fandomhigh | Applied Ethics B: Fourth period [10.08]

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ethics

Applied Ethics B: Fourth period [10.08]

Harriet was looking thoughtful as the students arrived, sitting behind her desk with a cup of tea. "Good morning. We are deviating from the syllabus once again this week, but I am quite certain none of you will object." Once everyone was settled, she walked around to lean on the front of the desk. "Which brings us nicely to what we're going to talk about: objection, protest and resistance, concepts I have a feeling many of you are familiar with. Specifically, when is it ethical to disobey the law, or, to step back slightly, a set of rules?"

Her smile was wry as she looked around the classroom. "I think I won't get much disagreement if I say: when the rules are unjust. Of course, then you have to decide whether a given rule is unjust." She was quiet for a moment, gathering her thoughts. She hadn't actually planned any of this out. "Everyone agrees to give up a certain amount of freedom to live in a society, whether it's a country or, just as a hypothetical example, a boarding school on an island. We agree to abide by the rules, even if we might want to break them, even if sometimes we do break them, because they are necessary for everyone to exist peacefully, and for the school to function effectively and not dissolve into chaos.

The person in charge, the person making the rules, is responsible for the safety and wellbeing, the health and happiness, of every single person in that society. Every single one. Personal feelings, dislikes, prejudices must not be allowed to influence her actions, because when they do, that is when rules start to become unjust. One group is favoured over another, ridiculous, sometimes vicious, rules are passed arbitrarily, out of anger or hatred or a need for revenge, out of a desire to exercise absolute power over people. The breaking of them is rewarded with even more vicious or arbitrary punishments."

Her voice was very sharp and she lifted her chin, studying each member of the class in turn. "This is not acceptable. Those are unjust rules, and I think one can safely say it is ethical to disobey them." She took a calming breath and smiled again. "And not just to disobey them, but to actively protest them. However, there are ways and means of doing this, some far more acceptable than others. Violence is rarely, if ever, acceptable." She handed out some material. "Just as a few examples.

Now, for the purposes of this exercise, I want you to use this school as your society, just so you have something familiar to work with. Get together in pairs or groups and identify any unjust rules you might be aware of, and why they are unjust, unjust punishments that have been handed down, any protests that have been made against those rules and how effective they've been. Brainstorm other ways to protest them, ways to actively disobey them. Think about what you're trying to achieve, and how your action is going to help you achieve it. Even come up with actual plans, if you'd like, just to take the hypothetical exercise to its conclusion."

"But," she held up a hand for emphasis, "do not forget the consequences. In that first rush of needing to do something, consequences get forgotten. But there are always consequences, not just for you, but for those around you: friends, families, fellow objectors, everyone else in the school. What could happen? What, if you can identify any protest activities which have occurred, has happened? You must always weigh the consequences of any action carefully when deciding if it is right to act."

[OOC: ~~please wait for OCD~~ It's up. Pretty self-explanatory this week, I think. Get together and talk about what's been going on at the school, and maybe ways to stop it. My comment notifications for this journal are almost nonexistent - if I miss pings, please feel free to poke me on email: idontlooktired (at) gmail.com or on AIM: iplayoneonfh. Apologies for those I've missed previously.]

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Hey, it's all hypothetical, right?

Anemone clutched her notes and looked around for a partner.

Naminé nodded to the pink-haired girl. "I must say, I'm rather fond of civil disobedience myself. And damn the consequences."

"I'm more of a direct action person, with civil disobedience on the side." Anemone waved her notes expressively. "I haven't been here long, so I don't really know what it was like before. However, I have some experience in dealing with autocratic despots, and know a few tricks for getting rid of them."

"This being ethics class, and thus all theoretical of course," Anemone winked cheekily "do we also need to consider the ends versus means discussion from a few weeks ago? Because consequences are part of the means. I tend to ignore the collateral damage, but I'm used to working in a guerrilla warfare setting."

"I think we have to be concerned with collateral damage," said Naminé softly. "Otherwise people become numbers in columns and ... and you're not really the good guys any more. If you would destroy someone for being a liability, then how are you any better than what you oppose?"

She flushed lightly. "I have no experience in guerilla warfare, or despots. Just in collateral damage, I'm afraid. It makes me biased."

