(no subject)

[peratic]

What makes someone a monster?

Specifically, what traits or acts would cause you to consider someone a monster? I'm not interested in speculative tragic background stories.

Comments

[peratic]

All societies steal from one another, prey upon one another. It could be that everybody is a monster, which would mean no one is.

An entity without free will can't be blamed for its actions. A demon supposedly has that, but then I don't really know; I haven't been able to interview any just yet.

No, it's fine, really. It's a weird question for me to have asked. I think it's moderately interesting, but there are people in this world who say someone is a monster for not eating vegan food, you know? [ Gisela is a slight control freak who would never put something personal up for strangers to debate, pretty much. ]

What really spurred it was my thinking about how certain supernatural creatures are considered 'monsters', but humans also do most of the things they do. Murder, cannibalism, you name it. Mankind's way of shunting its more undesirable qualities of onto someone else instead of taking responsibility.

[extirpations]

Ah, those kinds of monsters. As you said, designed solely so we can blame others for actions we find detestable and thus distance ourselves from out own actions.

What then of those who might profess to being monsters themselves? Would you judge them to truly be such or simply more honest than the rest of the populace?

[peratic]

There could be a lot of motivations there. One can claim monstrousness out of immense guilt and self-hate, or as a way of separating oneself from humanity. You know: "I'm not like the herd, I'm a predator. A hunter."

I don't know how I'd judge them. I'd probably find it another abdication of responsibility again.

[extirpations]

Perhaps there lies an answer. The refusal to take responsibility for one's own actions. If not outright monstrous I would say it's certainly an abhorrent trait.