Ethics [Tuesday, August 28, 2012]

[sith_happened]

When Ethics began, the desks, instead of being set up in the usual rows typical of a classroom, had been shoved to the sides, and a long line of white tape had been stuck down the middle of the room. The instructor was also nowhere to be seen.

This served a purpose: breaking the students' preconceived idea about what a class devoted to ethics might be about, and setting them up for nervous chatting before Anakin arrived.

He did, precisely two mintues late, clicking the door shut behind him. "Welcome to Ethics," he said. "I'm Master Anakin Skywalker. Please set yourselves up along that white line."

He waited until all of the students were lined up before explaining. "There's a philosopher from this world named John Rawls, who believes that most reasonable principles of justice are those everyone would accept and agree to from a fair position. In Fandom especially, we are coming from a variety of cultures and traditions to examine ethical dilemmas, and so the idea of a 'fair position' is a bit of a moving target. The choice that might be right for you might be completely contrary to my own life experiences, but that will not make your point of view less valid."

Anakin began pacing, his cloak swirling around his ankles as he did so. "Rawls believed that to come to this fair position, a magical 'veil of ignorance' must be put into place in order to erase everyone's knowledge of their places in society." He smiled a little wryly. "I'm not saying that at some point, Fandom might not do that sort of work for us and erase your memories of who and what you are, but today we're going to conduct an exercise that's slightly less drastic--one that will make you examine the parts of your life you might take for granted, and how that affects your view on the world."

He glanced down at a piece of paper. "Let's begin."

Comments

Sign in [8/28]

[sith_happened]

Wondering if you're supposed to just stand here all day...

Re: Sign in [8/28]

[suitably_heroic]

Atton Rand

Make Awkward Smalltalk as You Wait!

[sith_happened]

If you'd like.

Re: Make Awkward Smalltalk as You Wait!

[myownface]

Well, no teacher in sight. So far this was Sparkle's favourite class.

He sat himself on top of one of the desks that had been pushed to the side and contemplated just napping or something.

Re: Make Awkward Smalltalk as You Wait!

[pursuedthestars]

Jim figured someone was going to show up at some point because there was no way that his luck was so good to have a teacher flake out on a first class so he just stood and waited.

And while he waited, he checked out the other students. Maybe he was making assumptions in his head, maybe he wasn't. Whatever he might be doing, it was safe to say he wasn't bored.

Re: Make Awkward Smalltalk as You Wait!

[nonelikemesince.livejournal.com]

Anakin didn't remotely think his grandfather wouldn't show up. That didn't mean he had the slightest idea of what his grandfather had in mind for this class, so . . . he leaned against the edge of one of the desks and eyed the white line dubiously.

Re: Make Awkward Smalltalk as You Wait!

[notconflicted]

Sia didn't think they'd just be abandoned for class, which was why she was going to behave just as she would if he were to come in the door at any minute.

Didn't mean she wouldn't get bored waiting, though.

Re: Make Awkward Smalltalk as You Wait!

[craftyladyparts.livejournal.com]

This was Jessica's first class of the semester. If the teacher didn't show up, did she get to call the mission impossible to complete and go home?

Probably not.

Experiment in Privilege!

[sith_happened]

And massive OCD.

Take steps forward or back as Anakin reads off various descriptions. Where you end up shows how far ahead or behind the standard American 21st Century definition of "normal" you are.

Re: Experiment in Privilege - 1

[sith_happened]

"If you were ever called names because of your race, class, ethnicity, species, gender, magical powers, or sexual orientation, take one step back."

Anakin had tweaked the questions slightly for Fandom.

Re: Experiment in Privilege - 2

[sith_happened]

"If your parents were or are professional: doctors, lawyers, etc., take one step forward. If your parents were or are royalty, or members of your dimension's ruling class, take two steps forward."

Re: Experiment in Privilege - 3

[sith_happened]

"If you ever tried to change you appearance, mannerisms, accent, or behavior to avoid being judged or ridiculed, take one step back."

Re: Experiment in Privilege - 4

[sith_happened]

"If there were more than 50 books--or the technological equivalent in your universe--in your house when you grew up, take one step forward."

Re: Experiment in Privilege - 5

[sith_happened]

"If you ever had to skip a meal or were hungry because there was not enough money to buy food when you were growing up, take one step back."

Re: Experiment in Privilege - 6

[sith_happened]

"If you were ever offered special privileges--a job offer, free tickets to major cultural events, a pass through security--because of your association with a friend or family member, take one step forward."

Re: Experiment in Privilege - 7

[sith_happened]

"If one of your parents did not complete high school--or your universe's equivalent of such education--take one step back. If both parents didn't, take two steps back. If you have no idea because you've never known your parents, take one step back."

Re: Experiment in Privilege - 8

[sith_happened]

"If you were raised in an area where there was prostitution, drug activity, or violent crime, take one step back. If you were raised in an active war zone, take two steps back."

Re: Experiment in Privilege - 9

[sith_happened]

"If one of your parents or guardians was unemployed or laid off, not by choice, take one step back."

Re: Experiment in Privilege - 10

[sith_happened]

"And finally, if your parents or guardians told you that you could be anything you wanted to be, take one step forward."

Re: Experiment in Privilege - Conclusion

[sith_happened]

Where are you, relative to the line?

Group Discussion!

[sith_happened]

"Does this experiment really mean anything, given our unique location?" Anakin asked. "Are there questions you think would help to clarify a more Fandom-standard starting point, and then we could deviate ahead and behind from there?"

[OOC: Make it messy, folks!]

Re: Group Discussion!

[failsatspirit]

Korra rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "I don't know that all of the questions made sense," Korra said. "They seemed to assume everyone was coming from the same place or something."

Re: Group Discussion!

[district12baker.livejournal.com]

"I think that the questions were better suited for this time period and location. I'm not sure if it's possible to come up with a set of questions that everybody could relate to," Peeta said. "Not that's necessarily bad. I couldn't really relate to the questions at all, but it's for reasons that I wouldn't wish on anybody else."

Talk to Anakin [8/28]

[sith_happened]

Who's looking for a few good TAs if you're interested.

Re: Talk to Anakin [8/28]

[failsatspirit]

"Master Skywalker?" Korra began, barely remembering to bow. "I don't know that I did your test right." You know, considering her first comment afterwards had been about how the questions didn't make sense.

OOC

[sith_happened]

Gah. Baby and then computer conspired to make this take longer than it should've. Questions snagged and modified from here.