Hypothetical: A Crippled Annie

[The New California Republic]

Petition to get IM to add 'roll into the duckpond and quietly drown' as a poll option.

[Infected Mushroom]

Why does everyone want to commit suicide in this thread?

There's a not-insignificant chance that the character we are asked to be is really a genocidal war-criminal named Witch Annie (or Witch Hitler, depending on perspective).

IRL, we as people don't want to commit suicide (and if anyone does, there are links at the top of NSG -- sorry to break the game; my responsibility has to come out periodically, given the topic). It's just the woman we are being asked to play.

Since “IRL” you’re not suicidal (by your own admission) and I suspect it’s the case for the vocal pond posters, I don’t consider the pond option a serious one

Hence why it’s in “other” along with all other silly/tongue in cheek/edge answers

It’s not a serious option compared to the other posters (more than half) that have tried to realistically deal with this thread and actually imagine their IRL in the setup

[Ifreann]

There's a not-insignificant chance that the character we are asked to be is really a genocidal war-criminal named Witch Annie (or Witch Hitler, depending on perspective).

IRL, we as people don't want to commit suicide (and if anyone does, there are links at the top of NSG -- sorry to break the game; my responsibility has to come out periodically, given the topic). It's just the woman we are being asked to play.

Since “IRL” you’re not suicidal (by your own admission) and I suspect it’s the case for the vocal pond posters, I don’t consider the pond option a serious one

Hence why it’s in “other” along with all other silly/tongue in cheek/edge answers

It’s not a serious option compared to the other posters (more than half) that have tried to realistically deal with this thread and actually imagine their IRL in the setup

I don't know why you expect people to realistically deal with an extremely unrealistic scenario.

[The New California Republic]

There's a not-insignificant chance that the character we are asked to be is really a genocidal war-criminal named Witch Annie (or Witch Hitler, depending on perspective).

IRL, we as people don't want to commit suicide (and if anyone does, there are links at the top of NSG -- sorry to break the game; my responsibility has to come out periodically, given the topic). It's just the woman we are being asked to play.

Since “IRL” you’re not suicidal (by your own admission) and I suspect it’s the case for the vocal pond posters, I don’t consider the pond option a serious one

Hence why it’s in “other” along with all other silly/tongue in cheek/edge answers

It’s not a serious option compared to the other posters (more than half) that have tried to realistically deal with this thread and actually imagine their IRL in the setup

Oh trust me I'm very serious about doing it in this scenario. You may like to think that I'm not, but that's not the same thing.

[The Free Joy State]

There's a not-insignificant chance that the character we are asked to be is really a genocidal war-criminal named Witch Annie (or Witch Hitler, depending on perspective).

IRL, we as people don't want to commit suicide (and if anyone does, there are links at the top of NSG -- sorry to break the game; my responsibility has to come out periodically, given the topic). It's just the woman we are being asked to play.

Since “IRL” you’re not suicidal (by your own admission) and I suspect it’s the case for the vocal pond posters, I don’t consider the pond option a serious one

Hence why it’s in “other” along with all other silly/tongue in cheek/edge answers

It’s not a serious option compared to the other posters (more than half) that have tried to realistically deal with this thread and actually imagine their IRL in the setup

In real life, I'm not a drugged quadriplegic genocidal witch in a corrupt dictatorship.

Ask me again when I'm really a drugged quadriplegic genocidal witch in a corrupt dictatorship.

[Ifreann]

I mean, we're being chided for not answering realistically when the OP pointlessly adds details about magical wars, a totally ahistorical medieval setting, amnesia and adopted guardians for presumably an adult person, hints about a secret past identity, and specifically being asked to aid in anti-democratic propaganda by some kind of feudal monarch. The basic idea could be explored better without any of this shit.

Suppose you are disabled and chronically ill, such that you are largely bed bound, require regular doses of meds, and have difficulty speaking. You are otherwise comfortable and well cared for. You are offered the chance to be participate in a PR campaign by a politician opposite your own political views. You'll pretty much be used as a prop, "Look at us, we have the support of this disabled person" type shit, and you'll probably be expected to spout some talking points you don't believe. However, you'll be paid enough for this to live in luxury, not just comfort, and possibly even get access to a cure. Do you go along with this, and suffer being patronised and used by politicians you don't support? If so, how enthusiastically do you participate? If not, is the problem the indignity of it all or the politics of the people you'd be supporting?

