The point I was making, was that you were judging all people with Down’s Syndrome, because of a bad expereince with one person. You said "any empathy for THEM" grouping all of them together. No one had claimed people with Downs or mental illness or of the same culture are the same. Yet your first statement made clear this is exactly what you thought in this case. You also implied others should feel the same.
Blaster didnt look like he needed "medicare" to me! Blaster was a survivor, he clearly had the mental age of a child so he formed a symbiosis with Master, who it was clear he shared a strong emotional bond. Master wouldnt have survived without him, he was too weak, Bartertown would have eaten him alive before he could be could show his genius, which in turn, allowed Bartertown to thrive. Blaster was NOT in control of his actions and was controlled by MAster, for good or bad, just like any weapon. Still, I’d rather face Blaster than a skinny guy with a colt .45!
Humungus was a boon, to his people? Yes, until they were wiped out in HIS pointless pursuit for power (Max 2). He was a ruthless dictator, his plan was for conquest at any cost. He didn’t look like someone trying to restore civilisation, just to take as much as he could and burn the rest.
I’m guessing you found Bartertown soceity tolerable or at least would justify it as the only alternative in the wasteland. The parallels between this and other extremist states (particularly Nazi Germany or Stalinisst Russia), were clear. would you choose to live in such a state or leave and try and live on your own terms?
Intelligent, social animals will care for sick pack members even if there is NO benefit for themselves and when food is in short supply. Why? Compassion and empathy isnt something you can turn on and off, this isn’t an option with most people, they may choose to sacrifice another out of the most extreme necessity. Yet you would, with a mind to social Darwinism (eugenics), which I find interesting.
"A slave obeys a man decides"
reply
share
BenGrimms_Thing
15 years ago
I don't believe I mentioned or alluded to eugenics at all. A weak, primitive society doesn't need to waste resources on the infirm. Notice that it took our own a whole lot of evolving in order to put people in need of that much help in a situation to receive anything more than food and shelter.
Blaster survived because Master gave him the opportunity to, period. If you were in the same situation as Max, you'd also have a pistol and equal chance to win the match. This conversation still is about what you would do in the Thunderdome against a physically superior foe.
Yes Hummungus was a boon to his people. People that included the likes of Wez, and mindless worms and marauders. You think they would have lasted as long as they did without him? I certainly didn't infer that he was trying to do anything other than get every resource he could for his own use.
You are guessing wrong. Stop trying to analyze me and my words, just read them and take in what I am saying. I don't have to cry for every person in a sorrier state than I. No one else has to either. My initial post was only pointing that out. We are programmed to look at the disabled, cry for their situation, then give ourselves a pat on the back for being so empathetic. I assert that not everyone should be expected to feel that way. That is all.
reply
share
virtual-light
15 years ago
You ignore that Blaster wasnt infirm, had survived in Bartertown and, since he protected Master, had also benefited the people of Bartertown. Because it doesnt support your arguments. You have a fixed view of a group of people because of one experience and refuse to let reality (or the events presented in the film) get in the way. This is bigoted. If you had expressed the same hate towards black people or any racial or religious group you would have been reviled and attacked, quite rightly so.
"I don't believe I mentioned or alluded to eugenics at all. A weak, primitive society doesn't need to waste resources on the infirm" and yet what you said in this post confirms your earlier responses. So you’re saying you disagree with eugenics theory?(That disabled people should be prevented from reproducing or killed, if they are a drain on society)
Master only survived because of Blasters strength. Body and mind get it? I didnt see many other egghead types without protection around, did you?
"Yes Hummungus was a boon to his people." Ignoring the fact they were destroyed because of him… In all probability they would have survived in another group without a meglomaniac leader.
No this conversation is about if you had BEATEN Blaster, and he was at your mercy (events in the film). Max chose to sacrifice himself because of compassion for another, contrasting Max with the brutality people of Bartertown.
You have a fixed world view, you value intelligence as the means to survival, adaption to the enviroment you live in is FAR more important. Blaster had adapted thanks to Master. Master had survived because of Blaster. Thats how societies work, each surviving thanks to others individual strengths, be they physical or mental.
You tell others because of your experience not to trust their experience and we should care any more for those less able to protect themselves. Yes most people are "programmed" to feel protective toward people weaker than ourselves, this is a normal human reaction. Empathy itself is an adaptive trait vital for the survival of groups of people, without it societies break down. People without this trait are far more of a threat to a group than those with mental retardation will ever be. If I see a disabled person picked on because of their handicap (mental or physical) I step in & support them and it has *beep* all to do with giving myself "a pat on the back ".
"A slave obeys a man decides"
reply
share
BenGrimms_Thing
15 years ago
Please continue to read in to all of my statements regardless of my asking you to take them for what is actually being stated. I refuse to continue this pointless, repetitive diatribe. Good day.
reply
share
Karl Aksel
13 years ago
Intelligent, social animals will care for sick pack members even if there is NO benefit for themselves and when food is in short supply.
ONLY when there are sufficient resources to do so. If not, the sick will be left behind. We see this in the animal world, and we see this throughout human history. Infants born with obvious defects have often been left in the woods, or simply killed and buried in the back yard, precisely because they are a liability. In ancient Rome infants had no rights until they were a year old: this law existed precisely so that parents could perform a "neonatal abortion" for whatever reason. But you needn't go nearly as far back in time for this to have been common practice. It's still going on, some places.
reply
share