OPEN

[mythalenaste]

FORM: Sending crystal
SENDER: Pel
RECIPIENT: Everyone
WHAT: Awkward question?
WHEN: Present
WHERE: Kirkwall
NOTES: Fantastic racial slurs.

 

Why is 'knife-ear' worse than 'rabbit?'

Comments

[circleprodigy]

Because of the tone in which it is said, and the intent behind it. I have rarely heard 'knife-ear' that wouldn't have been followed by an act of violence were my mabari not a deterrent.

[mythalenaste]

That makes no sense. It's like saying 'bastard' is worse than 'illegitimate' because people are usually standing on their heads when they say it. The only reason I know knife-ear is worse than rabbit is because people have told me so. But knife-ear doesn't imply to anyone that I'm an easily-frightened rodent.

[circleprodigy]

I'm no etymologist. Why 'knife-ear' came to be worse than 'rabbit', I don't know. When one calls me the latter, I can count on them to be a condescending ass and little more. 'Knife-ear' often precedes more extreme harassment, at the very least. That is enough for me to deem one considerably worse than the other, at least in my personal experience.

[byblow]

You know, I once asked a Sister why I could say Andraste's sword but not Andraste's knickers.

[mythalenaste]

I'm sure city folk think that's shamefully cheeky.

[byblow]

Country folk. But you're still right.

[gatheringstorm]

Beats me. 'Rabbit' is just as bad as 'ox', as far as I can tell. Humans just love comparing us to animals, don't they?

[mythalenaste]

Oh, those humans. So charmingly simple.

[There's a lot of sarcasm there.]

[gatheringstorm]

What started this, anyway? Does someone need to be headbutted?

[She's been trying to behave herself in Kirkwall, honestly, but there are days....]

[failedfirst]

It's not.

[mythalenaste]

Good. That's how I feel.

[indocile]

It isn't. ( a sound from the back of her throat; ) It is only how cultured shems feel when they speak hate to us. Rabbit only means if they want to hit you they have someone else to do it.

[mythalenaste]

That...makes sense. A lot more sense than anything else I've heard. Rabbit would be a lot more damaging in the long-term. Less of an immediate identification and more of a...habitual degradation. Encouraging the thought that we're not...people.

[indocile]

( that's all very well and good, but margaux cuts through it frankly; )

You are arguing whether you want to be struck with a closed or open hand. They are the same. They do the same thing.

[aforethought]

Is this one of those riddles?

[ what came first, the chicken or the egg. what's black, white, and red all over. makes about as much sense. ]

[mythalenaste]

No. It's a real question. I've actually heard that knife-ear is a worse thing to call an elf and I want to know why.

[aforethought]

Reckon it's because rabbits're useful. How old are you, anyway?

[ did a kid get ahold of one of these, what's with this i want to know stuff. ]

[meds4sale]

How can one be worse than the other when they are simply ... different means to the same end?

[mythalenaste]

That's sort of how I feel about it. I've just been told one is worse than the other and I don't know why.

[meds4sale]

One must surmise that for some it is a matter of personal experience.

Though 'rabbit' is perplexing. Their ears are long but rounded.




...I suppose 'cat' or 'tanuki' would make elves a very different kind of dangerous.

[eolasemah]

Are they not both a bit stupid?

[mythalenaste]

They are both very stupid.

[misdirection_hex]

I've only ever been called "rabbit" by Orlesians and people who wish they were Orlesian. I feel like that alone makes it worse on principle.

[Not that Vandelin's had much dealing with Orlesians at all, but he doesn't mind implying that his limited experience is some universal constant.]

In seriousness, though, whoever said that "knife-ear" is more often a prelude to violence is right. But I'd almost rather the violence be explicit. You can't defend yourself fairly against snickers behind your back.

[mythalenaste]

Not very well, no. [Pel is proud, in that way Dalish are all proud. Proud of having worked so hard for everything she has, proud of maintaining her sense of self in this chaotic human world. Never again shall we submit and all that. But she's also living, for the first time, in a world that is bent on keeping her, personally, bent and broken, a world that sees any elven autonomy as an abomination. Her pride and dignity here may prove to be a handicap in this game of survival. And yet submission is an abomination to the elves. Where is the middle ground?]

Fighting back fairly comes with its own risks. As does not fighting back. The world is determined to kill us all.

[misdirection_hex]

[Vandelin is proud in the way that's kept it from really sinking in that his life in the Circle is not representative of what elves outside it can expect, and his experience during wartime is not what life as a free mage will always be, even if they can stay free. When the humans' idea of law and order has broken down, yes, he can get away with hexing the shems who fling slurs at him, sometimes. That won't last.]

High marks for effort, then, but a failure on the execution. I don't see them achieving it any time soon if the likes of us can help it. [Easy enough to say, with the hypothetical protection of the Inquisition backing him up.]