032. [Text]

[explosivecombat]

[...and it seems it's time for another round of Horribly Inappropriate Questions, with your host: This Asshole.]

You know, a while ago I posited to the network that this world is based around battle culture – admittedly a softer, watered-down version of it, but battle culture nonetheless. One's power is assumed based on the strength of their personal army; one's social status is determined by how many gym leaders they've managed to defeat, or how easily they can crush those who stand in the way of what they want. It's interesting to me that such a society should likewise be based around a message of love, peace and tolerance; one would think that for the sheer amount of destruction that everyone's carrying around within arm's distance, this place would have dissolved into anarchy long ago.

Equally interesting is the stance on war that most seem to have taken here; even the locals seem opposed to it, overall. I have to wonder why – what it is about this place in particular that makes the idea of war and conflict so abhorrent to all within it.

Ah, but it's entirely likely that it's a matter of points of view, isn't it? I'm from a militaristic society, personally, so war and conflict seem to be the natural state of things – are most nations generally pacifistic like this? Or is this abnormal even by your standards as one of the..."foreigners", I believe they like to call us?

I'm interested in answers, though I can take or leave identities; answer anonymously if you wish, but even if you don't, you know what they say about glass houses.

[...You know, there are some things that never change. Yes, Kimblee, everyone here probably does get mad about genocide; either way, happy birthday, you crazy son of a bitch. If this is how you're going to spend this evening, you are more than welcome to do so.]

Comments

[explosivecombat]

Why not?

[bertall]

How?

[explosivecombat]

Presumably, I knew what I was doing when I carried out those actions. Given that I chose to carry them out anyway, I could obviously see some benefit to doing so at the time - why would I regret doing something that I thought would be for the best? Even if it turned out not to be, I can't bring myself to regret acting in my own self-interest.

What was done hardly matters; what matters is why. Things happen because I choose to allow them to happen; I'm in control of my own fate, and there's no sense in pretending otherwise. I chose my path based on what information was available to me - why should I regret looking out for myself?

[bertall]

And if you don't know why you had to do it?

...I won't go into detail about it here, but I did something when I was a kid. Think eleven or so. Someone had to do it, but I didn't really understand why, just that I was one of the few that had the power.

I just don't know how people can do something like that and not feel any regret. I... I'd give almost anything to be like that, even if it was just for a little while.

[explosivecombat]

Why you had to doesn't matter, because in the end, you don't have to do anything. Everything that happens to you is the result of conscious choice, remember, and no one truly has control over you unless you give it to them. Even if your options are "do this or die" with regards to a choice you don't like making, you're acting in your own self-interest either way - either you consider your life worth saving, or you consider it better to die than compromise yourself.

What matters, then, is why you chose to do what it is you've done. I've just explained how even coercion leaves you with a choice, so if it was that sort of situation, then you did what you thought was necessary. Or perhaps you liked the power; you liked being special, you liked doing what no one else could. I don't need to explain how that's acting for yourself.