DEATH

THIS BLOG POST MAY NOT BE AS MORBID AS THE TITLE MIGHT SUGGEST. ALTHOUGH IT MIGHT. I SUPPOSE IT COULD DEPEND ON YOUR POINT OF VIEW.

I love death. Not the twisted arms and legs, torso cut into pieces, struck down by a heart attack, kind of death, but a particular character in a series of books by a now (sadly) deceased author. And if you haven't figured it out, his name was Terry Pratchett.

But this isn't really about Sir Pterry, or even Discworld. Its about appropriation.

I didn't mean to steal this character, and two others (The death of Rats, and Quoth the raven he rides on) for my own nefarious ends. It happened some years ago, sort of by accident.

Few people can fail to have encountered those posters who, WRITE IN ALL CAPS, NO MATTER WHAT THE TOPIC. Usually making statements and claims one thinks are, lets say 'odd'. (Or.. flying mammal poo bonkers) And I am no exception. And every time I have, the first thought in my head was of Sir Pterrys anthropomorphic personification.

When encountering these kinds of posters, I used to try to persuade them that it makes the text less accessible (There is actual research showing this) but to no avail. Until at last I thought why not have a conversation with them using the persona of Death.

This has turned out quite effective. Conversations with ALLCAPS tend to be much shorter. Probably because the reference is alien to them I admit. Or possibly because they realise how absurd they seem. (I can hope.)

This has grown a little over the years, invoking the rite of Ashkente, and introducing the Death of Rats, "SQUEAK" and his steed Quoth the raven, "Got any eyeballs?"

And every now and again I feel a little guilty,. I'm not really the type to nick someone elses creative ideas. But then I think GNU Terry Pratchett, and recognise this as one of the ripples Sir Pterry left in the world. And that by pushing the ripple on I keep the memory alive.

So...if you see an odd conversation on a post in which Death complains he wants to get back to a party. Or Quoth wants to find a decent battlefield, with plenty of corpses. Or a few SQUEAK's. This is the explanation.

WE WILL MEET AGAIN.

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