Humans Are Morons: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Sometimes, it feels like the only difference between humanity and the chimps is that we're only slightly less hairy.

 

 

Humans are not [[Humans Are Special|special]]. They're just an oddly evolved ape<ref>Many apologies to any [[Insult to Rocks|apes out there who now feel insulted]].</ref> out in [[Insignificant Little Blue Planet|the boondocks of the galaxy]] where, thankfully, intelligent life is so far away from us that we can live in our own squalor on this filthy planet without a care (or clue) in the world and not pose a threat to anyone out there [[Sufficiently Advanced Alien|who may actually be decent and civilized]] (but God help them if they ever ''do'' actually come here).

 

 

 

This can overlap with [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]] in the event that any brutish or violent human actions are more closely perceived as being [[Hanlon's Razor|thoughtless, rather than malicious]], but usually these two tropes are separate. When trying to figure out whether an act of violence counts as humans being bastards or morons, there's always one easy distinction to tell the two apart:

 

* If [[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial|E.T.]] comes to Earth and the humans attack him with [[Torches and Pitchforks|pitchforks and sticks]], it's [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]].

 

If this trope is ever [[Subverted Trope]], it will involve a human talent or trait that [[Humans Are Special|makes us special]] for [[Suspiciously Specific Denial|some reason totally not]] [[Most Writers Are Human|related to the author's species]].

* In another ''[[2000 AD]]'' strip, ''Bec & Kawl'', [[The Greys]] who abduct Pierre seem to view humans as play-things to be abused and toyed with for their amusement, when not partaking in the traditional [[Anal Probing]] and [[Half-Human Hybrid|alien-human hybrid]] experiments, of course. One grey even refers to Pierre as a [[Fantastic Slur|"monkey-man."]] [[The Greys]] do, however, decide to recruit Pierre (who is a pest control expert) for the job of "taking on the filthiest vermin of all" (a separate malevolent alien race hiding amongst us on Earth, waiting for the opportune moment to strike), which turns out to be {{spoiler|A [[Batman Gambit]] for [[The Greys]]' own gain.}}

* In the ''[[Strontium Dog]]'' story arc "Bitch," aliens who have taken [[Ronald Reagan]] hostage find The Gipper to be so astonishingly stupid that they can't fathom how this man could possibly be "the leader of the human race" without assuming that the rest of us aren't that bright, either.

 

 

* ''[[Mars Attacks!]]!'' features many situations where people want to believe that the Martians are peace-loving and our friends, despite them repeatedly vaporizing everyone.

* In ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]]'' humans are the least technically advanced space faring race in the galaxy. Most of the better technology the MIBs have is acquired from elsewhere, and the greater human population cannot be allowed to know the truth. Also, aliens that come here seem to have a rather high mortality rate. An early scene in the film has Agent K noting that humans are immune to an alien brain scanner because, "Human thought is so primitive it's looked upon as an infectious disease in some of the better galaxies. That kind of makes you proud, doesn't it?"

{{quote|'''Agent K''': A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.}}

* In ''[[Star Trek: First Contact]]'', humans of the 21st Century live in a post-apocalyptic society with just barely enough infrastructure to continue research on warp drive, while the other races have already begun exploring the galaxy and view humanity as being "too primitive." However, this is ultimately [[Subverted Trope|subverted]] by the rest of ''[[Star Trek]]'' canon as we somehow nonetheless become one of the dominant space faring races.

 

== Webcomics ==

 

 

** And again in the episode "The Late Philip J. Fry" where we see Fry, Bender, and The Professor time-travel forward to the year 5 Million AD where they learn that [[The Time Machine|human evolution has deviated along two paths]], one evolving from intellect and reason and the other evolving from brute strength [[Dumb Muscle|and very little else]]. The mentally superior race explain that they can devise a backwards time-travel device for our characters to use within five years. Cut to five years later where we find that the brainless apes have sacked the settlements of the more intelligent, reasonable species.

*** That last part may have been a reference to how the Morlocks appeared to be nothing more than brutal savages but were actually maintaining the machinery that supported their Eloi cattle.

* The 100th episode of ''[[South Park]]'', "Cancelled," reveals Earth to be a giant [[Reality TV]] show for the rest of The Universe's silly amusement.

** Not to mention the whole "Space Cash" incident.