Reptilis Rex
A sci-fi webcomic about reptoids and humans living together.
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The words he’s looking for are “tolerate” and/or “enable”.
Good call on noting the similarity. The thing that politically-correct individuals forget is that not all beliefs are created equal. While I have no trouble enabling people to have feasts on days chosen by ancient lunar calendars, or pray five times a day, or carry a great big knife and grow out their beards, I’m quite a bit more hesitant to enable ritual mutilation, religious criminal justice (no one thinks the Salem Witch trials were good anymore, do they?) or killing in the name of sacred dirt.
Preaching to the choir, I’m sure, but I’ve never understood killing for God. The creator of all things doesn’t need any help if he wants someone to die. When golfers get struck by lightning? That’s God’s vengeance.
I’ve never thought that anybody who kills in the name of God actually believes in God. Rather, they think they do because it’s an easy way to rationalize their actions, even if they don’t know they’re doing it. Violence is a reaction to fear. Corner a dog and he’ll bite you. Likewise, a person’s environment and upbringing determines their truth. If an external force comes in and undercuts that truth strongly enough, it’s going to elicit a reaction.
For example: Fred Phelps. Fred Phelps and his family are TERRIFIED beyond all reason of what’s happening in the world, which is evident by their abhorrent behavior. It’s easy to be angered by them, but if you think about it enough it’s hard not to feel sorry for them.
In a way, they’re surrounded by their own version of blood-drinking lizard people
Tolerate might be more correct, but Respecting other’s beliefs tends to be the phrase used.
Today’s strip deserves to become a classic, if not a T-Shirt!
Its like that whole “I dont agree with you, but I’ll defend your right to say it” thing. Which I always thought was kinda stupid, to be honest. I know I wont risk my ass for some bigots dumbass opinions.
Honestly, I’m not trying to pass judgement on Mary Alice here. I don’t see her as a bigot, even if Cyrus does. She’s terrified! I’d be willing to bet that 3/4 of the population would embrace this “cult” if a race of sentient bipedal reptiles emerged from the earth tomorrow.
In this situation, I think her reaction to the whole thing is a lot more “normal” than Cyrus’.
Yeah, but they havent DONE anything aside from being mildly unpleasant. If they simply showed up and started devouring our children or something, that’d be one thing, but Doris basically decided that because they look scary, that means they are soulless abominations who dont deserve to live. I think that means she is a bigot.
Who’s Doris?
And who says they haven’t done anything? A technologically advanced race springs out of the ground one day, having been hidden there for centuries? Eons? Seems like somebody’s got something to hide. Maybe if the reptoids were a civilization of humans living underground, it would be different, but add to all that secrecy the imagery of a walking talking crocodile? You’ve got yourself a fear cocktail, my friend.
The Uncanny Valley makes it more difficult for us to see things her way. In cartoon form, Snive and Krel look ADORABLES! Were they more photorealistic, however, our instincts would cry out “DO NOT WANT” with the fury of a wild lolcat and we’d beat them with sticks because that’s how humanity rolls.
Unless they’re Madame Vastra+Jenny fans.
Whatcha mean ‘if’, Tallman? According to all the blogs and podcasts, y’know…
Well, obviously they’re already among us, but it’s not public knowledge. Duh
I dunno. If them Australians on ‘Mysterious Universe’ know all about it, how secret can it be?
Nobody listens to Australians.
Mary Alice, if you can’t accept tolerance from someone who thinks you’re a bigot, you’re missing what tolerance is all about.
Tolerance and religion are like oil and water. You can introduce the two, even stir them up together with a whisk, but they won’t mix. Organised religion is essentially the abrogation of the very gift they claim to have been given by their god, free will, in lieu of which they submit to often petty control over their thoughts and actions. It’s not unlike a child trying to be heartwarming by returning a birthday present given by a poor relative – look at how incredibly good I am for denying myself your love in order to show how much I love you back. It might fly in a four year old or younger, and only if they’re pretty unusual, but I’m not going to respond with anything but cynicism to anyone older than that. People are essentially selfish, and acting selflessly to get to paradise is just a more… nuanced way of approaching things.
People tend to be afraid of the unknown, regardless of what form it takes. Whether that is a new species of sapient beings literally bursting up out of the Earth, or whether there is a reason for existence, it can have the same effect on people of an inherently cowardly disposition.
So when you have a group of fearful people who are essentially zealous about wanting to suck up to a higher authority, that makes them incredibly easy to manage, to the point where you can actively contradict the very things you claim your saviour espoused. Thou shalt not kill, unless we don’t agree with someone who is outside our beliefs, or they simply have something we want, or they’re not people the way we are and therefore don’t fit into our worldview of being the heirs of the Earth.
Further, most religion is based on a notion that its followers are a reflection of the deity at the core. Man in His image. In the past, skin colour alone, or simply language differences have been enough to dehumanise other cultures enough to wage holy wars. Reptoids are literally an entirely separate form of life.
When you consider all these things, it’s very easy to see how a church would easily be able to take advantage of peoples’ reaction to another species unlike ours emerging, intelligent but definitely distinct and non-conformist to commonly held human “values”, and convince them that if they support the church and its position of wanting to rid the world of such reptoids you will be rewarded with entry into heaven. And that position, by its very origin and definition, is at complete odds with any notions of tolerance.
I have no quarrel with personal faith or belief, but religion has very little real relation to either one of those things. Rather, it takes advantage of people who already have such qualities, and turns them to work to the requirements of a church leadership with a carrot and stick approach that offers or deprives access to their god and eternal salvation. It’s little more than emotional and spiritual blackmail, to effect indentured servitude in its targets; and saddest of all is that the victims go along with it willingly, and believe that they are right to do so.
Potentially this Church of the Divine Mammal could be a very powerful force within the framework of the comic’s wider narrative. I have a feeling that Mary Alice will be just the first of many characters to follow them, and it’s going to offer some very interesting insights into aspects of ourselves, and how similar we really are to the reptoids, for all our assertions of civilisation or goodness.
Or, maybe, it’ll lead to hijinks and dickjokes. I’m down with that either way.
“Organised religion is essentially the abrogation of the very gift they claim to have been given by their god, free will, in lieu of which they submit to often petty control over their thoughts and actions.”
That makes so much sense that it’s scary
I apologise for the length of that last comment… my musing ran away from me somewhat, I didn’t realise how long-winded that had got.
Don’t worry, your name suits.