Bam, simple. No magic, no 21st century medieval Europe, no hints about being secretly being a war criminal, none of IM's pro-monarchy anti-democracy bias.

[Hammer Britannia]

I mean, we're being chided for not answering realistically when the OP pointlessly adds details about magical wars, a totally ahistorical medieval setting, amnesia and adopted guardians for presumably an adult person, hints about a secret past identity, and specifically being asked to aid in anti-democratic propaganda by some kind of feudal monarch. The basic idea could be explored better without any of this shit.

Suppose you are disabled and chronically ill, such that you are largely bed bound, require regular doses of meds, and have difficulty speaking. You are otherwise comfortable and well cared for. You are offered the chance to be participate in a PR campaign by a politician opposite your own political views. You'll pretty much be used as a prop, "Look at us, we have the support of this disabled person" type shit, and you'll probably be expected to spout some talking points you don't believe. However, you'll be paid enough for this to live in luxury, not just comfort, and possibly even get access to a cure. Do you go along with this, and suffer being patronised and used by politicians you don't support? If so, how enthusiastically do you participate? If not, is the problem the indignity of it all or the politics of the people you'd be supporting?

Bam, simple. No magic, no 21st century medieval Europe, no hints about being secretly being a war criminal, none of IM's pro-monarchy anti-democracy bias.

Would it really be an IM thread without anti-democratic propaganda, an over-the-top magical-fantasy world with pseudo-modern 'values' and technology, and genocidal/otherwise psychopathic babes though?

[Ifreann]

I mean, we're being chided for not answering realistically when the OP pointlessly adds details about magical wars, a totally ahistorical medieval setting, amnesia and adopted guardians for presumably an adult person, hints about a secret past identity, and specifically being asked to aid in anti-democratic propaganda by some kind of feudal monarch. The basic idea could be explored better without any of this shit.

Suppose you are disabled and chronically ill, such that you are largely bed bound, require regular doses of meds, and have difficulty speaking. You are otherwise comfortable and well cared for. You are offered the chance to be participate in a PR campaign by a politician opposite your own political views. You'll pretty much be used as a prop, "Look at us, we have the support of this disabled person" type shit, and you'll probably be expected to spout some talking points you don't believe. However, you'll be paid enough for this to live in luxury, not just comfort, and possibly even get access to a cure. Do you go along with this, and suffer being patronised and used by politicians you don't support? If so, how enthusiastically do you participate? If not, is the problem the indignity of it all or the politics of the people you'd be supporting?

Bam, simple. No magic, no 21st century medieval Europe, no hints about being secretly being a war criminal, none of IM's pro-monarchy anti-democracy bias.

Would it really be an IM thread without anti-democratic propaganda, an over-the-top magical-fantasy world with pseudo-modern 'values' and technology, and genocidal/otherwise psychopathic babes though?

No, but it could be a good thread.

[Hammer Britannia]

Would it really be an IM thread without anti-democratic propaganda, an over-the-top magical-fantasy world with pseudo-modern 'values' and technology, and genocidal/otherwise psychopathic babes though?

No, but it could be a good thread.

Point Taken.

[TURTLESHROOM II]

(Note: for those asking about the wheelchair and medicine, this is set in a highly advanced, pagan world of witches and magic and more modern technology. Possibly even germ theory.)

Assuming my personality (and autism) are still intact in Annie despite having no memory of who or what I once was, I will immediately side with the Crown. Ordained by God, ruling by God. (Or, in this case, whatever pagan pantheon that exists; I am certain Christianity is not a thing in this universe.)

My only request is that I be a nobleman regnant. As a nobleman, I will ensure the best possible life for the peasants that tend my fields through a fair court system and protections from beating and rape. Obviously, I won't enfranchise them or give them any power, nor bow to the suicidal path to democracy, but I- as TurtleShroom -believe that democracy is not essential to human rights. The most utopian government would be a monarchy where the king and his noblemen rule a class of freemen (either no serfdom or a Yuri Day, where peasants can leave their lord and find another once a year) and respect the human rights we take for granted. Enlightened absolutism, if you will.

As for the monarch being "oppressive" or whatever, I'd like to know the context. Is he simply denying the peasantry enfranchisement? Or, is he using the peasantry as an expendable, disposable underclass with no justice under the law? What I consider oppression includes denial of due process, a lack of a fair trial, prohibitions on criticism of the state (or the Crown), and serfdom if there is no Yuri Day.

