Comments on: Annotated 24-2

By: T

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 14:27:31 +0000

My desire and intent was always to treat kobolds as somewhat humanoid but not entitled to more rights than a fox in the henhouse, which was the only role they took on in any appearance they made, whereas orcs' enslavement was presented as a civil-rights issue from the very beginning. Flo and Erica may've felt differently at the start; Flo definitely did by the end. So we did make the mistake of thinking we were on the same page until it was too late to do anything about it. Had I anticipated how the discussion would go, I would've pushed for the kobolds not to use clothes and tools, not because I think those are proof of sapience but because they affected many others' interpretations. So I could call that a mistake, too. I've got to come to the same bottom line I reached the last time this came up, and the time before that. By my lights, there is not enough material about the kobolds to prove their sapience*-- but there is definitely not enough to disprove it, either. As you argue elsewhere, just running around and stealing human stuff without creating anything themselves is a role sometimes assigned to native societies in colonial fictions or accounts. So it basically comes down to what you choose to believe. And I can't really stomach the idea of our heroes blithely butchering kobolds the way they do every time kobolds show up if they're actually participating in genocide of a bunch of sapient beings. I prefer my heroes to be the ones opposing the genocides, thanks! *You're right about this word, by the way.

By: marillius

marillius — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 11:57:31 +0000

Ironic that you’re argument for the orcs here runs so counter to your argument against the kobolds. It makes it all the more clear your arguments were meant to avoid accepting the mistake you made rather then actual desire or intent.

‘Sapient rights shouldn’t be alienable by an intelligence test.’

‘But also these kobolds are so stupid they can’t even farm and only know how to wear pants and use tools so…’

By: Keiranhalcyon31

Keiranhalcyon31 — Fri, 08 May 2020 09:00:57 +0000

Well, my initial reaction went about like this: “That guy looks familiar….” “Ardaic…?” “No, it’s gotta be a bluff.” And subsequently, much of what Sahara said.

By: Lurklen

Lurklen — Thu, 07 May 2020 05:43:36 +0000

Thanks for letting me know.

By: T

Wed, 06 May 2020 21:06:28 +0000

Wasn’t you. Somebody else requested a deletion of their own post.