Friday Ethics Class #3, 8-10am

[brambless.livejournal.com]

Two boxes sit on Tara's desk. One is filled with homemade cookies, with a small placard labelled 'To all those who attempted the assignment - help yourselves!'. The other is a bin to return the Master/slave badges at the end of the class.

Tara smiles as the students settle down.

"I told you last week that part of the point of this assignment was to separate out the issues of slavery and abuse. There are many, many issues with slavery, even without abusive elements attached, and I want to tell you how proud I am of all of you for attempting the assignment - especially those of you who were uncomfortable with it. I have a lot I want to say, but I'm going to bite my tongue and let you all speak, first. Tell me about your experiences with the assignment - what was challenging for you? What was easier than you thought it would be? Do you have any insights you would like to share?"

[ooc: If you would provide linkage to any RPed assignment bits and pieces, I would be forever grateful when it comes time for grading. Also, those of you who made icons? I adore you, and worship your icon-fu.]


Before class lets out, Tara makes a short announcement.

"I would not ask anything of you that I am unwilling to do myself - including act as a slave. Anyone who completed the assignment is eligible to 'win' me as a slave, under the same terms of the assignment as you performed. I realise many of you are probably glad that this is over, but if you are interested, or want revenge, please put your name down on the sheet provided. I will post this as a voting list, and the involved parties will decide as a class who is to Master me, and what is to be done with me."

[ooc: Off to bed. Play nicely, see you all in the morning. Um, my morning. *as usual, kicks stupid timezones*]

Comments

Before class starts

[brambless.livejournal.com]

Any details or conversations before class. Help yourself to the cookies.

Re: Before class starts

[sensethevisions]

Phoebe comes in and sits down. She niether takes a cookie nor turns in her badge. She appears to be lost in thought and then starts writing in her notebook.

Re: Before class starts

[maias-notebook.livejournal.com]

Maia comes in sitting quietly, not having done the assignment she is a bit lost. She smiles at Tara and Phoebe when she sits down.

Re: Before class starts

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

Callisto walks into the classrom carrying a trenchcoat over her arm, and takes a cookie. Aside from her boots, she's dressed rather (http://img437.imageshack.us/img437/8264/mensshirt086vd.jpg) diferently (http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/8707/menspant058ox.jpg) to normal today.

Re: Before class starts

[absolutesnark]

Piper wanders into class and does not take a cookie. While she did take part in some of the assignment, she feels that she did not complete it.

Re: Before class starts

[valentine-tart.livejournal.com]

Beka skipped right over the cookies. The last thing she wanted was to put food in her already twisted stomach. She gave Tara a game smile, though, and wandered over. "Hey, hey."

First Hour

[brambless.livejournal.com]

Discussing the assignment, as above.

Re: First Hour

[sooo_cute]

Quinn raises her hand. "So I didn't get nearly enough time with my cabana boy Miguel, but he did everything he was supposed to, even if my closet isn't organized exactly right because he doesn't know which fabrics are which, but I'll forgive it. I mean, slavery's not that bad, because he didn't get beaten or anything and it was a ton of fun for me, but then I started thinking about what if I was the slave, because I wouldn't have done any of it because... ew, no. And if we're all about free will or whatever with this assignment, then it's not really real, because real slaves don't get to say 'I'm not comfortable doing this', otherwise that whole railroad thing would have been completely pointless because they could say 'I'm tired of picking cotton, I'd like to go north for a while,' you know? Because if they had free will, they wouldn't really be slaves. They'd be employees."

She thinks. "Oh, and if I'd been the slave, I totally would have sued."

Re: First Hour

[demonbelthazor]

"I thought it was pretty easy," Belthazor said. "I liked taking care of Phoebe. She'll have to confirm this herself, but I think it helped her having me there to take care of her. She had a lot of stress this week and people she thought were her friends turned on her. But she knew that no matter what I would be there for her. She was able to relax and forget about the outside world for awhile."

Re: First Hour

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

Angelus, who was way too chipper for a vampire at that hour of the morning, sat and listened to the various conversations.

Or listened as well as he could while he doodled pictures of Darla in his notebook.

Not that he was a typical male totally distracted or anything.

Re: First Hour

[absolutesnark]

"Being the master was a bit of a challenge. It's not easy to be responsible for someone else. I imagine this is what it's like to be a parent," Piper began. "Unfortunately, I did not complete every aspect of this assignment. I ensured that my slave was fed well, but I could have done a better job with the clothing and shelter part, unless you count the third floor kitchen at the dorms as shelter."

"When he attempted to help me out in the kitchen, I admit to getting a bit frustrated, like a parent would."

[ooc: We didn't get a chance to finish rping the kitchen stuff. Assume there was much mayhem. ;)

Re: First Hour

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

"It wasn't as bad as it could have been. Of course, the fact that there were the kind of enforcible safeguards that would be lacking in an actual slavery situation probably helped."

Re: First Hour

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"It sucked from the word go," Parker said, folding her arms. "Mostly because my partner saw it not as an exercise in balancing responsibility or whatever the hell, but as an opportunity to try to humiliate me (http://www.livejournal.com/users/psycho_jackass/9138.html). Not to mention make his journalism project (http://www.livejournal.com/users/dbiers/9282.html?thread=88386#t88386) easier, without having to work for a real interview. I knew that serving *anyone* was going to test my temper, but Echolls pushed it beyond anything."

She shook her head. "Getting away from Echolls though, the problem for me was that there are no advantages to being a slave. I already have all the material comfort I could want. I don't like being taken care of when I don't have to be, it irritates me to be passive. It's boring. And unlike some people, I don't get how there's any kind of 'thrill' to being called some cutesy name and playing bondage games that you get *graded* on."

