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toon_lion_born_into_organic_pride_1993.jpg
Raw text archive of a post titled "Regarding the late Kuchora Ibrahim" from the defunct blog http://2dthoughtsfroma2dguy.blogspot.com/, originally posted Thursday, June 21st, 2012
This polaroid photo was taken in Kenya, Africa sometime in late 1993. It is frequently passed around toon rights activists for its historical significance to our cause. For decades it was believed that toons could only be born from other toons, and that being a toon was strictly a recessive genetic predisposition to two dimensionality, not a mutation. This photograph of a young toon feline named Kuchora Ibrahim posits that neither of these statements are intrinsically correct. Upon investigating a family tree that showed no presence of recent cartoon ancestry and a lack of other toons in the pride, bidrawlogists came to the conclusion that there was no hereditary reason for the child to have been born illustrated.
Having been a child myself at the time, I wasn't capable of grasping why this upset the toon population the way it did at the time. I understood why humans were mad about it, of course. Interspacial relationships and the preceding births, all of which were toons, had been riling linephobes up since our two cultures had met, and it was still a huge taboo in those days. Now that it was hypothetically possible for two humans to give birth to a toon without warning, even the most spiteful, venomous of toon-bashers had a chance of making one of those dastardly celluloids, and that scared them to death.
The toons in my life (that is to say the majority of my friends and the entirety of my family) were almost more willing then the average flesho to spit poison about both the lion boy and the humans who had brought him to the attention of the American media. I didn't understand why at the time, but a few years of experience later I realized that they weren't really mad at Ibrahim. They were mad that a theory our culture had championed, had always used as its primary weapon against bigotry, was crumbling before our eyes. Being a toon wasn't something that made you a freak of nature, the argument went, it was just the result of genetic consistency in our population.
Problem was that Kuchora was, in a way, a freak. Numerous studies were done on the pride that birthed and raised him, and the organic lions that made up his family were unusually intelligent and well organized. Kuchora could speak with other animals and translate their words into Swahili, but only members of his natal pride shared coherent thoughts that suggested heightened self awareness with researchers. This by itself has been the cause for many a discussion and several hundred flame wars, but that's a talk for another day. To summarize it though, another popular hypothesis circulating during the time was that this unusually high level of cognition among the Ibrahim lion pride was indicative of toon genetics, but this has never been proven true or false.
The discussion just kept going in crazier directions from there. It started a lot of talks of animal intelligence and whether or not we should be advocating for animal rights alongside toon rights, that upset a lot of toons who didn't like being considered the same as "lower" animals, and all this was backed by a chorus of eugenics talk. If being a toon was a mutation, then that meant being a toon was a mistake, and in the minds of anti-toon fascists, every mistake has to be corrected.
I refuse to name the gutless hate mob that targeted 15 year old Kuchora Ibrahim and sent him to the ICU because I know they'd enjoy being acknowledged and given credit for their atrocities. I know for certain that the group still exists and still proudly propagates anti-toon violence in an effort to "defend real people" and "protect our children" and all the other insane things they believe. But I have to mention the attempt on Ibrahim's life to provide context to the resulting cultural shift.
The "Attack on Ibrahim", as the event was called in not very progressive circles, was the turning point for a lot of people, and it woke a lot of humans up to the dangerous reality of being a toon. Human friends started asking me questions that I totally understood as well as hated. I appreciated their desire to learn and their support, but I was asked some genuinely dumb stuff about linephobia and anti-toon bigotry, and it really reminded me of how little humans "get" it. One of my dearest friends, a human woman who I still have tea with every Saturday, once asked, likely in a fit of frustration but without a hint of self awareness, whether or not I thought "humanphobia" was acceptable when countering linephobia. She argued that hate only breeds more hate. I argued that there's no record of human kids being beaten for not being toons. That was when we dropped the discussion because we were too angry to keep it going.
I've been thinking about Kuchora Ibrahim recently, just like many other toons. This photo of him as a kid is everywhere right now. Any time I turn on the TV, or I check the news, or I go onto my friends' blogs, I see this picture of a little drawn boy who never got to live a peaceful life because of the way he was born. Kuchora didn't decide to be a toon, and he didn't decide to be born to an organic animal either. I never knew him personally, but I've felt a connection to him and his story from the moment I learned about him when I was 7.
He was a stranger to me, but I'll deeply miss him anyway. What surprises me is that as he got older, gained more traction in toon communities, and began leading a more "normal" existence, he seemed happy. He loved his wife, he loved their children, and nobody who ever worked with him had a mean word to say about him. It hurts to think that such an influential guy with such a good attitude despite all he'd been through, a guy who inspired many of us to love ourselves for who we are, could be crushed under his own self loathing, but I understand. I've been there myself. Were it not for my wife and our daughter, I would probably have taken my own life years ago. But Kuchora inspired me to keep going even when it seemed pointless.
Thank you for reading my post. If you liked it, you'll probably like similar posts my friends Englebert-a-tert and StrawberryShortie wrote about Ibrahim and his passing. You can find those posts on the front pages of their blogs. If you would like to contribute to the Ibrahim family's Go Fund Me, you can do so at the link listed in my blog's sidebar. I for one know I'll be donating.
