Those are the words uttered by a character in Disco Elysium. Theorizing about the bourgeoisie class. It's a visceral description, not human. What else could "they" be?

To him, the bourgeoisie looked like humans. But his empathy runs out when he sees them. Because deep down he knows that they are not, at least in his mind, human. They are something that resembles a human.

I think a lot about that descriptor. How much it could be set as a precedent to be amoral towards a certain group of people. It tatters on the idea that some "deserve" being treated as lesser than. Or even "more" than. Which, is also a possible interpretation of treating someone as not-human.

What I saw on TikTok

Sometimes my algorithm on TikTok delivers a girl in a scantily clad outfit, dancing to a beat. Standard stuff, everyone gets them eventually. I rarely check the comment section of these videos nowadays.

Because I don't see humans.

Not in a dead internet theory kind. Worse, it's alive and pulsating, but not human. They are men who are eagerly waiting for the thirst-trapping creator's "blunder".

Blunder, here, is a coded term for engaging in sexual activities in front of a camera. TikTok has a Live feature, and these creators would often go Live as well. Live streaming, per their unscripted nature, are also breeding ground for what these men calls "blunders".

A slip of the tongue. A fix of clothing. A wardrobe too tight. A segment misconstrued. A context denied.

Anything for sexual gratification. And they are circling these women without any care for the person behind the camera.

So, what else are they? But not human.

An unfair precedent

Would it be unfair, then, for me to criticize the Disco Elysium character while holding the same thought as him?

It's a morality idea, after all. Him economically driven since he's a communist. I am socially driven for the women behind the camera.

It is. It is very much unfair of me, and I acknowledge it. Him seeing the bourgeoisie as not human is an alien concept to me. Granted, my stance might be more universal than his. It's still highly hypocritical though.

Consequences

The most terrifying conclusion to this train of thought, really, is the consequence of it. I've touched on it earlier. It's a precedent for us to box humans to a certain group and declare them as a "thing" outside humanity.

The communist, spoiler alert, killed someone with a sniper rifle. He was senile, and he clung to an ideology because he was in a constant state of paranoia and fear. His ideology was more a mask for his still beating heart which recognizes humanity. Because he shot a man who, in his twisted vision, soiled a woman he cared for.

When I look at the comment section of these videos, I don't see humans. I see a bunch of men carnally occupied and thinking with the immediate need for their dick to be satisfied.

I am the communist sniper, seeing someone I deemed human, being approached by a man I'm about to shoot.

Only difference is, I decided to not see the comment section at all, instead of acting on my idea that these aren't humans commenting. I enjoyed the woman dancing in my screen. Then I scrolled down to my actual algorithm.