fandomhigh | Nation Building and the Origin of Government, Period 5, Class 3, Thursday, 1-20

Today, class was meeting in the Danger Shop, which was only because Alex's students might want to speak with individuals themselves. ~~and so I can play with NPC icons~~

"Last night was a busy one, in your country," she said, once everyone had filed in to a replica of their usual classroom. "You asked the patrol guards to keep their eyes open for any suspicious or questionable activity, and they found a fair amount. The official tally is on the blackboard."

The tally, on the blackboard, was in no particular order and read as follows:

• Two men engaged in a barfight; both were injured, one seriously.
• An alleged would-be burglar entered the home of a resident. The resident fired a gun at the presumed burglar. The presumed burglar is in critical condition.
• A homeless man stole several food items, at gunpoint, from a grocery store.
• A woman discovered her husband in bed with another woman, and stabbed him.
• A CEO hired an assassin to kill the CEO of the company's chief competitor; the hitman succeeded.
• Two adult siblings engaged in what both claim was consensual sex.
• A woman has been printing and mailing out a newsletter which insults you and spreads lies about your regime.
• A man gave a prostitute money in exchange for sexual favors.

"The patrol guards placed these people in separate cells. This is where the real fun starts. None of what happened last night was, technically speaking, illegal. We haven't instituted a formal rule of law yet. That doesn't mean we can't punish any or all of those people, if we see fit to do so, but it does remind us that we might want to put together some laws, and announce them to the populace at large. The populace won't automatically follow all of your rules, but it's nice for them to at least know what's against the law, and what punishment is assigned each crime.

"Leaving aside the issue of retroactive legality -- this is a thought experiment, so we can do that easily enough -- which of these people broke the law last night? What mitigating circumstances do we want to take into effect, when issuing punishment? And what exactly are we going to punish our citizens with? Death? Exile? Imprisonment?"

Alex nodded to the doorway on the side of the room. "We can summon anyone you like, for you to speak with, in case you'd like to get a clearer view of the facts of these cases. Next week, we're going to talk big picture, putting down rules and coming up with guidelines, instituting a police presence and determining the fate of criminals. This week? We're going to handle just these cases. Who broke the law, what law should we have in place to guard against that behavior, and what punishment should the guilty receive?"

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"The guy and his prostitute, and the siblings can all go free" Squall decided. "They're not hurting anyone. If someone thinks it's wrong, they can put laws in place later, but there are more important matters to deal with." He shrugged.

"The dissident and the homeless robber can also go free, but I want to talk to them first. I don't know if they should be considered criminals or not, and I don't care. They're engaging in understandable but counterproductive behavior, and I want them to stop, but punishing them wouldn't help anything."

"The murderers, and the person who shot the burglar, need to be dealt with. That sort of thing can't be allowed."

"We can call in the dissident and the homeless robber for you, if you'd like," Alex said. "Or you can explain to me what sort of conversation you'd like to have, with them. What is it you think you'd say?"

She'd get to the rest in a moment.

"I just need to explain to them that I'm trying to fix their mess of a country, that that sort of behavior isn't acceptable, and they need to bear with me for a few weeks while everything gets sorted out. And if they do it again, I'll punish them."

Squall shrugged. "And if they're not willing to try to be rational, than neither am I."

"The robber might have been stealing out of need," Alex said. "If he doesn't have food, he's not going to be able to wait a few weeks. He'll starve by then."

"He probably was stealing out of need," Squall agreed. "Which is why I'm letting him go. I'll get basic food and shelter to the people in need as soon as possible, but in the meantime he should stick to begging."

"You could arrange temporary provisions," Alex suggested. "And the dissident may never be in favor of your rule. Perhaps she thinks someone else is better suited, or perhaps you and she disagree on core philosophies."

"I am arranging temporary provisions," Squall answered pointedly. "People can go without food for a day or two while it's all set up."

This was all such a headache. Squall hated people.

"As for the dissident -- I really don't care WHAT she thinks. As long as she's not printing lies, she can say anything she wants."

"Will you let them know, that it's only a day or two?" Alex asked. "If they don't know it's coming, they can't depend on it. And they may not trust your word, yet."

She tilted her head, processing the rest. "You're okay with her criticizing you, so long as she does so truthfully?"

"I'll let them know it's coming soon," Squall answered. "I wont give them a specific date until I know when it'll be ready." He wasn't about to lie to a whole country.

"Why wouldn't I be okay with criticism?" Squall asked. "I'm not perfect, and people are stupid. I'd be worried if there weren't any critics."

"What if the paper stirs dissent?" Alex asked. "Tries to suggest other candidates for your job, asks the citizens to engage in civil disobedience. Puts your feet to the fire on a few issues you were hoping might go away quietly."

Squall shrugged. "What if it does? Putting my feet to the fire is a good thing. And people engaged in civil disobedience aren't engaged in armed rebellion. Mostly, though, I'm not going to know what the people want unless they tell me."

Alex had to nod at that, unable to hide that she was a small bit impressed.

"I hadn't thought of it that way," she said. "That you'd want the outlet as an avenue of knowing where your citizens are dissatisfied."

"I don't want the outlet," Squall explained. "I'd rather they just tell me their concerns directly. But I'm not going to stop them from doing whatever."

Nation Building and the Origin of Government, Period 5, Class 3, Thursday, 1-20

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03

Re: Discussion - Crime and Laws - NAT03