"Never underestimate the power of numbers in columns. To the people, victims are nothing more than numbers, yet numbers can sway the people." Anemone still crossed out her 'Shoot the Dictator' option in deference to her partner. "No one ever says 'Hey, I'm a Bad Guy.' They usually think what they're doing is right. Trying to convince them that they're wrong? If they're truly passionate about their vision, it's a waste of time. It's not defying them, but how we defy them that can win or lose a war."

"Sometimes, it isn't what they think is right, it's what they think is best for them." She looked over when Anemone crossed out her option, and then flushed harder. "My apologies, I didn't mean ... that you shouldn't shoot the dictator. Sometimes it's necessary. But if you're the side of Good, then you shouldn't shoot the nice gentleman standing in front of him who is in the way."

She considered for a minute. "I believe you're right; I doubt persuasion is a viable tactic, here. What would you suggest?"

"Hm? Oh, no, I'm supposed to cross this out. It's why I'm in ethics. I 'lack any form of moral compass or ethical guidelines' if you ask my guardian. So he sent me here and stuffed me in ethics class. I'm supposed to be cutting down on the violence." She giggled gleefully. "If he knew I was already plotting rebellion, he'd throw a fit."

"There needs to be a plan, a unified plan. Isolated attacks against someone will only make them more paranoid and dangerous, we've seen that. Someone who feels backed into a corner isn't going to stand down, they're going to fight dirty. It usually helps if there's some sort of symbol for people to rally around. I don't know this place, what would inspire students, townies, and staff to actually band together, rather than look out for themselves and their families?"

Naminé smiled. "Perhaps your Guardian should be introduced to our completely hypothetical temporary principal. If he wishes to meet someone in severe need of moral compass, I mean."

"I'm rather new here myself, unfortunately; I only arrived at the beginning of the summer. I'm not sure what sort of symbol there is. I do know everyone's rather fond of glitter; there was one day that an entire cabin was turned glittery. It was exquisite." She thought for a moment. "And the school mascot is a gremlin. Is that a starting point?"

"He doesn't have much of a sense of humor. If he was in a good mood, she'd go out an airlock. We don't have much of a justice system at the moment."

"What if people started leaving gremlins and gremlin images everywhere? It would make her even more paranoid, but if it can inspire people to take action, it could help. The thing that we really need is a plan. HOW is a principal removed from power? Do we write to the people who hired her? What sort of evidence can we offer? Do we simply have a coup and install our own choice? How do we do that, and what do we do with the old one? One or two people need to make these choices, and get everyone else to follow their lead. Eighteen people changed the course of my entire planet, because they refused to accept the status quo. I'm sure that it won't take more than that to retake Fandom."

"I'm not certain that going out in an airlock wouldn't count as a justice system, in her case," Naminé grumbled, forgetting to state the hypothetical. "She turned my hands into useless lumps for two days. I'd imagine she's doing worse to anyone that frustrates her more than I did."

"You know what might help?" she asked, getting into the spirit of it. "Leaving posters around, explaining why her edicts are malevolent and provably a bad idea. I nearly wrote one up for her non-human bigotry, at that. We sign them with gremlins, and use that to organize meetings. As for a candidate, I see no reason not to reinstate the former principal, Zoe Washburn, if she's ready to return."

"Fandom is part of another country right? Um, America, right? Something like that? On the poster, write the decree or the punishment she gave out. Underneath it in glitter, write the national law which clearly states what she did is illegal. Sign it as 'This has been a PSA brought to you by law-abiding gremlins' or 'Gremlins for a lawful society' , something like that."

"Oh!" Naminé perked up. "That's a rather brilliant idea. I'm not certain what the laws are here, but my arts and crafts professor might know. He's teaching patriotism this semester; we discussed countries and citizenship once. And I should imagine that cursing students is illegal in any sort of a reasonable society."

She considered the wording. "If we went for, Gremlins for a Law-Abiding Society, that would give us GLAS for an acronym that we could use now and again. Pity there isn't another S."

"That's a good one!" Anemone grinned devilishly. "Gremlins for an Equitable Atmosphere? That would be the GEA. Too bad we can't fit gremlins into FLEE. That would be funny, and rather suitable."

"It would, wouldn't it?" Naminé laughed. "If we try for 'Gremlins for the Removal of the Unlawful ...' that gets us G-R-U. Except I like it as a positive, not a negative. 'Gremlins for the Promotion Of' or 'Gremlins for Positive Change' or 'Gremlins for Lawful Faculty' or ... my, I don't know how groups ever do this."

