Government of the people? Like, ALL of them?

One of the things that's supposed to be great about the internet is that it enables anyone to make their voice heard. And, theoretically, this means that the lowliest plebe can cut out the
middlemen of representative democracy and take their case directly to the people in charge.
Unfortunately, there is nothing obliging any government to listen to any petition gathered on-line, no matter how eloquently the voice of "the people" is expressed.

Easier to mock, however, is the presence of paranoid schizophrenics, bleeding-heart dimwits, well-meaning wags, head-in-the-sand retrograde separatists, committed contrarians, and general dumb-ass bigots. For each reasonable proposal, there's a call for something stupid, making it that much easier to dismiss the whole unwashed mass of them.

Surely you're joking.

A website devoted to right-wing and conservative views on science fiction? Yep. Just in case you needed politically motivated commentary on Spider-Man meeting Obama, why the outrage over a Barbie doll dressed as a superhero is misplaced, or the lazy-liberal thinking implicit in a trailer for an animated sci-fi movie.

A video documentary about the branch of Germany's far-right, racially xenophobic political movement that idolizes Adolf Hitler and is also proudly homosexual? Honestly, 8 minutes into the first section, and I can already say I've seen a gay Nazi marketing manager and a traditional Oi-skinhead talking about how someone who had to jerk off when they saw his NPD membership card.

Escapees from the Android's Dungeon listening to Bill O'Reilly and skinheads getting down with man-love before going to a racial-intolerance rally? Mankind's family tree bears some goddamn weird fruit.

And don't call me Shirley.

Hu-mans are not special: exhibit 81.81

Some birds can make and use tools, others can learn to recognize and attack specific humans. Whales can steal, robots can hunt and eat prey, and new research has shown that apes can laugh. And they don't just make ha-ha sounds, but make them in the same contexts and for the same reasons as people.

All of which makes me think, but two idea keep coming back to me:
1. Humans are not as special as they like to think they are,

and

2. The rest of the world is a lot more special than humans give it credit for.

Claymation? Zombies? French maid outfit?

Thank you, POETV.


Ta-DA! (And totally not for kids.)