Peace out, you are loved,
2DGuy
Posted by 2dguy at 2:43 PM, 8 comments
Labels: politics, toon rights, kuchora ibrahim, animal toons, rest in peace
This polaroid photo was taken in Kenya, Africa sometime in late 1993. It is frequently passed around toon rights activists for its historical significance to our cause. For decades it was believed that toons could only be born from other toons, and that being a toon was strictly a recessive genetic predisposition to two dimensionality, not a mutation. This photograph of a young toon feline named Kuchora Ibrahim posits that neither of these statements are intrinsically correct. Upon investigating a family tree that showed no presence of recent cartoon ancestry and a lack of other toons in the pride, bidrawlogists came to the conclusion that there was no hereditary reason for the child to have been born illustrated.
Having been a child myself at the time, I wasn't capable of grasping why this upset the toon population the way it did at the time. I understood why humans were mad about it, of course. Interspacial relationships and the preceding births, all of which were toons, had been riling linephobes up since our two cultures had met, and it was still a huge taboo in those days. Now that it was hypothetically possible for two humans to give birth to a toon without warning, even the most spiteful, venomous of toon-bashers had a chance of making one of those dastardly celluloids, and that scared them to death.
The toons in my life (that is to say the majority of my friends and the entirety of my family) were almost more willing then the average flesho to spit poison about both the lion boy and the humans who had brought him to the attention of the American media. I didn't understand why at the time, but a few years of experience later I realized that they weren't really mad at Ibrahim. They were mad that a theory our culture had championed, had always used as its primary weapon against bigotry, was crumbling before our eyes. Being a toon wasn't something that made you a freak of nature, the argument went, it was just the result of genetic consistency in our population.
Problem was that Kuchora was, in a way, a freak. Numerous studies were done on the pride that birthed and raised him, and the organic lions that made up his family were unusually intelligent and well organized. Kuchora could speak with other animals and translate their words into Swahili, but only members of his natal pride shared coherent thoughts that suggested heightened self awareness with researchers. This by itself has been the cause for many a discussion and several hundred flame wars, but that's a talk for another day. To summarize it though, another popular hypothesis circulating during the time was that this unusually high level of cognition among the Ibrahim lion pride was indicative of toon genetics, but this has never been proven true or false.
The discussion just kept going in crazier directions from there. It started a lot of talks of animal intelligence and whether or not we should be advocating for animal rights alongside toon rights, that upset a lot of toons who didn't like being considered the same as "lower" animals, and all this was backed by a chorus of eugenics talk. If being a toon was a mutation, then that meant being a toon was a mistake, and in the minds of anti-toon fascists, every mistake has to be corrected.
I refuse to name the gutless hate mob that targeted 15 year old Kuchora Ibrahim and sent him to the ICU because I know they'd enjoy being acknowledged and given credit for their atrocities. I know for certain that the group still exists and still proudly propagates anti-toon violence in an effort to "defend real people" and "protect our children" and all the other insane things they believe. But I have to mention the attempt on Ibrahim's life to provide context to the resulting cultural shift.
The "Attack on Ibrahim", as the event was called in not very progressive circles, was the turning point for a lot of people, and it woke a lot of humans up to the dangerous reality of being a toon. Human friends started asking me questions that I totally understood as well as hated. I appreciated their desire to learn and their support, but I was asked some genuinely dumb stuff about linephobia and anti-toon bigotry, and it really reminded me of how little humans "get" it. One of my dearest friends, a human woman who I still have tea with every Saturday, once asked, likely in a fit of frustration but without a hint of self awareness, whether or not I thought "humanphobia" was acceptable when countering linephobia. She argued that hate only breeds more hate. I argued that there's no record of human kids being beaten for not being toons. That was when we dropped the discussion because we were too angry to keep it going.
I've been thinking about Kuchora Ibrahim recently, just like many other toons. This photo of him as a kid is everywhere right now. Any time I turn on the TV, or I check the news, or I go onto my friends' blogs, I see this picture of a little drawn boy who never got to live a peaceful life because of the way he was born. Kuchora didn't decide to be a toon, and he didn't decide to be born to an organic animal either. I never knew him personally, but I've felt a connection to him and his story from the moment I learned about him when I was 7.
He was a stranger to me, but I'll deeply miss him anyway. What surprises me is that as he got older, gained more traction in toon communities, and began leading a more "normal" existence, he seemed happy. He loved his wife, he loved their children, and nobody who ever worked with him had a mean word to say about him. It hurts to think that such an influential guy with such a good attitude despite all he'd been through, a guy who inspired many of us to love ourselves for who we are, could be crushed under his own self loathing, but I understand. I've been there myself. Were it not for my wife and our daughter, I would probably have taken my own life years ago. But Kuchora inspired me to keep going even when it seemed pointless.
Thank you for reading my post. If you liked it, you'll probably like similar posts my friends Englebert-a-tert and StrawberryShortie wrote about Ibrahim and his passing. You can find those posts on the front pages of their blogs. If you would like to contribute to the Ibrahim family's Go Fund Me, you can do so at the link listed in my blog's sidebar. I for one know I'll be donating.
Peace out, you are loved,
2DGuy
Posted by 2dguy at 2:43 PM, 8 comments
Labels: politics, toon rights, kuchora ibrahim, animal toons, rest in peace
Category Artwork (Digital) / Animal related (non-anthro)
Species Lion
Size 1280 x 1280px
File Size 416.3 kB
Comments