Given the fact that my new home world has medicine, magic, and wheelchairs, it is likely that the Crown is oppressive in the C U R R E N T Y E A R definition (e.g. no sexual degeneracy or no labor rights, etc., or disenfranchisement) as much as or more so than what I, both as TurtleShroom and Annie, define as true oppression.

---

As the nobleman, I will attempt to become the top advisor to my liege. I will do this, first and foremost, by shilling for the king as he asked, and do so both with sincerity and fervor. I am both grateful and loyal to my liege, first and foremost. The King will always receive his tribute and he will always know where he can find levies to defend the throne. I won't betray him or try to take what is his, and I expect him to do the same.

Next, as stated, I will lobby the Crown on behalf of the peasantry, setting a true example to follow by the way I manage my holdings. Peasants in my estates will be allowed free speech (even when criticizing their betters), a fair trial system (obviously overseen by my family as judges) and rights to bodily integrity, life and limb, and protection from rape and sexual violation. I will strictly enforce capital punishment for all sexual crimes, maintain the ban on no-fault divorce and fornication, and personally oversee divorce from my wheelchair-throne. If chattel slavery (as opposed to serfdom) exists, I will end it in my lands.

My advice to my liege would be that you do not have to concede power in order to keep the peasantry happy, and you do not have to be a tyrant. You can rule by love AND fear, not just the latter. Earning the respect of the peseants will go much farther than crushing them. While enacting reforms as big as mine in the whole kingdom would be impossible in the current climate,

I hope that my presence as Lady of a huge estate, and the trust I have of and with my liege, will be enough to convince my king to take a path towards the true duty of the king: exercising his divine right to rule and circumstansial birth in such a way that looks out for the interests of his subjects.

In doing so, I will create a better life for the common man in my estate and, magical pagan pantheon deities willing, set a kingdom on the course to true enlightened absolutism or even constitutional monarchy. Even if I fail, and the monarchy stays the same, the fact that I did something about my peasants on my holdings means I made the world a better place.

Hopefully, I would go down in history as a great ruler and perhaps a hero of the peasantry. I will rule justly and would always, always remain loyal to my liege.

[TURTLESHROOM II]

I mean, we're being chided for not answering realistically when the OP pointlessly adds details about magical wars, a totally ahistorical medieval setting, amnesia and adopted guardians for presumably an adult person, hints about a secret past identity, and specifically being asked to aid in anti-democratic propaganda by some kind of feudal monarch. The basic idea could be explored better without any of this.

Do you possess any semblance of imagination, sense of humor, or critical thinking in a scenario outside of either reality or your personal opinions? Did you ever roleplay in childhood or run around in the yard pretending you're something else? Who urinated in your cereal? Your bitter comments (without even answering the scenario) give off the appearence that you've never had any fun in your entire life.

Then again, given that you put pronouns in your signature- this clearly proves your political ideology -you may very well be making such anti-fun statements because everything offends you. Including monarchy. Or fantasy. Or imagination.

The medieval setting is ahistorical because it has advanced technology and FREAKING MAGIC. It's not supposed to BE historical.

Good glob. Life is simple; you're making it not only more complex, but more miserable.

[TURTLESHROOM II]

You are offered the chance to be participate in a PR campaign by a politician opposite your own political views. You'll pretty much be used as a prop, "Look at us, we have the support of this disabled person" type, and you'll probably be expected to spout some talking points you don't believe.

What if you agree with the man who wants you to promote him? In this case, I was more sympathetic to the king, because this was a world with advanced technology and magic, and therefore, more likely to be like our social norms despite an old-fashioned societal structure and ancient views on politics.

[Ifreann]

I mean, we're being chided for not answering realistically when the OP pointlessly adds details about magical wars, a totally ahistorical medieval setting, amnesia and adopted guardians for presumably an adult person, hints about a secret past identity, and specifically being asked to aid in anti-democratic propaganda by some kind of feudal monarch. The basic idea could be explored better without any of this.

Do you possess any semblance of imagination, sense of humor, or critical thinking in a scenario outside of either reality or your personal opinions? Did you ever roleplay in childhood or run around in the yard pretending you're something else? Who urinated in your cereal?

I might ask the same of your cereal. You seem awfully upset that I am not as enamoured with this thread as you are.

