Poem: "The Untouchable Undead"
Jul. 6th, 2021 06:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis is today's freebie, inspired by anonymous prompt. It also fills the "Acts of Kindness" square in my 7-1-21 card for the Winterfest in July Bingo.
"The Untouchable Undead"
In India, it was popular to bribe
an official to declare a relative dead
so that one could inherit their property.
It had all the advantages of murder
without the unpleasant messiness.
This happened often enough that it
sparked an Association of Dead People.
After trying and failing to resolve it
through rational and legal means,
some of them tried to prove that they
were alive by getting arrested at protests.
It turned out that dead people could not
commit crimes, which inspired a number
of them to become successful criminals.
The legally dead began to associate
with the Dalit peoples, who were also
ostracized from much of society and
had their own tradition of protests.
While some of those made dead
still refused to associate with
the "untouchables," most found
that they had more in common with
the Dalits than anyone realized.
Throughout much of India,
Dalit communities took in
the legally dead and enjoyed
the benefits of their education
and professional expertise,
bringing new opportunities to
the impoverished villages.
So people began to consider
those declared dead as
just another type of Dalit,
and the Dalits as having
no identity within the law.
Even their children -- because
of course the undead continued
to have them, despite being
unable to marry -- were not
acknowledged by the law.
While this made it harder for
any of them to participate
in modern life, it did have
its own odd advantages,
for other people shied away
from them instead of threatening.
The untouchable undead withdrew
farther into their isolated villages
and let society do what it liked
in the big, filthy cities (that were
even filthier than ever, with most
of the garbage collectors gone).
Then the vampires arrived,
creeping over from Europe,
which was getting more and
more obsessed with paperwork
and less accommodating to those
who were older than bureaucracy.
They found it hilarious that
society considered live people
to be some sort of undead.
Since the untouchable undead
cared nothing for paperwork, and
appreciated the skills of centuries
that the vampires brought with
them, they got along well.
The different groups mingled
and treated each other with
acts of kindness, learning
their various cultures.
This naturally led to them
making more vampires.
The Musahar discovered
a great affinity for the vampires
who commanded rats, and when
turned, could sometimes even
transform into rats themselves.
Conversely, the vampires were also
somewhat in awe of the Paswan,
famed bodyguards who advertised
their valor by walking on fire.
So the Paswan became
the favored human servants.
Because they were still Dalits,
the Paswan knew the ins and outs
of the big cities, all the hidden ways
that refuse was carried where
no decent person would look.
It was therefore quite easy for them
to lead the vampires on hunting trips,
with society none the wiser for it.
And if they tended to lead
the vampires to the homes of
those who had "murdered" them,
well, society had already declared
that the dead could not commit crimes.
* * *
Notes:
In India, it's popular to bribe an official to declare a relative dead so that you can inherit his property. It has all the advantages of murder without the unpleasant messiness. Lal Bihari had this happen to him and it took him years to literally get his life back. He was awarded an Ignobel Prize for his foundation of the Association of Dead People. One tactic of Association members is to get arrested at protests, leaving the authorities to explain how dead people can be arrested.
Dalit people belong to the lowest caste in India, vilified as "untouchable." They customarily do work that is considered unclean, such as removing garbage or corpses. This is not a unified group, but rather many different clans, some in villages and others nomadic.
.
Paswan are Dalit people from eastern India. Their name means bodyguard or "one who defends" and they are known for firewalking.
Musahar are Dalit people from the eastern Gangetic plain and the Terai. Their name means "rat-eater" as their ancestors worked at catching rats.
Vampires appear in traditions around the world, widely believed to be immortal unless destroyed.
"The Untouchable Undead"
In India, it was popular to bribe
an official to declare a relative dead
so that one could inherit their property.
It had all the advantages of murder
without the unpleasant messiness.
This happened often enough that it
sparked an Association of Dead People.
After trying and failing to resolve it
through rational and legal means,
some of them tried to prove that they
were alive by getting arrested at protests.
It turned out that dead people could not
commit crimes, which inspired a number
of them to become successful criminals.
The legally dead began to associate
with the Dalit peoples, who were also
ostracized from much of society and
had their own tradition of protests.
While some of those made dead
still refused to associate with
the "untouchables," most found
that they had more in common with
the Dalits than anyone realized.
Throughout much of India,
Dalit communities took in
the legally dead and enjoyed
the benefits of their education
and professional expertise,
bringing new opportunities to
the impoverished villages.
So people began to consider
those declared dead as
just another type of Dalit,
and the Dalits as having
no identity within the law.
Even their children -- because
of course the undead continued
to have them, despite being
unable to marry -- were not
acknowledged by the law.
