Intergalactic Summit

Let me take a few minutes to tell you about an Ammarian family, one who traded their holdings in the Empire to reestablish themselves in the Mandate.

We have a family of servants in our household. One such woman, Renelda, is a chef, and a rather good one at that whom takes pride in her work. In her spare time she paints, and she's just as good at that as well. Her works adorn our estate along side the older, more traditional art. Why? They are part of our household & thus their accomplishments are a source of pride.

Her son was recently enrolled at Hedion University, at our expense. He showed a gift for numbers and we felt that since God clearly gave him a mind fit for more than menial labor then he should be made to do so. Likewise, the daughter takes after her mother somewhat and has been enrolled in vocational training with Nutura - again at our own expense. While our Caldari allies would scoff at this "waste of money" we still feel it is our duty to lift people up. Their contracts of servitude have since been rewritten into an indentured servitude, meaning that their status as servants will come to an end in their lifetimes and their children will be considered citizens.

Could they have these same opportunities elsewhere? Possibly. Would they still incur these same debts along the way? Definitely. Would they succeed in their endeavors? Maybe. But here, there is no failure option. If, for whatever reason, they are unable to graduate or repay their debts, the worst thing that will happen to them is that will simply return to our household. The same household that they've grown up in, where their friends & family live, and with people who take care of them. There is zero chance of them ending up homeless, or abandoned on the streets to die like animals. There will always be a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs. If they fall ill, there will always be a doctor to take care of them. Not to brag, but despite what you may have heard, servants are not something possessed by those who lack the financial means to properly take care of them. In fact, you'd be surprised at just how many laws there are in place to protect them from potentially abusive holders.

But the main person I wish to speak of is Renelda's father - or "Granpa Hanzo" as all the children call him, and yes there is no shame in this. He's a colorful old coot if there ever was one and has been the family groundskeeper/gardener for... well, as far back as I can remember at least. He is an artist with a pair of clippers and while more conservative Amarrians would consider his personal religious beliefs to be heresy, we find his "Boo-dezam" to be rather interesting. Sadly his refusal to convert is the only reason we're not legally allowed to unbond him, but the truth is he honestly doesn't seem to desire it.

Allow me to repeat that: He does not desire it. He's been in our family for well over fifty years. His ancestors have been in the Amarr Empire for well over three hundred or more. One time my niece asked him if he'd ever like to go back to what is now called "The Minmatar Republic" and he just laughed. Can you believe it? A wizened old gardener, far too old & weak for military conscription, whom has absolutely no desire to spend the his last years being cooped up inside a refugee center with a bunch of total strangers & living off camp roasted rats on sticks (When he's had a few glasses of wine, he goes into old tales of how his ancient Matari ancestors did exactly that before we came for them. Perhaps he exaggerates. Perhaps not.). A short transcript from a home video we took shortly after my niece managed to escape from captivity and return to us sums it up:

"Am I bitter? They say I should be, but I am not. I have had a good life, doing what I enjoy. Ha, good joss to find a family that enjoyed my plants as much as I enjoyed tending them! Sometimes I miss my wife, but perhaps I will meet her in the next life again. I still have my daughter and two wonderful grandchildren, and for that I am grateful. He goes to college! She goes to school as well! Good schools. They had nothing like that where my ancestors came from. Always this tribe shooting at that tribe, all the time. Still that way today, I suppose. Am I bitter? It was a long difficult road for my family to get here, but when I see my grandson's pictures from the University, I am glad now that it happened this way. I only wish the rest of my family was still here to see it, too. (pause) "

(Renelda's husband was killed in the same raid where Matari "freedom fighters" kidnapped my young niece. Both of her parents were also killed in the attack. Executed, back of the head, "race traitors" they called them. I was lucky to eventually get my niece back. Others were not so lucky.)

"At least I am not soldier in some stupid tribal war, ha! No time for any grandkids then, eh? What would I do there, I ask? I'm a gardener. Only time they care about leaves is when they run out of toilet paper- Ha! Can you see me carrying rifle? Eighty-six years old soldier - Ha! Good to be here, with my family. All of you - you my family. Always have been. No good man ever leaves his family."

And it's true - they are part of our family. These are our people.

I do not claim that every tale was as gentle as this one, for it is obvious that it was not. But I do ask you to consider this: Did you ever even bother to ask? Or did you just assume that everything you were told by the propaganda officer was true? Do you honestly believe that two wrongs make a right? Or do you just force people into your "freedom," so blinded by your own convictions & callously executing those that disagreed as "race traitors?"

