immediately assume that they are a straight-up fascist

A number of people are reblogging this saying how scary it is that they might unknowingly echo this kind of rhetoric because it's filtered into everyday speech, and like. Yeah, that kind of mostly-innocent mistake is to some extent an inevitable feature of language and the way it passes from person to person, and yeah it can be anxiety-inducing and occasionally mortifying and I do sympathize.

That said.

You potentially being mortified because you accidentally said a nazi word is really beside the point of this post? In fact - and I suggest this as gently as possible - it's a somewhat self-centered response, imho? I wasn't blogging about how disturbing it is to say something embarrassing, I was blogging about how disturbing it is to see fascist ideology getting mainstreamed.

And it is the *ideology* that I find concerning, more than simply the language. Yeah "degenerates" is an incredibly loaded word, and people are well within their rights to direct a hard side-eye (at the least) toward anyone using it. But lbr, even if you could somehow wave a magic wand and erase the historical context that would still be a pretty vicious thing to call someone. Implying or outright stating that someone is subhuman is fascist rhetoric even absent specific fascist terminology. People are in the notes responding with things like "it's not just a synonym for freaks," and okay, but......hot take, you shouldn't be calling anyone a freak either! If you scrub "degenerate" out of your vocabulary but replace it with "freak" used in exactly the same way - other, lesser, outside the boundaries of """normal""" and thus automatically loathsome and/or dangerous - that's not better! If someone is doing bad things, say that. Don't use rhetoric that positions "normal" as "moral." In the first place it's shady as hell ("normal" is a subjective judgment frequently dictated by whoever has the most social power) and in the second place it's not even accurate, plenty of horrible behavior is perfectly normal and societally acceptable.

Anyway I'm sorry if I'm heated about this but the TL;DR is that yeah hearing that word makes every hair on the back of my neck stand up but I'm not actually here to play word cop, I'm here to (1) point out that fascist language filtering into common usage suggests some concerning things about the accompanying fascist ideas, and (2) ask anyone with good intentions to do a little bit of thoughtful self-interrogation about why they feel that is a remotely acceptable way to refer to human beings.

You should read the dictionary more carefully. From your link:

No, fascists did not coin the term. But they have historically really liked slinging it around (and still do currently), because it comes weighted with a lot of judgments about normal vs abnormal, pure vs impure, and when it comes to insults that mesh really neatly with fascist ideology it's hard to beat "you've declined from your noble ancestral state to a corrupt/inferior/primitive form of person (or less-than-person)." That usage of the word by fascists is also in no way "more recent" or purely connected to "the Fox News controversy machine." The Holocaust Memorial Museum has an entry for it in their online glossary of terms and symbols. The Nazis staged an infamous exhibition of """degenerate art""" in 1937, and in Germany that phrase or anything like it is still incredibly loaded.

Furthermore, words have connotations as well as denotations. Dog whistles are a thing. I'm not going to post screenshots because I don't really see the point in subjecting my mutuals to it, but if you go on Twitter and search "degenerate" basically every other post that pops up is virulent frothing-at-the-mouth transphobia. I can't recommend it as light reading, but if you look up alt-right manifestos or incel forums (or even just peruse the angrier comments on a right-leaning news site) you will also find this word getting throw around a hell of a lot. Part of the reason I personally have an immediate flinch response to it is that when I was first finding my way around the web as a kid, "degenerate" was part of the internet vernacular of Stormfront types the way that Pepe memes are popular with alt-right types today.

When I Google the word and do a news search, one of the more recent (3/27/23) articles is about some guy in Kansas who was driving around with a "14 Words By David Lane" decal on his work truck (and who was charged for racially-motivated murder in 2014, incidentally), and when asked for comment responded "I don't care what a bunch of degenerates, Marxists and pedophiles have to say about my work."

TL;DR It is objectively true that if you go around calling people you don't like degenerates then people familiar with fascist rhetoric are probably going to side-eye you - and they have abundant good reasons for doing so.

#''deviation from the norm'' should not be your go-to insult and if it is then you've got serious issues you need to work through

Thanks @spoonie-waagosh for summarizing so pithily

people do a whole lot of fancy mental dancing to keep from confronting how easy, fun, and pleasant it is to be a fascist. it’s very enjoyable to believe you’re rationally, morally, and biologically superior sort of human from your enemies. it’s immediately rewarding to conclude that the people you hate are less human than you are-- some sort of degenerate form of sub-human, or an unfortunately mutated freak. it’s simple and clean to decide that the world needs purging of all undesireables. you’re a good guy. you’re the best kind of person. it’s the dirty, filthy mistakes that pretend to be human--badly!--and infest the world like giant rats that need to be removed from society, for the good of people like you.

believing this feels great. it explains everything. it gives you an explanation for what’s wrong with the world that’s very reasonable to believe and gets you plenty of friends to say.

unfortunately you’re still being a fucking fascist piece of shit, no matter how superior you feel and what a great time you're having with those feelings. and you now deserve at best a scolding and at worst, if you’ve become like this on purpose and are now a serious danger to everyone you so cheerfully hate, a brick upside the head.

the people you hate aren’t subhuman. filthy weirdos actually have the exact same right to live their life and be the way they are as you, and if you try to wipe them out they’re the victims and you’re the monster. it’s a much more complicated and frustrating belief to make your peace with, but you gotta.

