Ethics [Thursday, November 29, 1st period]

[sith_happened]

Anakin stalked into the room and slammed the door shut behind him.

"Today we talk about wrath," he said. Ignore the pointed look he gave John Sheppard. Really.

"There's something very human about giving in to our temper," he said. "It's freeing, uncomplicated."

He paused. "At least at that moment. The repercussions are always waiting."

He waved a hand and the holoprojector flipped to life. Frozen in time was a young Jedi with two lightsabers at the neck of an older, clearly defeated enemy.

"This was me," he said, pointing at the young man. "And that older man was evil and threatened my family. It didn't make the choice I made--to kill him while he knelt there--any less wrong."

He looked around the classroom making eye contact with every student before continuing. "Wrath is very, very tempting. It urges you to listen to that dark little voice inside of you--to cut loose, live without consequences."

He pointed at the holo again. "There are always consequences. This moment has stayed with me, made me the person I am. It wasn't a positive influence."

Anakin stopped pacing. "What would it take for you to get to that hazy edge? And more importantly, how do you stop yourself from giving in?"

I Shall Not Walk Alone - Ben Harper

Comments

Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

What stops you from going on a homicidal rampage through a temple, killing everyone you've ever known?

Hypothetically, of course.

Re: Answer the questions

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"It would give me a sense of peace," River replied quietly. "For the moment only. Like a drug. I know that and want to keep it in mind." Vague memories surfaced from a session at the Academy, where she had stabbed a man using the only weapon available - a fountain pen - to prove a point.

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

"It's a lot like a drug," Anakin agreed quietly, nodding. "And like a drug, it's easy to slip back into an old habit."

Re: Answer the questions

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

River said nothing, just replied with a tiny nod, in agreement with what he said.

Re: Answer the questions

[irulan-atreides.livejournal.com]

"I don't even know if I am capable of that sort of emotion," confessed Irulan, "To lose control on that level... is unimaginable to me." She paused and thought of her ancestors, "But I suppose it is in my blood. Some of my ancestors have committed unspeakable horrors in their time. I would suppose, on some level, I am also capable. But for the life of me I can't think of anything that could provoke me to such level that I would go on a rampage."

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

"Really," Anakin said, raising an eyebrow. "That kind of control is much sought after, and very difficult to achieve."

Re: Answer the questions

[sarcasm-guy.livejournal.com]

"A little bit of bloodlust is good for a warrior," Sokka mused. "So long as your wrath is directed at people who deserve it, I'm not sure there's a problem."

Oh, the naïveté, it burns.

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

"No," Anakin said flatly. "Wrath has no place in a battle. It blinds you, gives you focus in the wrong places. That man deserved justice--a trial and a long life in prison. I don't get to play judge, jury, and executioner. Neither do you."

Re: Answer the questions

[sarcasm-guy.livejournal.com]

"Ohhhhhh," Sokka said. "See, we were just miscommunicating. I didn't realize that when you say 'justice', what you really mean is 'not justice'. Mercy's good, too. -- I mean, don't get me wrong; mercy's better, really. It's just not the same thing."

Re: Answer the questions

[witchy-prue.livejournal.com]

"Thinking about how my sisters would react would make me stop." she said. Of course that would go out the window if her sisters were even remotely threatened. "They wouldn't want me to turn into a killer."

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

Something undefinable flashed in Anakin's eyes. "And if they were threatened?"

Re: Answer the questions

[witchy-prue.livejournal.com]

Prue frowned. "Then I'd do what is necessary to keep them safe."

Re: Answer the questions

[sixstandingby.livejournal.com]

"It'd be hard to live with myself in the aftermath," Gavin said, "even if the immediate sense of feeling that it was right was overwhelming."

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

"What makes this different from a shot fired from an X-Wing?" he asked.

Re: Answer the questions

[honoraryphd.livejournal.com]

"Why would I stop?" Victor asked. "If they've brought me to that line, they deserve whatever I do to them."

He would add 'and more,' but Victor had a pretty active imagination about what he would one day do to those who had truly incurred his wrath. There wasn't much more that could be done to them.

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

"And you bear no responsibility at all for your actions?" Anakin retorted. "They made you do it?"

Re: Answer the questions

[honoraryphd.livejournal.com]

"No, of course not," Victor said. "They merely deserve it. The act is my choice and mine alone."

Re: Answer the questions

[sarcasm-guy.livejournal.com]

Sokka put a hand up in the air and pointed at Victor. "At what point," he asked Anakin, "do the future millions of people he's probably going to slaughter justify us killing him now?"

Re: Answer the questions

[honoraryphd.livejournal.com]

"If you wish me dead, feel free to try," Victor said. "Then it'll be self-defense when you die and not even the local authorities will have an issue with it. But if you're not man enough to go through with it, be quiet."

Re: Answer the questions

[jedi-qui.livejournal.com]

"Every death brings with it repercussions," Qui-Gon said quietly. "Even if you think someone deserves to die, their death might hurt other people who don't deserve that pain."

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

Anakin didn't show a flicker of remorse. "There are always ripples," he said, "and unintended consequences for every action. It's why it takes so long to become a Jedi--because it takes times to learn how to see them all. And ignore them when action is necessary."

Re: Answer the questions

[jedi-qui.livejournal.com]

"Seems some of us are better at ignoring them than others," Qui-Gon observed.

Re: Answer the questions

[mrodneymckay.livejournal.com]

"I really have trouble seeing myself in anything remotely resembling this situation," Rodney replied. "I'm not a warrior," he said with a glance at Sokka, "and physical violence isn't a normal response for me." Strictly speaking, physical activity wasn't a normal response for Rodney. "If I was really angry, I'd be more likely to cut off someone's hot water."

Re: Answer the questions

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"I don't know," Aravis answered honestly, if perhaps a bit quietly. "Sometimes nothing. I need to work on my temper."

Re: Answer the questions

[sith_happened]

Anakin gave her a small smile. "Recognizing a fault is a big step towards solving the problem."