Maybe you should think about that for a while... but not too much, and certainly not out loud. Accidents happen.

Today vitoxin is currently used in less than 10% of subjects, "Special Cases" or as we call them, the Dangerous Ones. Convicts, criminals, and other potentially violent types. The long term effects also tends to rule out any useful cerebral skills, not that this was any real loss. But it keeps them passive and productive in what little way they can.

Or I suppose we should just throw them in prison forever? Or turn them loose on the streets to cause havoc? Or just execute them? Would any of those options be more humane? Some cultures seem to think so, but we do not simply discard life so easily. Chemical incarceration allows society to actually benefit from the same people that most cultures would simply "dispose of" in some manner or another.

You might want to inquire as to the ratio of vitoxin sufferers in your own prison populations compared to the general populace. Think that's a coincidence? Your wardens might just be smarter than you'd like them to be.

One cannot distill the multitude branches of social engineering into a catchy slogan. There are always factors to consider and more shades of gray than you can imagine. The universe isn't as simple as "black vs white" or "us vs them" or "slavers vs freedom." It's actually quite a bit more complicated than that. You have prisons too. You have dangerous people who need to be pacified. Debating the methods used does not cloud the larger problem from the picture, as much as you'd like it to. One person's kidnapping is another person's liberation, and vice versa.

Think about that for a while... but not too much, and not out loud. Accidents happen.

You give a moving account of your relationship with your "indentured" workforce, and I can't fault your commitment to their well-being and rightly so. The fact of the matter they are still indentured, even the word indentured is opened ended and serves you more than it serves your workforce.

While I can't speak directly to "Granpa Hanzo" and I'm sure he's having a decent life in the Amarrian bubble, his account of what Matar was like is simply that, an historical account. I do agree there are places in Matari space that are less than idyllic, same can be said for many other places across New Eden, even in your venerated Empire/Kingdom.

You speak of "Granpa Hanzo" being "in our family for well over fifty years. His ancestors have been in the Amarr Empire for well over three hundred or more", which is the whole issue. The fact that he and is entire line have been in servitude seems to be lost on you and the fact that after such a long period of time it stands to reason that they would have their will broken to the extent they become institutionalised and wish to stay in Amarr as they know no better.

You are clearly a kind holder, but there are many that are not, and unfortunately your personal accomplishments and self gratification in your opening post does not wash the stains of the rest of your people.

Would I want to rip "Granpa Hanzo" from the life he has known all his life? No, not at all, but giving the man the choice and ability to come and go as he pleases, to visit Matar or anywhere else in New Eden as a true free man then that's the whole scope for the anti-slavery argument.

You also state that "his refusal to convert is the only reason we're not legally allowed to unbond him" makes a mockery of your whole post, whether he desires it or not, it's his right to be free.



I speak to many free civilian Matari and have listened to many stories and tales, good and bad, so I make no assumptions from anything the officials in the republic tell me. I have first hand accounts of the atrocities, it's just unfortunate that all I see are the atrocities since I doubt I would get the chance to see/speak to any Matari in the environment you describe. I force no-one into freedom, which is a contradiction in itself since they should be free already, all I do is force Amarr to see the error of their ways and eventually the problem will solve itself.

I did stub my toe on a misplaced ammunition box, is that the "accident" you are referring?

Peace be with you.

Could this entire thread be any more of a redundant spewing of the same "oh but my slaves are all happy and wonderful" ?

Possibly.

I assure you the Amarr are not the only ones with slaves. Everyone has them. The Amarr simply don't try to hide it or try to white-wash it by calling it something else.

Ever seen a Minmatar POW camp? Heck, seen anyone's POW camps? Tell me that's not slave labor. Are there any factions that completely lack for convicted criminals that are being put to work against their own free will? Of course not.

Ah, but there's a difference: Those people made choices that led to their incarceration, right? Did they? What about conscripted troops? What about people who were simply defending their homes from invasion? What about those who were simply born on the wrong side of the tracks and had little to no opportunities other than the life of crime or military service that led to their eventual incarceration & forced labor?

What about people who had choices but were simply too indoctrinated to refuse? And yes, we do this - so do you. Don't care which empire you're in, everyone does this to it's people. Even the belief in "freedom" is a form a indoctrination, a prison of the mind. No one is innocent of this.

Everyone likes to say that it's a crime to force people into a certain way of life, but these same people never hesitate to use force to bend others to their own. So convinced they are that their way is superior, that what they offer is "freedom" and everyone else is "slavery" at worst and "brainwashing" at best.

