andrewducker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
andrewducker) wrote2005-05-02 08:58 am
andrewducker) wrote2005-05-02 08:58 am
Exterminate?
Some thoughts on moral actions and Daleks - provoked by watching the latest episode last night (and ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
brandnewgun) and then copied to my journal, as her entry is friends-only.
The act of Rose telling it to kill itself because it asked for permission was entirely too rash, in and of itself. It was the equivalent of handing a loaded gun to someone suffering a depressive attack. It had changed into a new being about 5 minutes before - of course it was confused and depressed!
Now, admittedly, it's a Dalek - and has just killed 200 people - but it's changed since then, into something else.
Two questions arise:
1) Can you forgive someone for horrific acts if they've truly changed? Personally, I'd say yes. But then I'm the kind of person who'd give Hitler a second chance if he was put on Prozac and turned out to be quite nice once the paranoia was under control. Also, the thought of a repentant Dalek doing community service in an apologetic manner amuses me.
2) If you have someone who may commit terrible acts in the future, but may not, should you act to prevent them from doing so? If you _do_ take the Dalek as a new person - how much can you trust this new person not to have a relapse and wipe out Salt Lake City? It's a not dissimilar problem to dealing with Paedophiles, who have a remarkably high relapse rate - do you lock them up 'just in case' - or do you just give them lots of counselling and hope it all turns out ok? "Dalek Counsellor" - now there's a job.
And while I'd like to hope that the Dalek would be redeemable, I can't see any way that they could leave the episode with it _manifestly_ alive. The outcry would be ridiculous. It may, of course, still actually be alive - I've never seen a Daled do _that_ before. But I don't think society is ready for "creature murders 200 people, walks free because it feels sorry." - maybe next century.
brandnewgun) and then copied to my journal, as her entry is friends-only.The act of Rose telling it to kill itself because it asked for permission was entirely too rash, in and of itself. It was the equivalent of handing a loaded gun to someone suffering a depressive attack. It had changed into a new being about 5 minutes before - of course it was confused and depressed!
Now, admittedly, it's a Dalek - and has just killed 200 people - but it's changed since then, into something else.
Two questions arise:
1) Can you forgive someone for horrific acts if they've truly changed? Personally, I'd say yes. But then I'm the kind of person who'd give Hitler a second chance if he was put on Prozac and turned out to be quite nice once the paranoia was under control. Also, the thought of a repentant Dalek doing community service in an apologetic manner amuses me.
2) If you have someone who may commit terrible acts in the future, but may not, should you act to prevent them from doing so? If you _do_ take the Dalek as a new person - how much can you trust this new person not to have a relapse and wipe out Salt Lake City? It's a not dissimilar problem to dealing with Paedophiles, who have a remarkably high relapse rate - do you lock them up 'just in case' - or do you just give them lots of counselling and hope it all turns out ok? "Dalek Counsellor" - now there's a job.
And while I'd like to hope that the Dalek would be redeemable, I can't see any way that they could leave the episode with it _manifestly_ alive. The outcry would be ridiculous. It may, of course, still actually be alive - I've never seen a Daled do _that_ before. But I don't think society is ready for "creature murders 200 people, walks free because it feels sorry." - maybe next century.
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