Do You Think I Would Still Get Racially Profiled as a Big Black Bird?

What Animal Would I Merge With

If I could be merged with any animal, I think I would choose a raven. Ravens are considered to be some of the smartest birds and have a mind comparable to that of a young child and great apes (Pantoja-Sánchez, 2020). Therefore, when transforming or merging, there would be minimal cognitive differences or capabilities. I also find the traversal abilities to be interesting. Flying is something humans have always dreamed of. From the stories of Icarus to the invention of the Wright Brothers to sending the first man to the moon in 1969. Flight has always been something that has been a craving, yet is impossible due to organismic limitations.

What Would Change?

The idea of flight and a reinforcement of intellectual abilities is what most interests me. I feel as though, because ravens are mentally similar in comparison to an organism that is within the evolutionary branch as humans, my concept of humanity would not be as threatened. My idea of humanity is the ability to relate, empathize, and communicate with the world I am a part of, socially and physically. I do not think that humanity is selective in the treatment of other humans, but rather an interaction with other living organisms and the environment. Anything you interact with, should be shown your humanity by respecting and being compassionate about it to the extent you can be. The advancements should be an addition to my already developed sense of self, rather than a complete change.

Humanity

With this merge, I don’t feel as though my own humanity would be changed, but how others would piece me into theirs would. If you look at something as simple as race, most people would sympathize with someone that looked similar to them. Though some people, due to an racist ideology, solely sympathize with people that look like them, especially if they are white. Already seeing the aspect of racism, I believe there would be a disconnect from humanity by forcible removal by others. I feel this further goes into Haraway’s theory on cyborgs and Janelle Monae’s The ArchaAndroid. The two deal with intersectionality and how people’s ideas need to expand before that can be done. There is a foundation already of who gets to be definitely recognized, and as new identities are explored and allowed to be present, the foundation is supposed to expand. Supposed to is the main idea, however, perspectives can be stubborn, especially if it undermines it to be at a disadvantage. There are instances of people with a socio-economic advantage, who are typically white, that feel as though expanding the foundation for new identities and supporting and allowing equity for the times it was unrecognized, as unfair. Take DEI for example. Now imagine people that are upset at equity, feeling as though it’s unfair, to see a hybrid person with enhanced abilities because they were born of two different organisms. I feel as though I am an enhanced person. My humanity would be stolen from me, rather than changed due to hybridization.

References Pantoja-Sánchez, S. O., Bouchard, J., & Pika, S. (2020). Ravens parallel great apes in physical and social cognitive skills. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 21070. doi.org

I attest that no AI was used on this.