Ethics, Thursday

[saddeserthermit]

Today the classroom's desks were shoved to the sides of the room and a white tape was going down the middle. Anakin and Obi-Wan were standing on it. "Today we're going to explore how assumptions we make about how we interact with the world might not be universal," Anakin began.

"This is a class we teach every year," Obi-Wan said, "In an effort to communicate the principle of privilege. Privilege is a complicated concept, which touches each of us in different ways: depending on which planet we are on and what era it is, simple things such as skin tone, education, wealth, ethnicity and so on may make our lives harder or easier. One may experience privilege for one element of one's self, and lose it for another. And so forth."

Anakin nodded. "Since Fandom covers the gamut of space and time," and has a statistically unusual number of orphans, "it's very difficult to get a group of questions that accurately reflect the challenges and the privileges in your life. I would ask that you answer as honestly as you can. Master Kenobi and I, as always, will participate as well. Though we both became Jedi, which is a group of privilege in our galaxy, we grew up quite differently."

"If you are uncomfortable with the assignment, you are allowed to sit it out," Obi-Wan continued. "Please tell us if this is the case."

"Everyone else, stand on the line, please," Anakin said.

Comments

Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[saddeserthermit]

Where are you? Ahead of, or behind the line? By how much?

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[saddeserthermit]

Four steps ahead of the line. Well, that was only fair, Obi-Wan decided.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[rebelseekspizza]

Two steps back.

"Whatever," Dante said, wandering away from the line after a moment or two. "Who cares?"

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[giveherahand]

Mara was four steps ahead...with Master Kenobi.

The Emperor would not be pleased with that. The new Order was supposed to be better than the old one.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[era_two_triangle]

At four steps behind the line, Peridot was looking distinctly unimpressed.

"This was stupid," she declared.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan glanced her way. "Why do you say so?" he asked.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[era_two_triangle]

"Because these questions were clearly created with organic life forms from a very specific societal structure in mind," she replied, not bothering to keep the annoyance from her voice. "How is my standing back here any more indicative of my privilege than your standing up there might be? Most of these questions were irrelevant to my situation."

She waved a hand around.

"Everything I need in order to know my place in Gem society is," she gestured to the large Peridot stone on her forehead, "right here. Questions about parents and gender don't mean anything to a race of beings who are made, not born. I feel I need to question the objectivity and scientific accuracy of this experiment. Was I the control group, or an unexpected variable?"

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[saddeserthermit]

"No, you are right. This exercise," Obi-Wan said, hiding a small smile behind his beard, "Is clearly ample proof of a bias towards humans in this experiment. By us, and its original designers. A... human privilege, so to speak."

Not intentionally, no. But it rather illustrated the point.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[era_two_triangle]

"So... it was created as a means for humans to elevate themselves above other species?"

Peridot was kind of missing the point. But it seemed like a safe conclusion to draw, considering the fact that she wasn't even the only non-human in the room.

And the fact that she was four steps behind the line.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[sith_happened]

One ahead. Huh. That was better than he usually did.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[snipsnspecks]

Ahsoka aimed the Force equivalent of a friendly elbow in the ribs at him. It would have been her actual elbow, but she had some sense of classroom appropriateness.

"We're in better company than Master Kenobi."

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[sith_happened]

Anakin snorted. "Not so loudly, Snips."

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[snipsnspecks]

Ahsoka's expression was suitably chastised, which was to say not at all. Though she did lower her voice before replying. "We might need to come up with a rescue plan for him."

Ahsoka, no.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[sith_happened]

Anakin's covered his next laugh a little better. "Really."

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[snipsnspecks]

Four forward and three back left Ahsoka one in front of the line, though it wasn't hard to realise that at another point in time she'd be standing closer to Obi-Wan instead of beside Anakin.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[boneyard_girl]

Ada was four steps behind the line, right next to Peridot, and looking distinctly unimpressed.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[sith_happened]

"Not your favorite?" Anakin guessed.

It was like he could pick up on feelings or something!

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[boneyard_girl]

"Not sure whatever coulda given you that idea," she said sweetly, but the smile was nowhere near reaching her eyes.

She wasn't even trying to fake it.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[sith_happened]

"What part of the exercise made you the most uncomfortable?" Anakin asked.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[crimson_sister]

Lucille was four steps ahead. Granted, she hadn't been entirely truthful, but it still showed how little this mean to her life.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[spell_chucker]

Khadgar was ahead of the line by one step, which put him right next to Anakin and Ahsoka. "I can't tell if this is a good place to be or not."

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[goforthe_optics]

". . . huh. I actually expected to be behind the line, not on it," Tali admimtted. "But that makes sense if I think about it: the privileges I have among my own people aren't many to begin with, and get cancelled out on a galactic scale. I just hadn't considered it from that perspective before."

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[studyingfear]

Five steps forward.

Rufus looked and realized he was ahead of pretty much everyone else.

This... did not particularly surprise him.

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[vrajna_kralis]

Hyacinthe looked at the line, four steps ahead of where he was standing, and shrugged. Honestly, he was only surprised there weren't more. "I do not understand what this was meant to prove," he said. "I am a half-blood bastard from one of the poorest neighborhoods in my city. I already know where I fall in society."

Re: Assignment: Privilege - The Line

[notfinnyet]

"I thought I would be farther forward," FN-2187, who was one step ahead of the line, admitted. "We're always being told how honored and privileged we are to be able to serve the First Order in cadet training, and how much worse off most of the galaxy has it under the New Republic, so," he shrugged.