Challenge #02541-F351: Labels and Assumptions
Several humans were starting to get more than just a little annoyed at constantly being called insane. Even at school, when their kids would goof off during breaks or if the kids were in the park playing, others treated them as though they were mind-damaged. When they joined the Galactic Alliance, they thought they would be treated like equals, but instead, they find that they tend to be treated like savages even by other Deathworlders. Sometimes the view that, simply because they were human that they were automatically deranged and dangerous, was hindering them finding good jobs or having the lives they'd hoped for when they left the harsh, pollution-choked, worlds they'd come from. But would anyone listen to their complaints? And, more important, would anyone even try to help? Or, as one man put it as he angrily spoke with another who, like so many, told him he was nuts, "Humans are NOT insane! We're just different!" -- Anon Guest
[AN: Actually, there's nothing preventing Humans from finding the jobs that fit them best in my pet universe, and being a little bit off the wall isn't necessarily a bad thing. I say as much over here More on that philosophy here, I should think.]
There's two ways to go when the world around you keeps telling you that you're bad. You can be everything they expect you to be, playing into every trope, or you can fight your whole life against it, breaking your heart and soul in the process. Plenty of Humans had tried both. Sometimes, it's easier to surrender and agree with everything they say about you until you believe it yourself. On this day, Human Sal had just... had enough of it.
"We're not insane," he protested, apropos of nothing in the middle of the Valiant Star's mess hall. "We're different. Why does everyone think we're going to just fly off the handle and hurt everyone and everything around us?"
The rest of the crew stopped what they were doing. Some put potentially dangerous tools down or at least rendered them safe for the interim. Companion Ulla gently put hir hand on Sal's and said, "Why do you think we think that?"
Support me on Patreon / Buy me a Ko-fi
Prompts remaining: 61 Submit a Prompt! Ask a question! Buy my stories!