Ethics, Tuesday, January 27, 2015, 2nd period

[sith_happened]

The desks had been shoved to either side of the room and a large white strip of tape had been placed down the center. Looked like it was an interactive class activity today, kids!

"Please line up along the line," Anakin said, then waited for the students to comply before continuing. "There's a philosopher from this world named John Rawls who believes that most principles of justice are things 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."

"And so, what is a fair position?" Obi-Wan said. "This philosopher held his own ideas: he believed in a 'veil of ignorance' we had to assume, to forget the privileges and the responsibilities of our place in history." He glanced towards Anakin. "We cannot - nor would it be ethical if we could - simply put this veil on you, but we can knock you all down to the same level, so to speak."

He gestured towards the line on the floor.

"This is our veil; it is where we all begin, before circumstance steps in. Whatever your position in life - wealth, knowledge, midichlorian levels..." Hi, Anakin, "On this line, you have none. And then we begin our count."

Anakin rolled his eyes at the midichlorians and added, "Or your age or Inner Rim accent. We'll ask ten questions, see where you end up ahead or behind the line, and then we'll discuss how your perception on the world affects your reactions to things."

Like how being a slave for almost a decade could leave you with a giant, giant chip on your shoulder, for instance.

Obi-Wan looked faintly amused. "Perhaps we should join them," he said.

Anakin arched up an eyebrow. "I'm up for it if you are."

"It would be setting a good example."

And with that, Obi-Wan strode forward until he was standing on the line.

Comments

Question 2

[sith_happened]

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

Re: Question 2

[saddeserthermit]

'Trying to seem less aggressive so Qui-Gon would stop judging him'* was also against the spirit of this question, and the only thing Obi-Wan could think of, so he didn't move.

* or as normal people would call it, years of insecurity and trying to live up to being someone Qui-Gon would actually accept as a Padawan

Re: Question 2

[sith_happened]

Anakin had been aggressively, irritatingly himself in the face of that sort of pressure. He stayed put.

Re: Question 2

[thegreywaren.livejournal.com]

Ronan stayed where he was. He didn't change for anyone.

Re: Question 2

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

Hah. She supposed this could be a measure of how well she'd avoided being called names. She hadn't tried, she's succeeded.

Karina took one step back and crossed her arms over her chest.

Re: Question 2

[nolizardhere]

Definitely not, unless undercover work counted, which, again, Andros suspected it didn't. So again, he stayed where he was.

Re: Question 2

[gavegoodface]

Apart from the fact he was pretty sure acting didn't count, Face didn't have a very well developed sense of shame either, so he stayed put.

Re: Question 2

[spin_kick_snap]

At least with the last question, she could be resentful. This question had Kathy feeling shamefaced as she took another step backwards.

Re: Question 2

[pasunereveuse.livejournal.com]

This one, though, found Celia taking a step back -- she changed her behavior all the time to avoid consequence, and it had only been once she'd arrived here in Fandom that that had changed.

Re: Question 2

[sarcastic-vamp.livejournal.com]

And that was another step back for Carmilla.

Re: Question 2

[princessarcasm]

This time Amy took a step back.

She was surprised that some people actually stayed in place for this one.

Re: Question 2

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

... This one, she was taking a step back for. Elsa had changed most of who she was, in part because of that fear.

Re: Question 2

[not_a_moonie]

Alana bit her lip on this one. She couldn't decide if covering her wings when she left the island counted. In the end, she took the step.

Re: Question 2

[bjornstjarna.livejournal.com]

... Annnnd again.

Re: Question 2

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

Um, what girl didn't constantly try to change her appearance to fit in with what was pretty, so that she wouldn't be teased? That was another step back for Minako.

Re: Question 2

[wildandbrave]

. . . yes, she'd definitely done that, and this was touching on her childhood in unpleasant, if not uncomfortable, ways. Nothing Cosette couldn't handle, though, so she just took another step back.

Re: Question 2

[notamascot]

Did keeping her marks covered count? Probably. Kaylin took another step back.

Re: Question 2

[thegc161kid.livejournal.com]

This time she took a step back, there had been that whole incident with Libby and the fire alarm in the seventh grade and as a result, she had tried to change who she was to be more popular.

Re: Question 2

[justwantedfriends]

Kira thought about wanting to change her name when she was little, so she sounded less foreign, but she didn't think that counted, so she stayed where she was.

Re: Question 2

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

Eleanor hadn't socialized with other children, and had avoided most of the terrible peer pressure years. She'd changed her appearance, mannerisms and behavior to spite her mother, but that was not at all in the spirit of the exercise. She stayed put.