...which is something that would never happen in the real world.
The Shadows Were Right - (B5 Spoilers)
- Thread starter Brent
- Start date
...which is something that would never happen in the real world.
I'm reminded of Mr. Ecko's backstory on Lost. The way that African warlord demanded that his brother shoot someone. Ecko snatched the gun away and shot the man himself----to spare his brother from having to do it.
Was that the "right" thing to do? Certainly not. But of many bad options, it was the one which best protected his brother, and that was what was most important to him just then.
Was that the "right" thing to do? Certainly not. But of many bad options, it was the one which best protected his brother, and that was what was most important to him just then.
You are blameless, in that case. It's the other person who's doing evil. They have no right to draw you into the equation. If you do nothing, and they follow through with their threat, it's still their fault, not yours. *They* chose to kill a thousand people. You did nothing.
Besides, anyone who would under any circumstances kill a thousand people is not to be trusted anyway. What if you do what they say, and they still kill?
The same analogy applies, really. Did Churchill himself order the attack? No.
You're on a Star Trek bboard, ya know. Leave the real world outside and join the discussion.
No good. He has his finger on a button that will kill the 1,000 people instantly, without taking his eyes off you. You have no hope of saving them, period.
Dude, they're thought experiments, ya gotta go with the spirit of the argument.
If you're talking vigilantism? Yes, it is.
Then work to change the system from within. Vigilantism equals mob violence equals chaos.
Sometimes a little chaos is necessary. Remember it's about finding the balance between the two. "Changing the system from within" won't get you very far if you're living under a class/caste/creed/gender restrictive system or an old fashioned totalitarian regime. Vigilantism may be by definition criminal, but being criminal doesn't make it either wrong or evil. Of course "evil", "criminal" and "wrong" are separate concepts and don't necessarily mean or result in the same thing.
Just as in B5 Delenn is as responsible for the Centauri bombing of Narn as she is for the Earth-Minbari War. In the first instance, she chose the lesser of two "evils" and in the second she didn't consider her words due to extreme emotional stress.
NOTE: I'm not saying she's solely responsible for those two events, just equally responsible.
Yeah, that's just a coward's excuse for inaction. "It's not my fault, I just watched them do it." isn't a very compelling defence. As for Churchill, as leader of a country at war, he was responsible for every decision he makes, whatever the circumstances or outcome.
Just as in B5 Delenn is as responsible for the Centauri bombing of Narn as she is for the Earth-Minbari War. In the first instance, she chose the lesser of two "evils" and in the second she didn't consider her words due to extreme emotional stress.
NOTE: I'm not saying she's solely responsible for those two events, just equally responsible.
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Well, probably, yeah, but it is a situation in which it would be arguably justifiable.
Did he let people die when he could have stopped it? And by the way, I'm sure there will have been many bombings that he did order too, does that make him evil, if not then what makes the people bombing Coventry evil?
Dude, I'm watching The Wire right now. The show which demonstrates just how much "the system" resists change, even when pressure is applied from all quarters to fix it.
Well of course that show would, wouldn't it? It's written that way.
As far as changing the system goes, it's better than the alternative.
