Defying Expectations, Tuesday, Per 3

[glacial_queen]

"Know thyself," Karla said as the students entered the classroom. "The full name of this class is Defying Expectations: Staying Yourself in Spite of Destiny, which is useful only if you know yourself. Whatever your destiny or lack thereof, you're going to have to deal with people who want you to do things that further their best interest. These things may have nothing in common with your aims, your morals, or your best interests, but that won't stop people from asking. Or telling. Or demanding. If you are in a position of authority, people may try to convince you around to their way of thinking, persuade you that their idea is the best, or lie and and connive to get what they want. Self-interest is a pretty strong motivator for damn near every human on the planet."

"But before you can plan around the people who are trying to convince you to do what they think is best, the first thing you have to do is figure out what you do. I'm not trying to say that your instincts are infallible--Mother Night, if you take anything from this class, please do not let it be that--but if you know what you believe, you can figure out how much of a deviation from your personal code someone else's suggestions are." Karla shrugged and gave the class a wry smile. "Whether or not that deviation is a good thing is a topic for another class--and it might be. Odds are good that in your lifetime, you're going to meet people who know more about a given situation than you do, have more experience than you have, or who are your moral superiors. Listening to them and adjusting your ideas may make a positive difference in a given scenario. However, to better assess what the people around you can offer, first you must know where you yourself may stand. Today, I've got a bunch of moral and ethical scenarios for you to ponder and decide what you would do. Most of these scenarios are morbid, but if they were easy questions, they likely wouldn't be moral ones."

Comments

Sign in (09/09)

[glacial_queen]

Standing up

Re: Sign in (09/09)

[giveherahand]

Mara Jade

Re: Sign in (09/09)

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa of Arendelle

Re: Sign in (09/09)

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

Minako Aino

Listen to the Lecture

[glacial_queen]

It's relatively short today. Woo!

Feelings Share

[glacial_queen]

Did the weekend with no memories jog anything for you?

Scenario 1: Fallout Shelter

[glacial_queen]

There are twelve other people in your fallout shelter, but there is not enough food, water, and other supplies to keep you all alive until the atmosphere is safe. To survive, the people must stay inside the fallout shelter for at least three months. The problem is that if all of them stay in the shelter, all of them will starve to death or dehydrate. There are supplies enough to allow seven of the other twelve people to survive. As it is your shelter, you are tasked to choose who will live and who will die.

Figure out who stays in the shelter with you and who is forced to leave and why. Once you've decided on your own answers, feel free to discuss and debate your choices with other students.

[Messy threads welcome! List of people in the shelter can be found at the link. SFW]

Re: Scenario 1: Fallout Shelter

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

Eleanor was taking notes.

"I'm getting rid of everyone with fair-to-poor health," she announced, "as they're unlikely to survive as it is. Except Marjorie, as she's our doctor, and we need her to survive. Perhaps I trade her for Ray, as he's the eldest."

Scenario 2: The Approaching Army

[glacial_queen]

An army is invading your land and a sizable portion of their forces are heading towards an area to bivouac. In that area is a lake, which they will use for drinking water. You have enough time to dump a large quantity of poison into the lake and get out of there without being caught. The poison is virulent and, if ingested, will cause a severely agonizing death. Do you poison the lake, knowing that doing so will take out a vast chunk of the army without risk to any of your citizens?

Does your answer change if the opposing army is mostly made up of press-ganged civilians from the other country? What if they're all child soldiers? Mercenaries?

Does your answer change if the invading army is much bigger than your own forces? Much smaller? Equal in size?

Are there any circumstances where you absolutely would poison the lake? Any where you absolutely would not?

Answer for yourself, then discuss.

Re: Scenario 2: The Approaching Army

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"I'm not poisoning the lake," Eleanor decided. "Anyone might drink from it, and the deaths are excruciating. Poisoning the lake will destroy local wildlife and any hapless travelers who stumble by. Unless the invading army is planning on massacring all of my people by a slow, torturous death, and we have no chance to fight back, it's not an option."

