Anna Sibilia

David Steiling 

Diversity, Discrimination, and Demonization

Dictating Humanity

The human condition and philosophy is a convoluted mess on the best of days with so many ideas and perspectives clashing in an uproar and creating a somewhat childish clamor. It is hard to share a common ground in a mass since what one culture might uphold has normality might not align with another, and thus a discrepancy is born. The general consensus on such matters is not usually so terrible, however, this disconnect does make it harder for some people to connect with others; how can one expect to understand another if they have not felt or lived a moment akin to another being’s? It is this situational barrier that separates many people from one another, causing rifts based upon beliefs -religious, political, social, anything really, and from there it is easier to begin observing more disparities between individuals. It does not help that many societies also have a competitive mindset that helps cultivate this attitude of separating yourself from another; demonization is far easier than trying to connect with someone else. This tactic is also used in war propaganda: if your enemy is inhuman and you set out to kill them, then you’re a hero, but if they’re a person, what does that make you?

J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned Giant illustrates this point perfectly, communicating the nature of the situation and truth of the actions with far more accuracy than most would like to admit. When the giant is first discovered the townsfolk are first hesitant and trepidatious; here is a being that looks like something from the elder tales and legends of ancient mythos, and those present are not sure of how to interact or even comprehend the massive corpse. Yet after the first few brave souls start clambering on top of the fallen goliath, the masses soon follow suit. Curiosity is the motivator at this point, prompting the scientific community to investigate and glean as much as they can to better comprehend this strange creature. After the initial shock has worn off, the giant’s body is no longer treated with care, but just as another object to be exploited -even circus owners wondered if they could procure the specimen for their shows only to gawk at the size of the felled legend and realize that such a feat would be too great for them to accomplish in a cost-effective and practical manner. Once rejected by the showmen who’d wanted the giant for shock and awe, the body was gradually left to the public; people trampled all over it, had campfires on its flesh, and began carving and otherwise defiling it. Ultimately, the body was carved up and disposed of, save for a few bones or otherwise preservable novelties that were sold. 

This story portrays how when something new is suddenly thrust into the faces of the public, the people do not know what to make of it. The giant held no threat, it was just a corpse on a beach, and thus there was nothing to be too afraid of. After investigation had been done and the scholarly community had ran its own course, the body was gradually just another commodity used for bewilderment, and further fell into a state of disrepair as it naturally decayed and was removed piece by piece. One of the key moments in the tale is how the protagonist notes that once the first incisions were made and gotten rid of, the carving of profanities and swastikas soon began. The body was already dead, but it was not allowed to rest; it was inhuman in origin already, so who was to say that it wasn’t acceptable to disgrace it further? It was already being cut up anyways.

This work points a finger at how society will react in a manner towards new and foreign ideas: first with fear, then academically, but then an exploited or apathetic view takes over as the novelty wears off. it doesn’t take long for these ‘new’ ideas to be lost in current day-to-day life without too much relevance and more often than not the public does not fully understand just what they are glossing over.