this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2024
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Lovecraft Mythos - Cosmic Horror
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"Please quote the earlier defense of genocide."
it's kind of long, but sure.
bear in mind that the topic is global genocide, the context to your comment is my disagreement that global genocide is justified, and you are arguing that cthulhu's reasoning is valid:
"...the only counter to this is that we’ve toned down the war, slavery and brutal exploitation over the last 200 years. The last 10,000 before that and probably the last 200,000 before that are kind of the same thing happening over and over again. What’s more, nobody can adequately explain why it’s suddenly started to improve, or if it will stay that way. For all we know, we live in the turbulent transition period between agrarian hereditary autocracy and dystopian high-tech hereditary autocracy.
All in all, humanity is (morally) shit...
you further claim that humanity is shit by humanity's standards, but are speaking only for yourself and by your own reasoning, thereby identifying your own personal and singular standards, rather than "humanity's".
you have robustly defended the reasoning for global genocide.
I robustly defended humanity being unsavory. I did not robustly defend genocide. To justify Cthulhu's premise is to not to justify his conclusion. I left the logical connection between the two unexamined.
"I robustly defended humanity being unsavory."
defending a position that nobody is attacking.
"I did not robustly defend genocide."
The comic is making the joke that because humanity is so bad, cthulhu will commit global genocide.
your argument, in response to my comment that condemns global genocide, is that cthulhu largely makes good points points.
for global genocide.
you're defending the reasoning for global genocide.
"To justify Cthulhu's premise is to not to justify his conclusion."
his conclusion is inextricably tied to his premise, and you pointedly did not separate the two in your comments until I pointed out to you that you are defending genocide.
"I left the logical connection between the two unexamined."
you say "all the rest could theoretically apply" referring to your agreement with cthulhu's reasonings for global genocide.
you explicitly make that connection.
It is not inextricable. From a utilitarian perspective, for example, humanity could still produce far more utility that it's many indiscretions remove.
It was not pointed - it was merely omitted for the sake of expediency, along with commentary on the fictional nature of Cthulhu, or the fact that in cannon he does not speak English.
To say "could theoretically" is not the same as "does" - there are many ethical systems that have been proposed.
"It is not inextricable."
it is within the context of the comic and my comment, which your comment is responding to.
"it was merely omitted for the sake of expediency..."
you made a whoopsie and defended genocide, that is what I've been saying.
I don't think you're a terrible person, you got caught up in the hip cynicism of the mob in the comments and agreed with them that genocide is justifiable.
I disagree.
"...there are many ethical systems that have been proposed."
and yet you identified with the justifications for global genocide.
At no point in the past week have I supported genocide, and defending part of an argument is not defending the whole. Nor do I expect most to read it that way in such a jocular setting.
I don't think you're a terrible person either.
Yes you have, and yes it is in the context of what you're defending.
it's good that you have faith in people to misunderstand what you've written for what you have come to assert you mean.
"...in such a jocular setting."
The jocular context of punitive global genocide based on reasoning you and other commenters find "actually" sound.
I mean, supported in the personal belief sense. I can assure you that it was never intended, even if that was accidentally conveyed.
Natural language is inherently imprecise. It only works because there's shared background to interpret it on.
Dark humour is a thing, you'll see it everywhere on the internet - I'm sure you know that. This is no exception.
there is not much of a joke here.
cthulhu decides to commit indiscriminate genocide because of humanity's violent acts.
a human agrees.
that is the comic.
because cynicism is hip and internet comments are supposed to be edgy rather than thoughtful, people are defending genocide without understanding what they are agreeing with, as you have.
most people don't realize what they're doing, but you and the other commenters are nodding along with the non-joke that everybody should be killed because humanity has problems.
that's not a joke, that's irresponsible defeatist anxiety.
I prefer to rage against the dying of the light.