Scenario 3: What Is Justice

[glacial_queen]

You've been fighting a war to take back your Territory from a depraved regime and one of your standing promises is that you will make sure the corrupt ruler will face justice for what they have done, which includes murder, assault, kidnapping, and the use of chemical warfare on their own people.

When you take the capital, you discover that the ruler is actually a figurehead with almost no idea of what's been going on and all of the terrible practices have been issued from her vizier. However, during the very public trial, she states that she takes full responsibility for what happened during her reign and refuses to say anything further, exonerating the real villain.

On the one hand, you know she is mostly innocent--the barbaric practices that went on while she ruled were not her doing. On the other hand, you have her very public confession and a populace who are angry, hurt, and counting on you to give them the justice they were promised. On the other, other hand, convicting her will allow the real perpetrator to go free. On other, other, other hand, you actually have no concrete proof that it was the vizier--there's nothing you can hold up to disprove her confession or implicate the vizier.

The penalty for the confessed crimes is death. The nation is looking to you for your decision. What do you decide to do?

Re: Scenario 3: What Is Justice

[pulseof_life]

"The ruler confessed publically," Yeul said softly. "If that confession is ignored, given the state of the populace, it is very likely that their opinion towards their liberators will turn sour, which will lead to more strife."

She hesitated, then added, "And the ruler is correct that, though she was unaware of the things that went on, she does bear some responsiblity for them. She has chosen her way to atone for her inattention towards her people."

Re: Scenario 3: What Is Justice

[glacial_queen]

VINDICATED!

...Not that Karla was going to say that aloud.

"So you think she should be executed, for the good of the realm?" Karla asked.

Re: Scenario 3: What Is Justice

[pulseof_life]

"That's hard to say," Yeul said, tilting her head slightly. "The good of the realm is a very broad concept. Her death won't make things better. All it will do is satisfy a populace that could turn dangerous and honour her preference for making up for her mistakes."

Yeul shook her head slightly. "In the end, killing her will only really help her. Everything else will have to be done by the new rulers and the people themselves."

Re: Scenario 3: What Is Justice

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"Can I place pressure upon her?" Eleanor asked. "Tell her that the vizier will go free by her hand. Ask if that's what she wants, for justice."

Re: Scenario 3: What Is Justice

[glacial_queen]

"She knows," Karla said, her head bowing a little. "She loves him and she's willing to make that sacrifice."

Talk to the TA

[glacial_queen]

If she's here!

Re: Talk to the TA

[notamascot]

Kaylin was here and very unhappy about all of these scenarios. Very unhappy.

And did she mention unhappy?

Re: Talk to the TA

[glacial_queen]

"You look unhappy," Karla, mistress of the obvious, noted.

Talk to the Teacher

[glacial_queen]

Karla is feeling rather introspective today--and very interested in what her students answers will be, especially for the last question.

Re: Talk to the Teacher

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa had been meaning to find Karla at some point during the week to apologize for running out of her class last week, but she'd never really nerved herself up to it had the chance. So, now that she was actually in the same room as her...

Well...

"Excuse me? Do you have a minute to spare?"

Re: Talk to the Teacher

[glacial_queen]

"Of course I do," Karla said, giving Elsa a smile. "More than one, in fact. What can I do for you, Elsa?"

Karla had a fair idea what this was about, but figured Elsa might appreciate the opportunity to work towards the topic herself.

OOC

[glacial_queen]

Trying to find a version of the Nuclear Fallout question that isn't racist as hell is REALLY, REALLY HARD.

Re: OOC

[never-dull.livejournal.com]

Hannibal says for the last question, he'd let the Queen take the blame so that justice is seen as being served. Then he'd kill the vizier in private and eat him, so justice actually was served.

...that was one of the choices, right?

Re: OOC

[glacial_queen]

THAT was the step Karla'd missed! Damn her lack of cannibalistic tendencies!