#human evil

Now I love dragons of all kinds, the classical western evil greedy dragon we've all moved past long since, but still. Dragons have more right to be evil.

If you're a human, the thing about being evil is, it is a fundamental misunderstanding of what you are. You are a social, tool-using, knowledge-inheriting creature, you are made of altruism. Even at your worst you can only do your worst with the assistance of others. And you are small. By yourself you are a bald monkey, a shitty shivering skinny knock-off bear. Who the fuck do you think you are, thinking you can make this all about you, or about whatever you think you're serving? You're a tree rat that got ideas. You walk in fear. Most of the time when you pretend to greed, to ambition, to the emotions of power, the truth is that you are actually just afraid, feeding your fear to keep it quiet. How pathetic, to be a soft milk-drinking manling, and think you can be evil.

A dragon is immense, grand, powerful. Armored outside by hide and heft, inside by rightful self-assurance, with claws to rend and jaws to crush. They may have wings to fly, a breath of death or eyes that pin their prey in place. They live happily by themselves, complete in themselves, and to be sociable at all is an act of graciousness, of generosity and patience, entirely their decision. When a dragon demands tribute, gathers gold, steals away the offspring of lesser creatures who pretend to be more than they are, when they burn kingdoms to the ground for slighting them - is that not so much more natural than it is for a human? Don't they have more right to it than a human ever can? And when a dragon chooses to do good, is it not so much more an act of choice, of personal will, and all the more righteous than for a human being, who must have goodness to sustain them as much as food or air? Dragons are arrogant creatures. Wouldn't it just be foolish for them not to be?

A draw of Human Evil Cuphead ❤️

- M. Scott Peck,

Inktober day 27. The Holy Bible - Manic Street Preachers.

Today’s drawing is inspired by one of the, if not the, darkest albums ever recorded: The Holy Bible by Manic Street Preachers. (1994)

Now, there are many ways you can interpret darkness, and the darker side of life is more often than not the subject of great art and music.  This album however deals with perhaps the darkest of all: The horrors and evil of humanity, on a personal and political level, interwoven with mental despair, torment and deterioration, and self harm.

The album also reflects the mental state of lyricist Richey James Edwards, which inevitably gives the album an even darker aura. Richey disappeared about 6 month after the release, never to be seen again. (He was legally declared dead in 2008 many years after). (He wrote the majority of the lyrics for the album, with contributions from the band’s other lyricists and bassist Nicky Wire.)

As a teenager I was very much in awe (and a little obsessed) with Richey, his way of writing lyrics along with the mystery of his disappearance drew me in. Luckily I wasn’t too inspired by him… after all, I’m a bit too young to have been part of the hype when it happened in the 90’s. But I’ll always have a place in my heart for him and his lyrics, because damn… Yes, I’m a huge nerd for great lyrics.

The album is a masterpiece and the themes are still very relevant today, 20 years on (sadly).

It might not be an album for easy listening, but it’s a powerful and important album that I absolutely love. 

This is from an episode of Frontline that aired on PBS the other night, an episode about special vouchers that allow people to move out of Section 8 housing in an effort to have greater economic opportunities, and the resistance they face from people like the lady in this video.

Wh-