Monsters and their place in society
Im following a blog on tumblr that asks questions about your favourite character. My character has and always will be Dr Nye, but today's poll got me thinking. The question was 'would you be your favourite character's lawyer in court'. Now, theres no questioning what Nye would go to prison for, but, would it get a court hearing? Not because it's crimes are undeniable, but because of it's existence as a monster/magical creature.
And then THAT got me thinking, what rights do monsters have in the magic world? If at all? Do they have rights if they're intelligent? If so to what degree of intelligence? Is there a rubric to decide whether a creature is intelligent or not?
For reference when i say monster/magical creature i mean characters like: spring heeled jack, dr nye, mantis, the dullahan, the banshee, the sea hag, mermaids, werewolves, that random yeti, that random dragon, >!val turned harpy in that alternate universe!<, potentially the children of the spider and potentially warlocks.
If you think about everyone i just listed, almost all of them are conscious and intelligent (to varying degrees depending on the character) so it would be extremely inhumane to treat them as an animal or 'thing' in a court of law. Then that adds another layer, if they are treated unfairly is there an uprising because of it? Is there an underlying hatred for humans because of the mistreatment?
ANYWAY enough of my yapping, what do you guys think?