In fact some people are so blind to this that the think nothing of invading planets, abducting children & killing their parents over a genome. Centuries of culture and family loyalty mean nothing to them, only some sacred idea of a "bloodline" does and loyalty to that "bloodline" is simply assumed (and those who don't share that loyalty are branded "traitors"). Oh and anyone of that "bloodline" who isn't on their side has clearly been "brainwashed."

Look in the mirror. Always saying that people should be free to make choices, but in reality that belief in "freedom" ends the moment that they disagree with you, or try to choose something other than what you want for them. I wasn't the only child taken that day - far from it. I wasn't the only one who refused to renounce my faith, either - I just had the sense to keep my mouth shut until I was able to escape back to my people. The others... well, last I saw they were still being "re-educated" on chain-gangs for the Minmatar war machine. Ah yes, "re-education"- I still laugh at that notion. Just in case you ever wondered what, exactly, those Angel Cartel guys were smuggling... well let's just say that vitoxin is gaining popularity with certain groups even faster than it's losing popularity with it's original creators.

Yes, the Minmatar are champions of the idea that everyone should be free to agree with everything the Republic tell them to do. Deviate from that doctrine, though, and freedom starts to vanish very quickly. The Ammatar learned that very quickly when they refused to abandon their Faith. Step outside of the rote ideology of the Republic military and you'll find yourself working in a mine with "traitor" branded on your skin so fast you'll find yourself wishing you were a butler to some Amarrian noble.

I'll admit the faults of our system, because admitting them is the first step in correcting them. One must first admit sin to be purged of it. My own family rose from servitude to positions of respect, and in time I believe all can do so. That was the point in the first place - to cleanse the beast from the soul and elevate people out of the mud that they were wallowing in. We walked that path to it's desired conclusion. Others still walk it today. Yes, there are still problems within the Empire. Half the reason our family emmigrated to the Mandate was so as not to deal with lingering prejudices within the Empire that became apparent when those from my side of the family married into those of "True Ammarians" (And those "True Ammarians" moved here with us, so disgusted they were by it, as seen in my aunt's side of the family). They saw those prejudices as the signs of weak Faith, for Faith is what unites us all as equals in the eyes of God. So no, the Empire isn't perfect, but we're not barbarians either. We have ideals of our own, just like everyone else, and in the past we tried to spread through conquest - just like everyone else. But now we live in the age of the Pax Amarria, and despite what the Imperial Crusade wants we will continue down that path. If we are to proclaim ourselves to be above the barbarian hordes then we must act accordingly and respect the cause of peace.

I admit that it has not been easy, but I'm trying. "We must be the example that we wish to set for others."


What worries me is this: Despite everyone's desire to expand their borders, or at least their way of life, only one faction has proven to be so bloodthirsty that they'll openly attack CONCORD when they don't immediately get their way. How can anyone trust such a people who are so bent on conquering the galaxy that they'll attack the very organization formed to provide universal peace? I fear for the Gallente. Yes, you heard me right. With the Pax Amarria in effect and the Empire seeking peace with it's Gallente neighbors, how long will it be before the Minmatar turn their guns on the Gallente next for refusing to comply with their demands of senseless war? I believe the only thing that has stopped them so far is their knowing that they can't to beat three enemies at once. But I assure you, if they ever thought they could, they would not hesitate to do so. I hope the Gallente realize their mistake before it is too late, for while the lamb my lay down with the lion, only the lion will get up again - full.

Not that I'm pro-Slavery myself, but don't you think that you identifying her as Minmatar when she self-identifies as Amarr / Ammatar is part of the problem here?

So, what, by blood are you Garoun? It's funny to see you posting about 'come join the galaxies largest melting pot' and then identify someone primarily based on the planet that HALF of her genetics originated from hundreds of years ago.

And I think everyone knows how Republic Minmatar feel about the Ammatar.

Garoun is one of the empires that formed the Gallente, isn't it? If it isn't then I was making a mistake while trying to be too clever. I was suggesting that identifying the lady above as Minmatar was about as sane as identifying all Gallente as being from the Garoun Empire.

Perhaps I should stick to State history and keep my mouth shut.

It's also a continent on the Gallente homeworld. Research #The_Age_of_Expansion and #Garoun_Empire

True, but if it was wrong to enslave the Minmatar wasn't it wrong to enslave everyone? Even the few Khanid that got enslaved back who knows how far at the dawn of the Empire?

Anyway, this is one of those arguments that I don't really know enough about to participate in fully, and I don't want to put words into the mouths of Captain Devonshire there. I just thought it was interesting to see a Gallente being so fired up about someone's genetic heritage instead of their chosen culture.