Re: First Hour

[bridge-carson.livejournal.com]

Bridge is still wearing Quinn's pink bedsheet as a toga.

"It wasn't too bad, I guess. I mean, I had to run around and do a lot of chores and stuff. And okay, going to the Emporium and getting all those girly things? Kinda embarrassing. But I didn't have to do anything that made me physically or mentally uncomfortable," he shrugs, "plus, now I have a toga."

Re: First Hour

[valentine-tart.livejournal.com]

Beka cleared her throat before speaking. She carefully didn't look at Angelus or at Buffy. "This assignment pushed a lot of my buttons. Because of stuff back home. I agreed to do it because Prof asked me to. She felt it'd be good for me, Buffy, and the class.

"Being a Master is far easier and far harder than I imagined. Easier because having seen the other side, I know exactly what it takes to make it not only palatable but downright sweet to be a slave. Harder for exactly the same reason. I don't like what it says about me that I know that and that I enjoyed it.

"I've heard people talk about this like it was a cutesy bondage game. It's more than that. Being a Master, truly, is more than ordering a slave around, tormenting them sexually, being serviced. It's being completely responsible for someone else's welfare. I protect people all the time. But this was different. It meant I couldn't choose when and where to protect her, and I couldn't choose who to protect her against. Even if the person was my...friend...I still had to choose Buffy over that person because she was mine.

"When you take abuse out of the equation - which you usually can't in the real world - slavery feels a lot more like hierarchy and loyalty by mutual agreement than anything else."

She shook her head. "I hope that's all right Prof. I'll answer your questions, or any one's I guess. But I don't know what else to say."

Second Hour

[brambless.livejournal.com]

"Okay, this is all good stuff. Now let's take it back to a discussion topic.

Much of the issues arising about slavery are bound up in the violation of another's free will. In parts of Africa, the word for slave is the same as the word for child - as many of you may have found, the basic responsibilities for a Master are not unlike those of a parent, and the power dynamic allows equal opportunity for abuse, though thankfully one that is seized upon much less often.

So today I'd like you to think about the 'helpless' - those people in society, including children and the mentally disabled, who are unable to care for themselves. What are they owed? What do they owe back, to their parents and their society? What are their responsibilities, and when is it appropriate for them to assume the responsibilities of a 'normal' adult?"

Re: Second Hour

[maias-notebook.livejournal.com]

Maia chews her lip for a moment and raises her hand.

"I think that when someone is helpless that their responsibilities to give something back or pay what is owed should be null and void. If a person cannot control the situation around them or what is being done to them then they should not be expected to pay or contribute to the end result." Maia quickly stops talking feeling a bit shy because she got a tad passionate about her statement in the end.

Re: Second Hour

[cameronmitchell.livejournal.com]

"I don't think a child owes the parents anything, it's the parents decision to have children and they're responsible for it. There might be a moral obligation or maybe it is more a personal decision that a child wants to take care of their parents once the tables are turned and the parents can't take care of themselves anymore.

The mentally disabled don't really owe us anything, but it is the job of society to take care of its citizens."

Re: Second Hour

[fh_jackass]

Logan sits back in his chair, tapping his pen against his desk and listening to the discussion.

Re: Second Hour

[demonbelthazor]

"Where I come," Belthazor said casually, "the old and the weak aren't a problem. Mainly because they're dead. If you can't protect yourself or provide a useful skill to someone who can protect you, you get killed. Children's treatment varies from demon to demon, but they're usually protected until they're old enough to train. After that it's survival of the fitest. Keep up with your learning or the other students or your trainer will kill you. Kill or be killed." He shrugged.

Re: Second Hour

[http://users.livejournal.com/_gottahavefaith/]

Faith, before answering, may have muttered something about nosy teachers wanting to know far too much about her family.
"When you're a kid, you don't owe anything. No matter how shitty you being around makes your parent's life, it's their own fault, especially when they clearly should have gotten rid of you at the first oppourtunity, or any time when child services came around. As for when you can, well, as soon as possible," Faith said, clearly having an edge to her voice.

"As for the mentally disabled, well, I don't really know how many responsibilites they can have to society. I mean, like, I don't know what they could do or anything. But society should probably take care of them and stuff."

Re: Second Hour

[absolutesnark]

"If a parent makes the decision to have children, then I guess the children don't really owe them anything. Although, if the parents provide a loving home for their children, I do think they are obligated to respect them and take care of them in the future.

Sometimes, people become parents because they had no choice. My grandmother had no choice but to raise me and my sisters, and I feel like I owe her so much because of it.

As for the mentally disabled? I don't feel like they owe us anything, but society should take care of them."

OOC

[brambless.livejournal.com]

Because it's always good to provide a place for commentary.

Also? I handed in my thesis today. You will find a party popper underneath your seat. Feel free to celebrate with me!

Re: OOC -- RP Links

[demonbelthazor]

Some of the links are buried in study hall, but here's a few:

Asking Tara for detention. ;)
Small study hall scene.
Taking Bright One out to dinner. They do drift out of their roles along the way due to the conversation, though.

Evaluate your partner

[brambless.livejournal.com]

50% of your partner's mark comes from your evaluation of them. Please take a moment to explain how you think they did.

Re: Evaluate your partner

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

Angelus turns in a report that ranks Callisto highly and recommends that she get extra credit.

The List (as mentioned above)

[brambless.livejournal.com]

Put your name down here if you want revenge on Tara to give Tara the experience of slavery.

Re: The List (as mentioned above)

[demonbelthazor]

Belthazor sneakily signs up Angelus.