sith_happened: (Anakin: nothing has changed)
Anakin Skywalker ([personal profile] sith_happened) wrote in [community profile] fandomhigh2008-01-09 10:48 pm
Entry tags:

Ethics [Thursday, January 10]

Anakin walked into his classroom precisely on time and gave the students assembled there an appraising glance.

Except for how his glance lingered on a couple of faces as his eyes widened slightly, it wasn't possible to tell what he thought of them.

"I'm Master Skywalker," he said in a voice that was intended to carry, "this is Ethics, and we're going to skip the introductions--I'll figure out who you are--and move straight to our first discussion."

He paced around the room, cloak flaring out behind him, as he handed out the syllabus. "Today's topic," he said. "Self sacrifice: knowing the difference between saving people and being a pretentious twit."

"Any time I ask a a group of people what they would do to save someone they love, they all blither on about how they would set the world on fire, lie, cheat, steal, kill, die, et cetera, et cetera. I've been at this school too long to believe that half of you haven't already been put into this situation and I'm in no mood to hear adolescent ramblings about how wonderful you were or might hypothetically be. We're going to ground it in reality.

"Over the summer there was a woman who was in charge of this school. She had been placed in power legitimately, was allowed to punish in accordance with that power, and began pushing the boundaries of her authority almost immediately. She called students to her office, punished them for slights genuine or imagined, and began escalating the severity and frequency of her punishments, going over the line into what was no longer acceptable."

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest, the scars across his face very evident in the light coming through the window. "It eventually took a team of highly qualified adults to take her out. Today's topic: when do you draw the line? When do you admit to yourself that a problem cannot be solved, that to sacrifice yourself isn't a statement, it's merely pointless? How long does it take for you to check your ego?"
wannabehunter: (Default)

Re: Sign in (Jan 10)

[personal profile] wannabehunter 2008-01-10 07:08 am (UTC)(link)
Jo Harvelle

Re: Sign in (Jan 10)

[identity profile] ecirpnellehada.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 07:09 am (UTC)(link)
Adah Price
wannabehunter: (smile)

Re: Talk to the TA (Jan 10)

[personal profile] wannabehunter 2008-01-10 07:09 am (UTC)(link)
Jo wasn't quite bouncy, but she did look quite happy to be there.
raspberryturk: (Mmmhmm)

Re: Sign in (Jan 10)

[personal profile] raspberryturk 2008-01-10 07:17 am (UTC)(link)
Reno

Re: Listen to the lecture (Jan 10)

[identity profile] ecirpnellehada.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 07:19 am (UTC)(link)
As she listened, Adah found herself quirking an eyebrow. Well. Skywalker certainly didn't waste any time, now, did he?
raspberryturk: (Hmm.)

Re: Listen to the lecture (Jan 10)

[personal profile] raspberryturk 2008-01-10 07:27 am (UTC)(link)
Reno wasn't terribly impressed by the 'Master's' flair for the dramatic, though he had to admit that the subject matter of the class was actually kinda interesting.
raspberryturk: (And?)

Re: Answer the question! (Jan 10)

[personal profile] raspberryturk 2008-01-10 07:29 am (UTC)(link)
The answer seemed simple enough to Reno, anyhow.

"You do what you have to do, when you have to do it. But I can't think of anything worth dyin' for, yo. Sounds pointless to me right from the get-go."
the_merriest: (hopeful)

Re: Sign in (Jan 10)

[personal profile] the_merriest 2008-01-10 07:30 am (UTC)(link)
Rikku
the_merriest: (nervous)

Re: Listen to the lecture (Jan 10)

[personal profile] the_merriest 2008-01-10 07:38 am (UTC)(link)
Rikku hugged her knees, feeling nervous. And the cloak thing was pretty cool, she had to say.
the_merriest: (stand tall)

Re: Answer the question! (Jan 10)

[personal profile] the_merriest 2008-01-10 07:43 am (UTC)(link)
"Sacrificing yourself isn't always about ego," she said, frowning. "I think ... if you could save someone, or the world and all that, that's one thing. If you know. A maybe isn't the same thing. And ... I mean, if you do? Then it's over for you. You get to be a martyr and everyone else just has to mourn and blame themselves, and it's kinda unfair to ... everyone left behind."

Re: Answer the question! (Jan 10)

[identity profile] ecirpnellehada.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 07:47 am (UTC)(link)
Adah pulled out her notebook and wrote down her response without even too much thought. It was, oddly enough, a subject she'd thought about often. When finished, she carefully tore out the sheet of paper from its perforations and offered it up.

"I draw the line very shortly. Self-sacrifice for a person in my condition is possibly one of the most moronic things I could possibly do. I wouldn't have the capability to save myself in most situations, let alone someone else. Especially since no one would probably bother saving me, either."

Not that Adah was bitter about any particular, specific events or anything, no. It continued.

"The one time I can think of where I may have done something out of 'self-sacrifice' was done entirely on accidentally and purely out of my own pride. What I did, I did not do for anyone but myself. I got nothing from it. I don't plan on doing something like it again. 'A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.'"

Re: Sign in (Jan 10)

[personal profile] blessed_twice 2008-01-10 11:53 am (UTC)(link)
Wyatt Halliwell

Re: Listen to the lecture (Jan 10)

[personal profile] blessed_twice 2008-01-10 11:55 am (UTC)(link)
Wyatt listened, somewhat amused. He knew when to check his ego. Never, because it was far too large to be checked.

Re: Sign in (Jan 10)

[identity profile] vkandis-son.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 12:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Karal Austreben

Re: Listen to the lecture (Jan 10)

[identity profile] vkandis-son.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 12:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Karal wasn't taking notes. He didn't need to, he could remember what he heard if he cared to, and he'd much rather pay attention to Anakin than write.

Re: Sign in (Jan 10)

[identity profile] walks-two-paths.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 12:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Savannah Levine

Re: Listen to the lecture (Jan 10)

[identity profile] walks-two-paths.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 12:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Savannah was taking careful notes on everything Anakin said... and worrying about that discussion question.

Re: Answer the question! (Jan 10)

[identity profile] walks-two-paths.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 12:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Savannah's thoughts were troubled as she raised her hand. "Is it the same thing if you're not the one who offers to sacrifice themselves, but you are convinced by others that are older than you and that you trust that your self-sacrifice will be what saves other people and allows them to continue to live?"

Between Project Genesis and the Leah/Kristof situation, she had reason to ask for clarification.
Edited 2008-01-10 12:27 (UTC)

Re: Answer the question! (Jan 10)

[identity profile] vkandis-son.livejournal.com 2008-01-10 12:23 pm (UTC)(link)
"Allowing yourself to die needlessly, chasing after death when it can achieve nothing, is selfish, and a waste of everything you might achieve in the future," he said quietly. "No one who loved you would want you to die for such a reason."

Karal closed his hands around his Vkandis medal before continuing. "But sacrifice does not mean needless death. If you beg the helps of the gods, if they are the only ones who save your people, there will be a price to be paid. Sometimes, that price may the willing sacrifice of your life."
Edited 2008-01-10 12:25 (UTC)

Page 1 of 8