Ave, NSG. I hope you're all having a nice day.
As we all know, this summer tens of thousands of Germanic Peoples have arrived at the Danube River. It's pretty big news in my part of the empire, anyway (I live in Split btw, it's in Illyria). For those who don't know, here's what's happening- tens of thousands of refugees (mainly Gothi) are being forced out of their homelands by Hunnic invaders. The Huns are without remorse threatening to slaughter entire tribes of these poor people- men, women and children are being killed as I type this, I fear. This is awful! Why do these people deserve to die? They've done nothing wrong, they were just sitting in their homelands and then the Gothi came and terrorised them.
So, logically, the Gothi have desperately been trying to cross the Danube river. But guess what? The Roman army is blocking their way! That's our army, blocking the way of innocent women and children who are getting slaughtered. They've even pleaded to be let in, saying they'll come into the Empire and work hard like any citizen. I don't see any reason why we shouldn't let them in- they're fleeing trouble, they'll probably return across the Danube once the Huns have ceased threatening them and they'll help the Empire. These Gothic men are great fighters- they are a warrior culture, after all- and our military has been going downhill for some time. Also, do you remember when the Danube and the Rhine hosted bustling cities and were breadbaskets for the empire? That changed because of plague and famine-related depopulation in the last century, but that is over now. Why don't we resettle the Rhine and the Danube with these Gothic refugees? It'll boost productivity and population there. Hell, even the heart of the empire in Italia has poor birthrates that these refugees could help.
I tried discussing this with an Equestrian I knew to see what he thought, and I received the most bigoted response I have ever heard. He claimed that these people were different from us, that they weren't compatible with Roman society. He even called them Barbarians! Why would someone use that slur towards a culture which is just as sophisticated as the Roman one? And what is Roman culture, anyway? Grapes, uncivilised gladiator fights and a history of foreign aggression which we're somehow proud of? Let's face it- Rome has no more culture than the Germanic peoples. We are not any more civilised than the Teutons. Look, we even invaded their countries too- look what Augustus did as Emperor! That was monstrous, and I'm glad he failed at conquering Germania.
Plus, societies and their standards are culturally relative. What makes people think that a people who actually want to come here won't assimilate? The Gauls, Africans and Illyrians have all done an excellent job at assimilating into the Empire, and they were subjugated without their consent. What makes the Germanic peoples so different from the Gauls of old, who became some of the most upstanding citizens in the Empire? Plus, they contributed a lot to our culture too- Rome is a melting pot at this point. Suggesting the Germanic culture is somehow lesser than or incompatible to ours is bigotry, plain and simple. Plus, for the people thinking they'll just come and live off free bread- what makes you think that? They work in their homelands, why not here? The opposition to these refugees coming into the empire is based on false notions of protecting heritage and arguments that we shouldn't help people because it's "not economically feasable". People should just get over themselves and their unfounded xenophobia. It's THREE SEVENTY-SIX, for crying out loud!
I'm so passionate about letting in these helpless refugees, I'm going to try and write a petition to Emperor Valens who, Sol bless him, is already considering letting them in. What do you guys think about the refugees coming into the empire? I really hope the Roman army lets them across the Danube and society can learn to accept these new people's way of life without harassing them while they're within our borders. After all, they really pose no threat, right guys? I'm sure you'll agree.