Then again, given that you put pronouns in your signature- this clearly proves your political ideology -you may very well be making such anti-fun statements because everything offends you. Including monarchy. -and fantasy. -and imagination. -and fun itself.

My nation name comes off as feminine to non-Irish speakers. I've been called "she" on this forum many times over the years. This is easier than correcting people. I'm also rather amused by this overreaction of yours, an unexpected bonus.

The medieval setting is ahistorical because it has advanced technology and FREAKING MAGIC. It's not supposed to BE historical.

Good glob.

You should try re-reading my posts. My objection is not that the setting is ashistorical, it's that IM is pointlessly adding in unrealistic details and then complaining that we aren't responding realistically.

---

You are offered the chance to be participate in a PR campaign by a politician opposite your own political views. You'll pretty much be used as a prop, "Look at us, we have the support of this disabled person" type, and you'll probably be expected to spout some talking points you don't believe.

What if you agree with the man who wants you to promote him? In this case, I was more sympathetic to the king, because this was a world with advanced technology and magic, and therefore, more likely to be like our social norms despite an old-fashioned societal structure and ancient views on politics.

Personally I think it's more interesting to have to weigh personal gain against working contrary to your own political beliefs. It's easier to say that you would, if given the chance, get paid to help politicians you agree with. But is living in luxury worth supporting a politician totally opposite to your beliefs? That's a harder choice.

[Caracasus]

Petition to get IM to add 'roll into the duckpond and quietly drown' as a poll option.

There’s already an Other on the poll for the less realistic options

Rolling quietly into a pond and drowning is 100% the most realistic and best option for anyone caught in one of these weird dystopias.

[Ifreann]

There’s already an Other on the poll for the less realistic options

Rolling quietly into a pond and drowning is 100% the most realistic and best option for anyone caught in one of these weird dystopias.

They see me rollin'
They hatin'

[Chan Island]

Obviously take the deal. It's medieval Europe, there's no alternative in town to monarchy in most places. And that's a ludicrous amount of money for a stuttering cripple in the old days to get, more than I could ever spend, so definitely.

[Infected Mushroom]

Since “IRL” you’re not suicidal (by your own admission) and I suspect it’s the case for the vocal pond posters, I don’t consider the pond option a serious one

Hence why it’s in “other” along with all other silly/tongue in cheek/edge answers

It’s not a serious option compared to the other posters (more than half) that have tried to realistically deal with this thread and actually imagine their IRL in the setup

In real life, I'm not a drugged quadriplegic genocidal witch in a corrupt dictatorship.

Ask me again when I'm really a drugged quadriplegic genocidal witch in a corrupt dictatorship.

It's already been LONG ESTABLISHED that you don't understand how hypotheticals work/can't engage with them where doing so asks you to challenge your conventional morality with clear moral lines

This is why you cannot put yourself into the shoes of someone who MIGHT have lost memories and who MIGHT be a mass murderer.

Someone else may say: "Well it's wrong to be a mass murderer... but realistically if I am that person, I wouldn't have it in me to kill myself and it wouldn't make sense to do that anyway because it wouldn't bring the dead back. So I would do X, that's something IRL would REALISTICALLY do from that Save State..."

(those kinds of complex, flawed, honest answers are what I'm trying to encourage)

But you can't engage with that kind of logic or self understanding

you're programmed to think/say "Mass murderer/dictator = death/Nuremberg..."

and you can't engage outside of that paradigm or really put yourself in the shoes; I highly doubt you'd kill yourself

[Infected Mushroom]

You think I'm impressed by, "Oh I would kill myself on the slight probability that I'm a mass murderer" or "I would sacrifice myself and my entire family if it means DEMOCRACY/REVOLUTION"

Not so much, if anything, I'm seeing an inability to engage with the parameters of the thought experiment

most of you couldn't even "rise up" against your own bosses/schools let alone a whole government and you'd definitely sacrifice neither yourself nor your over ones for some ideals; let's not conveniently over-inflate your level of "courage" and "self sacrifice"

[Galloism]

In this hypothetical, you are intended to put yourself in the shoes of the Crippled Annie

I’m not so convinced many of you would truly sacrifice yourself for an ideological stand

I suspect the Yes votes are the more realistic position

I refuses to believe that we are Witch Hitler since she's dead. If we are then I'd bet a fair chunk of us would be drowning in that pond with NCR.

