fandomhigh | Speech Comm

She walks in, sunglasses on, carrying a large bottle of water. She's faintly green and speaks quietly...

Ok, gang. The unit for this week is obedience. we're going to hammer out the why's and how's of obedience to authority, and how that behavior relates to trust and influence...and respect. *Looks at O'Neill and Harkness*

Why do you obey? Some of you obey better than others. Why do you defer your personal power? Is it to gain something? If so, that is, as Elizabeth explained so well week before last, hegemony. *Writes HEGEMONY on the board* This is when you do something that decreases your personal power in order to gain something, in either the short or long run.

Ok, so obedience to authority. Everybody stand up and push the desks out of the way. Quietly please.

*Watches as they do it (or at least some of them*

Good. Now question yourself...why did you just do what I told you? Why were you obedient? Is it because I'm the teacher? Is it because I'm older? Is it because you've been conditioned...*writes CONDITIONED on the board* to comply with a simple request?

You cna put the desks back if you want to sit down. I'd like to get a discussion going regarding your perceptions of obedience. Ok, go.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This is my fault isn't it? *Jack sighs and mutters something that sounds vaugely like bohica while moving his desk and then moving it back*

I can't speak for anyone but myself but I personally obey because it's what I was taught. Military goes way back in my family and you learn early on what is expected of you. I personally seem to get away with a bit more than most but that's only because I know when not to jack around.

I obey well and usually follow orders. If I disobey an order it's either because;
A) Following the order will bring direct avoidable harm to someone under my command or;
B) I don't realize I'm doing it until removing my boot from my throat brings the threat of internal damage.

The reason I listen to you? Because I respect you and because, frankly, you scare the living crap out of me ~~Ma'am~~Professor. Nobody has scared me as bad as you since my--Uncle.

[OOC: Jack knows nothing about CJ and Ten, Mun just had to do the BOHICA because it fit too perfect.]

So your obedience is dictated by a strong personal code of morals, is that what you're saying?

*Looks at him curiously*

Why in the world would I scare the crap outof you Jack? I'm a pussycat.

Code of morals, right. Sounds like something Daniel would try to dechiper.

Honestly? I have no idea why you scare me, but it's a good thing, fear lets you know you're alive and keeps you running. It how you know you're still human. Ish.

It could have something to do with that smile you gave when you called yourself a pussycat though.

Fear let's you know you're alive..Hmm. So might you say that part of the human condition is a predisposition for distrust of the "other," in this case the other being a person in authority?

*Smiles wickedly* Still. Pussycat I am.

Uhm. Yes? That means that people are scared of what they don't know right? In that case yes, because the humanish brain is it's own worst enemy, nine times out of ten it can and will come up with something a million times scarier than the reality it doesn't know. It's why people have night terrors.

See. Again with the whole scary thing.

Now that that's cleared up..tell me how fear and obedience relate.

((ooc: CJ sent Jack a text this morning, asking him to come see her at the TARDIS as she'd been attacked and took the day off. Today's speech comm was posted by the Doctor. Does Jack want to be 'splodey?))

Easy. You obey an order because you fear the punishment if you don't. It's usually a justified fear in my opinion but not always.

[OOC: Jack completely missed the text because Jack-Mun has a crappy and picky comp. Jack always needs to be 'splodey, direct away and he'll be right there.]

You have a pretty literal way of thinking about this Jack...*looks at him*..I don't know that you are ever going to see it any other way. But that's ok...*furrows her brows*

((ooc: I just posted a new one in fandomtownies..she's sitting in the park bored and stir crasy. wanna play?))

I was wrong? Well, how do you think they're connected?

[OOC: Sure, gimme a sec to head over.]

No, I'm not saying you're wrong. i'm saying you are interpreting it in a very linear fashion. Fear, respect, control...obedience. But I'd like you to get out of that and think about the why's and how's of disobedience. Why do people NOT...um, follow orders? Is it purely personal morals? Greater good?

I'm not going to give you my answer yet, Jack...I'm pushing you to learn.

Why do people NOT follow orders? *The question has stunned him a little, he never really... if someone wasn't following an order it was usually Daniel, and he always had a good reason. Well, usually at least. And if it wasn't Daniel then the person was usually a rogue or compromised.*

Um, because... Sometimes people have their own agenda and whatever you're ordering them to do doesn't fit in with it. Of course sometimes people just don't care about the consequences. That doesn't sound right, hang on. *Jack takes a moment to think and get his words in the right order*

Sometimes the person giving the order may not have the same personal morals as the person recieving it. The person giving the orders may be telling the person recieving the orders to kill a particular person and maybe the person recieving the order doesn't want to. It doesn't make either of them "bad" or "good" because you rarely ever get the full story.

Maybe the person giving the orders wants you to kill the person because they just slaughtered an entire team or your people, but then again maybe the Orderer wants you to do it because the person looks suspicious. Extenuating circumstances.

*Looks slightly horrified of all the killing talk*

Yes...um...extenuating circumstances. Good. So there is a grey area when it comes to obedience. Many factors to consider. I think you are getting this, Jack. Ok...let's move away from killing to something else. Considering the experiment Chip brought up, what's your feeling about people shocking a subject simply because they were told to? Even when they didn't want to, they were obedient to the researcher...why is that?

Because they're cowards. What threat did the person giving the orders pose to them? It scares me even more than Principle Connor does that people would possibly ~~kill~~ hurt someone because they're told to.

People say that that's what the military does but it's not. The military tries to weed out the people just looking for an excuse to ~~kill~~ hurt people. On the whole most people join to protect, and because of that when an order to ~~kill~~ hurt is given you can bet there's a good reason behind it.

I just went off on a completely different line of thought didn't I?

[OOC: Sorry about that, Mun's mum called.]

If somebody gives you an order and it goes against your personal morals don't do it.

Good Jack...I wanted to see where that would take you. I think because of your...past...you have a different take on this. I'm glad you're not closed off though. *Smiles at him*

Next?

I did it right? Sweet.

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