RE: Manatees and George Takei
March 10, 2021 at 3:57 pm
(This post was last modified: March 10, 2021 at 4:06 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
More a disagreement over whether that's a bad or good thing than any disagreement over whether or not we are, I think.
Anywho, fun manatee facts.
They cannot turn their heads.
They cannot hear slow boats.
They cannot outrun fast boats.
Their hair is far more sensitive than their hide.
This is a relative measure of sensitivity - for reference, their entire face and whisker assembly, the most sensitive part of a manatee*....we think, provides about as much sensation as the tip of a human finger. A boat strike to a manatee may feel something like a papercut on a pinky, to us, and that's overestimating. They're built to get bitten and nibbled at by everything that bites and nibbles which they can't outrun....which is....everything that bites and nibbles.
These factors not only explain why they behave as though they were oblivious to danger and unafraid of human beings, but also why human beings tend not to get bound up when they strike or mistreat a manatee. The usual stuff doesn't trigger the usual response, which in turn fails to trigger the same in us. Cut a cat and you'll probably never see it again, and you will likely have feelings about that. Cut a manatee...it will very likely continue doing whatever it was doing before...a practical non event which we might be just as inclined to shrug off as they can be.
To be honest, it's probably harder to keep them still to scrape them than it would be to stab them. They do like it when you pet them, though - so there's probably a balance between whatever mix of fuckery and baited coddling is required to accomplish the task.
*The worst possible scenario for a manatee
Anywho, fun manatee facts.
They cannot turn their heads.
They cannot hear slow boats.
They cannot outrun fast boats.
Their hair is far more sensitive than their hide.
This is a relative measure of sensitivity - for reference, their entire face and whisker assembly, the most sensitive part of a manatee*....we think, provides about as much sensation as the tip of a human finger. A boat strike to a manatee may feel something like a papercut on a pinky, to us, and that's overestimating. They're built to get bitten and nibbled at by everything that bites and nibbles which they can't outrun....which is....everything that bites and nibbles.
These factors not only explain why they behave as though they were oblivious to danger and unafraid of human beings, but also why human beings tend not to get bound up when they strike or mistreat a manatee. The usual stuff doesn't trigger the usual response, which in turn fails to trigger the same in us. Cut a cat and you'll probably never see it again, and you will likely have feelings about that. Cut a manatee...it will very likely continue doing whatever it was doing before...a practical non event which we might be just as inclined to shrug off as they can be.
To be honest, it's probably harder to keep them still to scrape them than it would be to stab them. They do like it when you pet them, though - so there's probably a balance between whatever mix of fuckery and baited coddling is required to accomplish the task.
*The worst possible scenario for a manatee
![[Image: flatten;scale;jpeg_quality=70]](https://assets3.thrillist.com/v1/image/2519397/792x450/flatten;scale;jpeg_quality=70)
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
