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

Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

"Do you feel privileged here? At home? Are the two places drastically different in standards?"

Re: Discussion Question!

[thegreywaren.livejournal.com]

"I know I'm privileged," Ronan said, shrugging. "I don't feel it but I know I am."

Re: Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

"Why don't you think you feel it?" he asked.

Re: Discussion Question!

[notacokeperson.livejournal.com]

"Seconding the whole 'I don't feel privileged' thing, even though I definitely am," Karina said, shrugging slightly. "Which is obviously because I've always been this way, so it doesn't feel special to me, even though I know a lot of people have it way worse."

Re: Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

"What would you need to look at in order to think someone was more privileged than you?" Anakin asked, curious.

Re: Discussion Question!

[nolizardhere]

"I know that by this world's standards I'm very privileged," Andros said slowly, picking his way through his thoughts and trying to figure out how to phrase them. "I come from a technologically advanced society and we weren't lacking for anything. At home I was considered privileged because of, um, a position I held, and now I would...not really be considered privileged at all, because I'm a refugee from an active war zone." So, yeah.

Re: Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded, sympathetic. "It can change throughout your life," he said. "The childhood that set me back so far from the line had very little in common with my life as a young adult where people around the galaxy knew my name and I was used as a bedtime story."

Re: Discussion Question!

[spin_kick_snap]

"According to the exercise, I'm not," Kathy said with a shrug that tried just a liiiittle too hard to be casual. "But it's the kind of lack of privilege that doesn't affect me much? And is balanced out in other ways, I think. At least...kinda-sorta."

That was a helpful response Kathy.

Re: Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

Anakin gave her a sympathetic look. "How is it balanced in other ways?"

Re: Discussion Question!

[pasunereveuse.livejournal.com]

"I feel so much more privileged here than I do at home," Celia offered quietly, "but at home, I know I'm much better off than I could be. Socially, I'm barred from plenty of places because my father and I aren't considered reputable people, and there's so much that I want to do but I'm...restricted against, either on a large social scale or a smaller more...familial scale." She shrugged a shoulder, awkwardly. "Not to cry 'poor little rich girl' too much, because I know I've been lucky."

Re: Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

"But it's still not easy to see others getting luckier," Anakin said. "It can fester."

Re: Discussion Question!

[gavegoodface]

"I'm a human under the Empire," Face said with a shrug. "I was born on one of the nicer Core Worlds and came here from Lorrd, which the Outer Rim goes it's hardly Ryloth or Tattooine. I have enough earnings in trust that if I'm not stupid with spending I don't need to worry about credits. I mightn't be right at the top, but there are a lot of worse places I could be."

Re: Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

"Many," Anakin agreed. "So do you think the exercise placed you properly?"

Re: Discussion Question!

[princessarcasm]

"I'm definitely privileged," Amy said, though it felt weird to put it that way. "I had friends from different socioeconomic situations growing up, so it was always pretty obvious. But I think I tend to forget I have it pretty good in terms of social privilege, too."

Re: Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

"How so?" Anakin asked.

Re: Discussion Question!

[not_a_moonie]

"I feel a little privileged but not that much?" Alana said, trying to work it out. She felt far more marked by her unhappy home life than by the amount of money her father made, but she figured that was outside the spirit of the exercise. "Not really rich, but a long way from poor. It seems like that's about the same here as at home, even if the details are different."

Re: Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

"Which details do you think matter more here?" Anakin asked.

Re: Discussion Question!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"I know I'm privileged by my home's standards and by Fandom's, but both... in very different ways, if that makes sense," Elsa offered. "There are things I had to hide back home that I hide here out of habit, but I know I wouldn't be judged for. And when I don't go around introducing myself as Princess Elsa here, it's not because I'm hiding it, it's because I have the luxury of choice, to present myself as an equal or somebody of higher social standing, and I don't want to be seen as more than my classmates. It would be... privileged, but lonely, I think. It's alienating, but not in a way that holds me back so much as it suggests that other people should consider themselves lower than me, and that's not what I want."

Re: Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded along as she spoke. "What do you think would happen if you introduced yourself to the next group of students to arrive as Princess Elsa, rather than just Elsa?"

Re: Discussion Question!

[bjornstjarna.livejournal.com]

"At home, I feel privileged now, because of more recent developments, but growing up, things were- difficult." Still were, in some ways, but he had his friends and didn't worry overmuch what society at large thought about him. "Here- I don't feel as if I am something other, apart from my classmates, and that in and of itself is a kind of privilege."

Re: Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

"I felt the same way when I was a student," Anakin said. "Not as...pre-judged...as I did at home. It was freeing."

Re: Discussion Question!

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

Minako waved from her three steps back. "I'm back here, but I don't feel underprivileged," she confessed cheerfully. "I have a good life, even if it's stressful sometimes. Tokyo is such a huge city, and Japan is a very population-dense country with such big socioeconomic differences, and I like who I am and I know it could be so much worse."

Re: Discussion Question!

[sith_happened]

"Do you think the questions give us an accurate representation of your life?" Anakin asked.

Re: Discussion Question!

[notamascot]

Kaylin shrugged. "I wasn't privileged back home. So?" Her chin was up and her hands were on her hips.

"That's just the way things are sometimes. And sure as all the hells wasn't as bad off as some people were in the fiefs."

Re: Discussion Question!

[nobloodymessiah.livejournal.com]

"I feel privileged here simply because it isn't home," Eleanor said, lifting her shoulders. "Home was ... complicated. But the situation that counted as least privileged -- Mother in jail, and Aunt Grace scrabbling for money to care for me -- felt the most like a blessing. Because I had Aunt Grace."