Intergalactic Summit

I've seen so much of this by this point, that this question is now asked with genuine curiousity rather than snide condescension.

Many of you are not approving of stereotypical Gallentean practices of hedonism and decadence. Fair enough, I'd eradicate militarism from Caldari culture if it meant no more war, if I could.

Yet, these same individuals attended Madame Silas Vitalia's party and made no complaint as to how it was conducted, particularly the activities of the lower level. It involved narcostics, and scantily-clad to nude male and women dancers. I've seen many jokes or prejudiced remarks about Gallentean fashion, yet I saw no issue being taken up there. Amarr and Caldari culture are better known for having widespread expectations of discretion and principle, whereas in Gallente culture, that is only reserved to certain groups (such as those expected to embody classical Federal ideals, or high-class artists). I saw none of this typical cultural behaviour from the Caldari or Amarrians present.

In short, everyone behaved exactly like stereotypical Gallenteans, while having stereotyped Gallenteans in the past. Why? It is no wonder that Gallentean culture has been able to penetrate every other empire, when people and capsuleers act so receptive to it. Many parts of it cater to base human drives, after all.

I protested.

Perhaps reducing everything to stereotypes is not the best way to approach any subject, non? Just as these other people you speak of have stereotyped your culture, it seems you are stereotyping both them and your culture.

The Gallenteans do not hold exclusive rights to hedonistic excess, and Gallente culture is not the sole purveyor of such.

Get over yourself.

They aren't THAT bad!

Nobody's come up with the obvious answer yet: Because it annoys you enough to post threads like these, Seriphyn.

Paragon of Virtue? I thought the one true Paragon of Virtue was the esteemed Holder of Many Honors, Man of Myriad Titles, our dear Lord Vaari.

In all seriousness I believe you're simply taking thoughtless comments beyond their scope. In my experience, when people make such sweeping generalizations as to say "Gallenteans are all gentlemen/ladies of ill repute" they are saying it either in jest or in a rather obvious attempt to push someone's buttons. In which case, I think Morwen has the right of it.

I'll also point out that while I didn't stay at the party long, I saw no extremely objectionable behavior from the guests or the staff. Then again I'm not troubled by people dancing in a state of undress, in a controlled private environment, as their profession. Neither am I bothered by the veritable plethora of alcoholic drinks strong enough to be considered afterburner fuels, or the proclivity of narcotics, the noise that passes for dancing music at such parties ( not your performance Morwen, that was rather lovely.) Nor am I bothered by having the chance to casually speak with people I would otherwise not meet.

However, what does bother me is attending a function hosted by Lady Vitalia and then seeing a young girl in attendance of a function that was essentially promised to be a celebration of debatable activities. I was further bothered by the fact that the girl's father was in attendance as well, but not as a dutiful parent and chaperon. It was quite a surprise to me, given the fact that Lady Vitalia's last social function ended in large scale destruction, that anyone would let their young daughter attend at all. In fact I'm relatively certain that if my parents knew about it they would have tried to stop me from attending it myself.

And this man flawlessly captured why I abhor the Federation and feel that it is a tragedy that so many of my brothers and sisters live within it.

Without any offense and out of curiosity, if your brothers and sisters really hate the Federation ideals, would they still choose that way of life you despise so much, or are you just trying to say that you deny them their free will ? Or consider them weak enough to get seduced by it ?

Edit : my remark is not aimed at the immigrated people living directly in the Federation, but more to people complaining that Federal and Amarrian ideals seem somehow to "infect" their "kin".

Malcolm, I like you, most of the time and you are better than this.

The federation's culture is based on a single premise: That it is everyone's inaliable right to freedom of speech and action, unless that freedom infringes upon anothers right to the same.

If a culture feels threatened by that simple right, the birthright of any human, then surely some degree of introspection is in order.
Perhaps the extremes cases within the federation are exactly that, and would not be acceptable in some cultures, but they are the exception, not the norm.

When i see you comment upon other topics, it is this middle ground that you apparently seek, yet your comment in this thread is combative, almost to the point of bigotry. I can only hope that you take a step back and look again at the truth of the matter.

To put this in context, I am Intaki, and I am proud to be so. My people have been in the federation for quite some time, yet we retain our own culture and have, in some cases, spread aspects of it to the federation. Yet we have also grown stronger as a people by taking those aspects of the federation's culture that proved advantageous.

That said, there really isn't a 'federation culture' as so many of those who stand outside the federation claim. It is a melting pot, with hundreds if not thousands of varying cultures within it. The mistake that so many make is the belief that accepting outside influence somehow lessens their own culture, when in my opinion, the very opposite is true.

Stagnation, in culture, technology and many other areas, breeds nothing but entropy. Change is good.

Saisa iyammarrok,

I seek truth and wisdom in my standpoints and understanding, not a middle ground.

I admit that my viewpoint of the Federation is most certainly a biased one, seeing as I have seen the negative effects of the Federation on those around it and those within it but have not personally experienced the positive effects. I am sure there are good aspects to the Federation (if their weren't, then the people would have surely rebelled by now), but these are aspects that I am not familiar with in my current experience.

You are Intaki, so you understand that the Intaki have not always welcomed the Federation openly. The history of the Federation and the Intaki is rife with disagreements, conflicts, tension and even outright isolation. One need look no further than the recent history regarding the conclusion of the original Gallente/Caldari War and now the Intaki Liberation Front working to secure autonomy, independence and personal identity separate from the Federation to know the truth of this. This does not mean the Intaki are at war with the Federation, nor does the ILF represent all of the Intaki, but the evidence is there to suggest that many are not happy with the effects the Federation has had on them.

I will not go into a detailed history between our people as it is well known and leads to nowhere but continued bitterness, but I will state that the Federation promotes freedom and liberty while simultaneously attempting to force others to live by their same interpretation and practice of those principles.

Degrees of change are good, yes. Change that is undesired and requires the dissolution of individual identity is not good, and this is the sort of change that all-too-often occurs when the Federation assimilates a people into its "melting pot."

I do not mind that the Federation seeks to live by the standards it lives by, nor that it promotes the ideals it promotes. My problem stems from the practice of expecting others to do the same.