ordered pizza from a small local place and they didnt actually cut it so i've chosen to revert to a wild animal and begin ripping it apart instead of just using a knife to portion slices

absolutely visceral experience. food is so much more satisfying when you have to fight it. i may be feral

i am not proud to say this but that pizza lasted fifteen minutes. i normally am not that gluttonous, but this goes beyond glutton. there was gluttony and wrath. a whirlwind of sauce, cheese, and pepperoni, all atop a flatbread that was shred apart by my own hands due to the neglect of another

in that moment i was wild. i was free. i understood the simplest joys in life. the joy of eating and manifesting my own destiny

been reflecting on this all day and the unsliced pizza experience honestly ruled. i think everyone should try it sometime or another. you have not truly lived until you just absolutely obliterated a pizza in such a feral manner

is this you

yes

run

My best friend and I have this tradition we call “chicken dinner” where we get a rotisserie chicken, lay it on a tarp, start on opposite ends of the tarp, and on the count of three we both run at the chicken and start ripping into it with our bear hands. We will be on our knees fighting for the best pieces of meat, ripping into the chicken with our faces, and it is the most viscerally delicious chicken I have ever had in my life. Grease gets everywhere. We have to do this outside. We have to tie our hair in buns beforehand.

You have never known the joy of food until you are lunging at your friend to rip the best part of the chicken out of their hand, rolling around on the tarp, stuffing it in your face before they can retaliate, and you realize “holy shit did I just growl?” And then you realize they are doing it too.

The chicken gets decimated. It’s absolutely destroyed. We aren’t allowed back inside until we have been hosed down. It’s the best.

This feels like the Yang to the Yin of the Shower Beverage, where in a peak of Unhinged civilized decadence, you experience the full flavor profile of a beverage whilst in the midst of a Hot Shower. Similarly carnal in it's satisfaction, and worrisome when to your mom when she asks you what you did this weekend, and you explain. At Length.

🌊💎 Dirge-Yatet - Regent of Lapis Lazuli 💎🌊 commission for @witnesstheabsurd

beep beep sometimes when you have been in survival mode for a long time the parts of you dedicated to Wanting Things atrophy and you forget how to envision a future that feels rewarding because you are busy with the business of staying alive, and it can seem like your life must be pointless because you can’t imagine any long term goals. sometimes even when you leave survival mode you can’t remember how to Want Things. that doesn’t mean you need to give up on having a good and fulfilling life, it just means that Wanting Things is a muscle you need to gradually strengthen. the part of you that has dreams and aspirations is still there, it just fell asleep, but if you wiggle it enough it can and will regain feeling. it’s okay to start small

Do you ever eat popcorn out of the palm of your own hand with such ardent desperation that you feel like both a wild horse and the gentle schoolgirl feeding it treats to gain its affection 

i got myself my first skirt to wear this summer! it's very flowy, long, and dark, its length can be adjusted a little, and it has nice big pockets. makes me feel like I'm living up to my wizardly new legal name and I'll probably be wearing it all the time now, 10/10

using my newly enhanced wizard powers to buff my dog

look at my friend and their MAGICAL POWER

Black and white colobus (Colobus guereza)

what's in Green's fanny pack

BOTS

I saw one similar to this but it got me curious so im doing the same thing but slightly shifted:

(ps: if the pfp has a lot of colors/a tertiary color, just chose the one that seems most obvious)

happy glorious 25th of may

Another random sketch of shark characters for my secret stories. This time I had the inspiration to make an indie band from to enrich a worldbuilding of sharks that I created! The name of the band for now I thought of: Friendzy (Friends + Frenzy)🦈🎶

🎤- Aria Marinsoul is a Zebra Shark, she would be the lead singer. 🎹- Tyson Stripes is a Tiger Shark, he plays a synthesizer. 🎸- Rocky Malletfin is a Great Hammerhead Shark, he plays a bass guitar.

I feel that sometimes these characters “manifest” to cherish me in times of turbulence. I like it a lot, it brings me a lot of peace. And their characteristics are a very deep reflection of my subconscious, such as:

🌙 - Rocky is mysterious, he likes esoteric things and attracted to the occult, he seems like a bad guy but he has a good heart because despite his big body he has a soft and melodic voice. He has several lunar symbols on him like the shirt says “Moontides” moon effect on tides, tattoo of crashing waves, stars and a misty moon. If I were to give him a sign, it would be a mix of Scorpio and Pisces.

☀️ - Tyson is quite fearless and courageous but under an aura of sensitivity and calm, attracted by geek things and video games. Sometimes he is very distracted and intense. The symbol on his blouse is a mixture of the zoadical signs of Aquarius and Cancer, which would be the sign mixture that would give him.

⭐- Aria is introverted and quiet, but she is optimistic, inspiring and full of passions, sometimes she creates a lot of expectations and is very frustrated when not achieved. She is a guiding star symbol who inspires her two colleagues to persevere in their dreams. I imagine her being a cross between a lion and cancer signs.

There are more secrets I thought about them, but maybe share in the finished version of these arts.

At some point when I’m more free I’ll finish these arts and put colors! Hope you like it!✨

Rocky likes to play the guitar!🦈🎶

The shark squad loves to cozy up at Fintastic Snacks, their go-to spot for tasty treats and brainstorm new song ideas. But sometimes they just want to kick back and say funny things, what is Tyson saying anyway? 🥤🦈🥪

Rocky’s tattoos were done by the talented hands of Luna Seafarer, his loyal childhood friend!🦈✨

Luna is a female great white shark!

Submitter comment: I love a properly unhinged etymology

[Beautiful swimmers attack at low tide]

Johnson (2022)