I mean, if you're going to have the role of Witch Hitler thrust upon you, you might as well play the role to the best of your ability.

[The New California Republic]

You think I'm impressed by, "Oh I would kill myself on the slight probability that I'm a mass murderer" or "I would sacrifice myself and my entire family if it means DEMOCRACY/REVOLUTION"

I honestly couldn't give a damn whether you are impressed or not.

[Infected Mushroom]

I refuses to believe that we are Witch Hitler since she's dead. If we are then I'd bet a fair chunk of us would be drowning in that pond with NCR.

I mean, if you're going to have the role of Witch Hitler thrust upon you, you might as well play the role to the best of your ability.

it isn't thrust upon you

it's more like "there is a probability that you ARE the Witch Queen, there is a probability that you aren't... what is sure though is that you are a cripple with apparently caring caretakers... and now you are being offered a deal by the King."

And I'm assuming most realistic people here wouldn't make a choice WITHOUT prioritising their own well-being/safety in some way

if the world had this many reckless martyrs it would look VERY different

[Ifreann]

In real life, I'm not a drugged quadriplegic genocidal witch in a corrupt dictatorship.

Ask me again when I'm really a drugged quadriplegic genocidal witch in a corrupt dictatorship.

It's already been LONG ESTABLISHED that you don't understand how hypotheticals work/can't engage with them where doing so asks you to challenge your conventional morality with clear moral lines

This is why you cannot put yourself into the shoes of someone who MIGHT have lost memories and who MIGHT be a mass murderer.

Show of hands, who has experience with suffering total amnesia and possibly being a mass murderer?

Nobody?

Literally nobody?

Not one person in all of human history?

Someone else may say: "Well it's wrong to be a mass murderer... but realistically if I am that person, I wouldn't have it in me to kill myself and it wouldn't make sense to do that anyway because it wouldn't bring the dead back. So I would do X, that's something IRL would REALISTICALLY do from that Save State..."

(those kinds of complex, flawed, honest answers are what I'm trying to encourage)

Pretty clear at this point that you just want to hear people agree with you.

But you can't engage with that kind of logic or self understanding

you're programmed to think/say "Mass murderer/dictator = death/Nuremberg..."

No, that's some people's legitimate opinion about the just end for war criminals, and since you've made so many threads about the same war criminal it's become a joke. People keep telling you that your beloved Witch Hitler is evil and deserve neither mercy nor sympathy, and you can't handle this because you want her to be a tragic villain.

and you can't engage outside of that paradigm or really put yourself in the shoes; I highly doubt you'd kill yourself

This from the person who gets mad at people thinking too much about this threads and insists on trying to set rules and boundaries to force people to think one specific thing.

---

You think I'm impressed by, "Oh I would kill myself on the slight probability that I'm a mass murderer" or "I would sacrifice myself and my entire family if it means DEMOCRACY/REVOLUTION"

Not so much, if anything, I'm seeing an inability to engage with the parameters of the thought experiment

most of you couldn't even "rise up" against your own bosses/schools let alone a whole government and you'd definitely sacrifice neither yourself nor your over ones for some ideals; let's not conveniently over-inflate your level of "courage" and "self sacrifice"

No one's trying to impress you. We don't value your opinion of us. We're making fun of your obsession with this one character of yours.

[Galloism]

I mean, if you're going to have the role of Witch Hitler thrust upon you, you might as well play the role to the best of your ability.

it isn't thrust upon you

it's more like "there is a probability that you ARE the Witch Queen, there is a probability that you aren't... what is sure though is that you are a cripple with apparently caring caretakers... and now you are being offered a deal by the King."

And I'm assuming most realistic people here wouldn't make a choice WITHOUT prioritising their own well-being/safety in some way

if the world had this many reckless martyrs it would look VERY different

I mean, in a standard plotline, if I think that I might be Witch Hitler, I'm definitely Witch Hitler.

[The New California Republic]

It's already been LONG ESTABLISHED that you don't understand how hypotheticals work [...]

"You don't understand how hypotheticals work"

*Statement is directed at Free Joy State, a Senior Issues Editor*

Uh huh. Sure.

[Galloism]

Show of hands, who has experience with suffering total amnesia and possibly being a mass murderer?

Nobody?

Literally nobody?

Not one person in all of human history?

It could happen to anyone.