Hate the story, by the way. I understand that pacifists are unlikely to write stories in which the good guys break open the prison and save the child directly, possibly punching someone out in the process. But still, dammit, walking away is not moral superiority when the child is still suffering.
Long time since I read the story, so I don't recall what was going through the head of the person who walked away.
I think criticizing the story is beside the point of John's post, though. He didn't seem to think much of the people who walked away either. I think he saw the real life situation where folks made one of two bad choices, and compared it to the story wherein folks make one of two bad choices. Whether Le Guin wrote the decision to walk away as a good/bad choice, I honestly don't recall.
As I said in the comment thread there, I agree with you and John Barnes about the story -- but I actually think that makes the parallel work even better. The people who kicked it up the food chain were the ones who "walked away," secure in the sense that it was no longer their fault (even though children continued to be harmed).
Kristine -- there's really no character in the story. It's a parable full of nameless people.
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winterfish
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Date: 2011-11-10 03:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-10 07:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-10 07:07 pm (UTC)Hate the story, by the way. I understand that pacifists are unlikely to write stories in which the good guys break open the prison and save the child directly, possibly punching someone out in the process. But still, dammit, walking away is not moral superiority when the child is still suffering.
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Date: 2011-11-10 07:24 pm (UTC)I think criticizing the story is beside the point of John's post, though. He didn't seem to think much of the people who walked away either. I think he saw the real life situation where folks made one of two bad choices, and compared it to the story wherein folks make one of two bad choices. Whether Le Guin wrote the decision to walk away as a good/bad choice, I honestly don't recall.
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Date: 2011-11-10 09:38 pm (UTC)Kristine -- there's really no character in the story. It's a parable full of nameless people.
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Date: 2011-11-10 09:39 pm (UTC)