This week’s reading had so many interesting aspects to it, but the one I wanted to focus on was the part where it’s stated that Mermaids can, “shed the nonhuman portion of their bodies and infiltrate the human world. And the shores and banks where we come across them, like the vessels on which we cross their waters, are thresholds between our world and theirs” (xi). I wanted to focus on this part of the reading because, as we have mentioned in class already, humans are scared of the unknown. But what I like about this quote is that it puts that fear into perspective. I want to bring attention to the word “infiltrate” because of the way it makes Mermaids out to be a kind of spy, or someone or something that has sinister intentions…Kind of like humans, no? I think it’s ironic to use the word “infiltrate” when humans have done and continue to do things like this already. I don’t think humans are necessarily scared of Mermaids themselves, but are afraid that they might do to us what we would do to them. I say this because of the idea that Mermaids are part of us; they are part human, meaning they have the capacity to think and act as we do.

I love the idea of saying that humans are projecting onto mermaids, which we have mentioned in class, suggesting that we are scared of them because they are a reflection of ourselves. But it is fascinating to think about the concept that humans are technically just scared of themselves. Especially when it comes to Mermaids, when the text we read this week stated, “like the vessels on which we cross their waters” (xi), I think it’s very hypocritical. I say this because we, as humans, were terrified at the idea of Mermaids coming onto our lands, but we infiltrate their waters every day. Whether it be through boats, submarines, or even just scuba diving, we are in their home all the time. So the idea that Mermaids are scary because of their ability to “look like us” is hypocritical and even hilarious when you think about how many places make silicone/hyper-realistic Mermaid tales. I know that “back in the day” was different, but I still feel that humans projected their hated attributes onto Mermaids to better deal with themselves.

Also, I thought it would be cool to show you all a picture of the Mermaid Mural/Mosaic in my restaurant that I had mentioned on Thursday!

ALSO ALSO, a song I wanted to mention that I hope some people already know that I think is cool and fits our class is Mermaid Song by ConcernedApe. It is from a game called Stardew Valley, and I always love when this song comes on!