Ethics, Wednesday

[saddeserthermit]

When the students arrived, they'd find the teachers up at the front of the classroom as usual. Anakin, not like usual, was eating a giant bar of chocolate.

"Good morning, everyone," he said, smirking slightly.

Obi-Wan, rather more like usual, was looking faintly exasperated about Anakin in general. "Envy can be a dangerous emotion," he said. "Driving some of the worst impulses in sentient nature. For instance, today, you might be feeling envious about your neighbor, as we have given half of you chocolate bars, and the other half of you-- nothing."

"Really good, really big chocolate bars," Anakin said because he enjoyed piling on. "Now those of you who don't have anything...well, you didn't have anything when you came in, and you really had no expectation of getting a treat coming to class, but that's probably not what it feels like right now, is it?"

"Life rarely allows us a level playing field," Obi-Wan said, "and even when it does, the outcomes are never fair. How do you deal with that? If you do not have chocolate, will you let the envy ruin your class? If you do, will you gloat or share? Is it simply a case of saying 'too bad' to your classmates, or are you driven by some desire to even the scales?"

"And if you're unmoved by free sweets, think back to our exercise in privilege and think of something that you don't have that others take for granted, or the reverse," Anakin said. "Because, as Master Kenobi says, this isn't really about the chocolate."

"To conclude," Obi-Wan said, "How will you cope?"

It sounded like the end of the lecture-- except it was followed five seconds later with, "Anakin, stop eating chocolate in front of the students."

Comments

Sign In!

[saddeserthermit]

Alternating with chocolate or none!

Listen to the Lecture

[saddeserthermit]

Oooh, chocolate.

Discussion Question

[saddeserthermit]

Life's not fair and that sucks. How do you stop yourself from being jealous of what someone else has? And how do you react when you're the have to someone else's have-not?

Talk to the Teachers

[saddeserthermit]

One of which is trying to keep the other from looking too smug about the chocolate.

OOC

[saddeserthermit]

Re: Sign In!

[good_for_six]

Isabela, chocolate.

Re: Sign In!

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

Jasper Dent, none

Re: Discussion Question

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

Jealousy hadn't ever been that big an issue for Jasper. What he felt jealous over were big things, huge things that he would never be rid of.

"Distract myself," he said for lack of anything better. "If I'm not thinking of what I'm jealous of, then I won't be jealous anymore."

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[sith_happened]

Yeah, good luck with that, Obi-Wan. "Want one?" Anakin offered. "This one has crispy things in it that aren't bugs!"

Anakin's threshold for "yummy" was still pretty low.

Re: Discussion Question

[sith_happened]

"Is this a count your blessings sort of thing?" Anakin asked. "I have food and shelter and shoes, so I don't need chocolate? Or is it more like you're thinking of the twenty cutest girls in schools instead of chocolate?"

Re: Sign In!

[that_oldsaying]

Alluka Zoldyck, chocolate!

Re: Discussion Question

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

"The latter," Jasper said, shrugging. "Distraction's easy enough to achieve. I don't really care that much about chocolate either."

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan facepalmed. "No, Anakin," he said, "And I'll have you know that tempting the students who got no chocolate at all is rather petty."

Re: Sign In!

[cracksmostly]

Merrill, none

Re: Sign In!

[bestatmystery]

Lottie Grote, chocolate!

Re: Discussion Question

[bestatmystery]

"I for one would like to share," Lottie said, breaking her chocolate bar into pieces. "Because it's the nice thing to do but also mostly because my family tends towards bein' well padded and this chocolate would play right into the fat banshee's sneaky hands."

Lottie's was a special sort of logic, yes.

Re: Discussion Question

[saddeserthermit]

"The... fat banshee's sneaky hands?" Obi-Wan prompted, after a long pause.

Re: Discussion Question

[bestatmystery]

"The evil spirit who goes around and force feeds teen girls muffins in their sleep to make them round."

Re: Discussion Question

[saddeserthermit]

"Right," Obi-Wan said, after another short silence. "And this is a great danger in your world...?"

Re: Discussion Question

[bestatmystery]

Lottie shrugged. "Probably. We've got plenty of other evil spirits to contend with."

Re: Discussion Question

[saddeserthermit]

"Pragmatic, as well as kind," Obi-Wan said. "That is... quite good, yes. Thank you, Lottie."

This place.

Re: Discussion Question

[sith_happened]

Anakin looked confused by that. "You don't like chocolate?"

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[sith_happened]

Anakin shrugged because yeah, it was totally petty. "I was trying to be sure they felt the envy."

Re: Discussion Question

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

"I didn't say I didn't like it," Jasper pointed out. "Just that I don't care much about it."

Re: Discussion Question

[sith_happened]

"In the 'not having chocolate isn't like having cancer' way?" Anakin asked.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Anakin," he repeated.

Re: Discussion Question

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

"Why is this such a thing for you?" Jasper asked, shaking his head. "It's not a big deal."

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[sith_happened]

"What?" Anakin said, popping another square into his mouth. "It's good."

Re: Discussion Question

[sith_happened]

"Because if chocolate's not working, I'm wondering what prop would make the point better," Anakin replied.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[saddeserthermit]

"Taunting the students is not going to have any net positive results," Obi-Wan said, "Besides someone choosing to glitter bomb us again."

Re: Discussion Question

[ihuntkillers.livejournal.com]

You don't want to know.

"Whatever prop you use, my answer's gonna be the same," Jasper told him, shrugging. "I'll just distract myself."

Re: Discussion Question

[sith_happened]

It has been a while since there's been a no sex for you week...

Ahem.

"You are an example to us all," Anakin said.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[sith_happened]

"There was no us on the last glitter bombing," Anakin pointed out.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[saddeserthermit]

"And with that remark, I retract my objection," Obi-Wan said, "and hope you will be glitter bombed very soon."

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[sith_happened]

Anakin made a face at him. "And just when I was going to share the chocolate, too."

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[saddeserthermit]

"I don't want the chocolate," Obi-Wan sighed, "I would just like you to act professional."

Like they ever managed that.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[sith_happened]

Anakin looked at him. "Did you fall and hit your head this weekend?"

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan shot him back a dry look.

"I realize this is a futile hope," he said, "but perhaps if I voice it aloud enough times, the galaxy will tilt on its axis and begin to run backwards, and the Force will take pity on us all."

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[sith_happened]

"That seems terribly unlikely," Anakin said, holding out one of the chocolate bars, "but it does provide candy."

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan gave him a Look over the chocolate.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[sith_happened]

Anakin gave him what he hoped was an endearing smile in reply.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[saddeserthermit]

"That is terrifying," Obi-Wan decided.

Mostly because it was better than 'that's working'.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[sith_happened]

"Hey," Anakin said, frowning hard. "It's not terrifying! I smile! I smile a lot!"

This was not true.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[saddeserthermit]

How much 'this was not true' could Obi-Wan communicate just by shooting Anakin a Look?

Because he had quite a large catalogue of Looks.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[sith_happened]

Anakin burst out laughing. "Haven't seen that look in a while," he said.

Re: Talk to the Teachers

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan sighed.

"I will have one piece of the chocolate," he said, "And then you're going to put it away."

Re: Sign In!

[stacyexperiment]

Gwen Stacy, none :(