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Posted by Ruilan on May 30, 19100 at 07:52:47:
Tal and greetings.. I read an article recently sent me about accusations that Goreans are actually
much like the Nazi. To this person and other alarmists and the moralizers, with
their cries of "Gorean is to be a Nazi!" and "The Nazis are coming!" and "God
despises such hatred!", I say take your empty pretense and self-righteous
indignation and put them where the sun don't shine. This is not a new
accusation about Goreans. *s* This seems to float to the surface every once in
a while. Such self-righteous indignation is nothing but empty pretense. Originally
such accusations stem from such people hearing about or even reading the
actual reference in the books (yes there are really books) that Goreans support
Euthanasia. I can just see the knee-jerk reactions as THAT word floats into the
moralist vision. The fact is that religion and its various connotations are not the
issue in contention. What your personal religion dictates that you do has little
to do with the Gorean philosophy as a whole. Yes there is a reference to
Euthanasia in the books. The Alars apparently practiced it. Not ALL Goreans
practice it. But... some do. Because in some Gorean cultures, there is a valid
and accepted reason for it to be practiced. Not the old hoary reasons such
moralist dredge up and label as nazism to promote their own moralistic and
personal belief? *s* Damn huh? Lets address what the books actually say. The
context. The Alars were adapted, perfectly and in almost every detail, from an
actual roving people known as the "Avars" (Norman only changed one letter)
which actually existed here on Earth. It was a barbaric, tribal people which
existed in Europe concurrently with the Vandals and Visigoths and other
"northern barbarians" during the latter days of the Roman Empire. Goreans in
the books kill one another in every book in the series. They torture one
another, often to death. They stake one another down to die in the grasslands.
They abandon people in the deep Tahari without water. They throw slaves, tied
hand and foot, into the canals to drown, they feed people to sleens, they impale
and execute and sometimes they just kill whoever happens to be standing
nearby because they happened to have had a lousy day. You see killing is quite
Gorean. It is also a human practice. Right, wrong, immoral or righteous or
whatever it is a fact and that can't be changed no matter how much any of us
might like to change that. It exists today, it existed yesterday and will exist
tomorrow. I can here the bushes moving now. *s* Anyone care to dispute that
one with me? If so, bring your facts. Bring real evidence. I don't want to hear
about how this quote or this practice was this way and that way. I don't want
to hear about how "Goreans value their property", or "the folks in these parts
rarely kill for sport" or "whole scale warfare is Gorean neither in theory or in
practice." I don't want to hear about how if we all just learn to get along all our
conflicts will go away and the world will be a wonderful and caring place. Bring
real facts that can definitively say that Goreans in the books, or Human for real
have not through history killed each other on a whole scale level. I spoke about context so I will get back to addressing it. Who will say that
killing doesn't exist?? What can be the justification to argue that such killing is
acceptable, whereas euthanasia is not? I don't need to hear the tripe about a
Nazi plot to take over on-line Gor or who said what to who when speaking to
them or what you learned at bible school. You can keep all that crap to
yourself. I am not addressing it. It is not the issue. I am not interested in
discussing it. I am interested in hearing concrete evidence. I am interested in
hearing valid opinions based on truth. If you support Gor, you support the
philosophical doctrine which gives rise to most of the actions which occur in
those books. You might not agree with every one of them, but you must
understand why those actions are performed. You cannot pick and choose at
random "I like this so this is Gorean, I do not like that so that is not." That
defeats the purpose of learning about Gor in the first place. One thing that
happens a lot in those books is killing. You cannot say "it is always wrong to
kill" if you would kill a cow to eat its meat, or eat meat which came from one.
You cannot say "it is always wrong to kill" and throw paint at the people in fur
coats if you are wearing leather shoes. You cannot say "it is always wrong to
kill" if you are a vegetarian, unless you eat only vegetables which do not require
you to kill the plant they come from during harvesting. *s* You can actually
"say" these things but you must add a qualifying statement. You see if you are
going to make such moralistic pronouncements you need to have the courage
of your convictions. I suspect that those that use the vehicle of morality to stand
in judgment of others would be well advised to look at themselves and see if
they the reflection in the mirror isn't the slightest be self-revealatory. I am not fond of pretense, it seems to me that you cannot simply say "killing is
wrong" while agreeing with the existence of the death penalty. You cannot say
"euthanasia is wrong" while supporting abortion. Or...can you? I suppose
anyone can qualify anything. All you lose in doing so is your conscience and
your common sense. When you use qualifiers to support your moral views and
unsupported accusations and innuendo you lose your right to to be taken
seriously. If you continue to make such pronouncements you become a
hypocrite. You lose credibility. Before we judge, let us at least examine the
evidence. To those that would liken Gor to Nazism lighten up and learn to dig a
bit deeper, and think before you make moral pronouncements. You might be
surprised at what you learn. Then you can make all the judgments your heart
desires. But at least consider the facts of the matter, the historical and
humanitarian precedents, and understand that of which you speak. Half baked
"facts' and references out of context to fit a preconceived agenda poorly
researched or supported will be and should be given little or no regard. It is
easy to make accusations and hide behind morality. It is easy. Is it right? *s*
We are all of course welcome to our own opinions. I for one just simply refuse
to let such accusations and innuendo unsupported slip past. I suggest that the
person who penned the article should spend their time being constructive rather
than destructive. I wish you well....Ruilan
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