"Gremlins of FLEE - Faculty Liability for Egalitarian Education! Nah, too long, I like your GLAS idea better. If you want another S on the end, we could make it Gremlins for a Law-Abiding School & Society."

"Now, who do we trust with this? The smaller the group, the less of a chance we are discovered. However, then we lose out on some resources. Insurgency is a tricky business."

"Oh, I think that's particularly nice." Naminé nodded. "And I'm not certain. Can we make the group self-selecting somehow? Place posters in discreet locations with information on how to discover the next meeting? I do like small groups, but in this case, I doubt there are many who would turn us in to her, so there isn't as much to fear. And I don't know who in this school is skilled at resistance."

"I don't think anyone would sell us out willingly, but she uses magic to hurt people. Who knows what she can do with it?"

"Perhaps hand out invitations to an 'art party'? Get someone she hasn't been punished to be the host and hand out the invitations to prevent rousing her suspicions. We don't necessarily need people who are skilled with resistance, just people willing to be sneaky. Let the rebels work on the method of removal, we'll take care of the PR."

"Oh. I hadn't thought of that." Naminé nodded again. "I do know someone who hasn't raised her ire yet; I wonder if he'd mind being drawn in to this. And perhaps we do a sketch of a gremlin, something simple, and use it for both the posters and the art party. So people know the two are connected."

"We could hang the posters, close with something like 'get involved' or 'watch for word', and then pass out the art party notices. Turn that meeting into a planning session. Where should we hold it?"

"We could use 'be a pro-active citizen' or 'educate yourself today' on them. If the gremlin is drawn by the same artist, hopefully people will make the connection between the invitations and the posters by themselves."

"Not the common rooms, too open. Do you know a pair of roommates who might be willing to host us? We could probably find somewhere in town, but the first few art parties should probably be easily accessible for people. We can branch out into mini-parties later." Anemone tapped her pencil thoughtfully. "I don't want to turn people away, but we should get a system in place before plastering the entire school with posters. A dozen around the classes and the dorms might be a good start, and maybe one or two in town if the business owners are willing."

"Maybe just 'know your rights' or 'show your support' and then the gremlin underneath," Naminé mused. "I'd be willing to draw it; I'm not particularly skilled, but my art does have a rather singular look. That should help."

She played lightly with the cover of her sketchpad, relieved that she could draw once again. Two days without working fingers had driven her nearly mad. "I have a rather unusual idea, for that. If it's only students we're hoping to reach ... couldn't we leave the posters in the restrooms? Near the sinks. It would certainly ensure that only students saw them. But for location, I'm afraid I don't know. I rather like your idea about roommates, but I don't know if I know of any pairs like that. Perhaps we both ask around?"

"Bathrooms are a great idea! That means we need to find at least one boy, I'm NOT going in a boy's bathroom! Ew!" Anemone wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"If you want to sketch a bunch of little gremlins and leave them at my room, I can write the different slogans across the top. We can put them up in the bathrooms this weekend, and listen for reactions. That might let us know who'd be interested. We should concentrate on finding a place for the meeting...I'd offer my room, but I don't know what my roommate thinks about all of this." She sighed and looked at her lists in frustration. "I don't really know what to do beyond the first meeting. I'm used to taking orders, not thinking up plans, and this isn't my world. I don't know if I have a right to be interfering."

Naminé laughed. "I know a boy we can ask," she said, flushing lightly at that. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind doing me a favor. I'm not certain how my roommate would feel about this, either. Maybe somewhere in town is a better idea, for the first meeting, at least, and then if any pairs of roommates attend, there's our answer."

She considered for a moment. "I don't know much, either. But surely someone at the meeting would. If we all come together, that's the start. And this is your home, for now at least, so I think you have as much right as anyone. What if I draw the sheets up tonight, and maybe we meet again tomorrow to discuss all of this? Hang the posters on Sunday? Does that sound good?"

"I have a tea-and-ethics date with Ronan tomorrow, but I'm free the rest of the day. What's your room number? I can stop by after tea and we can brainstorm some more." Anemone scribbled her phone number on a scrap of paper and held it out to Naminé. "If you need me before then, I'm in 202."

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Applied Ethics B: Fourth period [10.08]

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