While this made it harder for
any of them to participate
in modern life, it did have
its own odd advantages,
for other people shied away
from them instead of threatening.
The untouchable undead withdrew
farther into their isolated villages
and let society do what it liked
in the big, filthy cities (that were
even filthier than ever, with most
of the garbage collectors gone).
Then the vampires arrived,
creeping over from Europe,
which was getting more and
more obsessed with paperwork
and less accommodating to those
who were older than bureaucracy.
They found it hilarious that
society considered live people
to be some sort of undead.
Since the untouchable undead
cared nothing for paperwork, and
appreciated the skills of centuries
that the vampires brought with
them, they got along well.
The different groups mingled
and treated each other with
acts of kindness, learning
their various cultures.
This naturally led to them
making more vampires.
The Musahar discovered
a great affinity for the vampires
who commanded rats, and when
turned, could sometimes even
transform into rats themselves.
Conversely, the vampires were also
somewhat in awe of the Paswan,
famed bodyguards who advertised
their valor by walking on fire.
So the Paswan became
the favored human servants.
Because they were still Dalits,
the Paswan knew the ins and outs
of the big cities, all the hidden ways
that refuse was carried where
no decent person would look.
It was therefore quite easy for them
to lead the vampires on hunting trips,
with society none the wiser for it.
And if they tended to lead
the vampires to the homes of
those who had "murdered" them,
well, society had already declared
that the dead could not commit crimes.
* * *
Notes:
In India, it's popular to bribe an official to declare a relative dead so that you can inherit his property. It has all the advantages of murder without the unpleasant messiness. Lal Bihari had this happen to him and it took him years to literally get his life back. He was awarded an Ignobel Prize for his foundation of the Association of Dead People. One tactic of Association members is to get arrested at protests, leaving the authorities to explain how dead people can be arrested.
Dalit people belong to the lowest caste in India, vilified as "untouchable." They customarily do work that is considered unclean, such as removing garbage or corpses. This is not a unified group, but rather many different clans, some in villages and others nomadic.
.
Paswan are Dalit people from eastern India. Their name means bodyguard or "one who defends" and they are known for firewalking.
Musahar are Dalit people from the eastern Gangetic plain and the Terai. Their name means "rat-eater" as their ancestors worked at catching rats.
Vampires appear in traditions around the world, widely believed to be immortal unless destroyed.
Re: Also ...
Date: 2021-07-07 08:16 pm (UTC)I on the other hand tend to measure tyranny by how open or closed it is. Younger, weaker tyrannies hide what they're doing in hopes they can grow. Older, stronger tyrannies do whatever the hell they want. So if the government is secretly murdering people, it's because they couldn't survive a challenge or are just too damn lazy to argue. If they're holding massacres, they believe they're strong enough that nobody can stop them. This is always wrong -- all tyrannies eventually fall -- but they can do a lot of damage in the meantime.
>>...I'll still bet on the vampire cartels over the Dictator of the Week, though. And smart enough anyone will avoid a fight where they're clearly outclassed.<<
This is especially true if the vampires are old and have seen many tyrannies. It's like when you've read the book 10 times before it comes up in class.
Re: Also ...
Date: 2021-07-08 07:48 pm (UTC)That seems to be a useful metric - but some people may need to adjust for being Condotioned to Accept Horror. (Look at any list of Values Dissonance for modern vs older social justice movements.)
This book made similar observations about individual people:
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Dark_Secrets_of_SHTF_Survival.html?id=2fnuwQEACAAJ&source=kp_book_description
Re: Also ...
Date: 2021-07-08 07:54 pm (UTC)So you have to look at layers of tyranny. It's not just power from the top. Often, the whole society is encouraged to behave that way, to take advantage of anyone weaker. It is one reason tyrannies are so unstable -- sooner or later, someone else thinks they can grab the brass ring, or the whole thing becomes so contentious that it falls apart at the seams.
Re: Also ...
Date: 2021-07-08 11:18 pm (UTC)Diverse viewpoints from and of many different societies do help.
Re: Also ...
Date: 2021-07-08 11:22 pm (UTC)It's hard to see, if and only if you have neither counterexamples nor imagination.
>> Diverse viewpoints from and of many different societies do help. <<
One of the greatest things about farmemory is it makes people a lot harder to fool with bullshit, because counterexamples are always available.
Traveling and studying history are two other good ways of gaining enough examples to compare and contrast. Most cultures have good and bad points. Almost nobody bothers to look around and copy the best bits to make their own culture better. They just pretend it's already the best, which is generally a sign that it is not.
Re: Also ...
Date: 2021-07-09 12:57 am (UTC)