>Which puts Lunar apologist on even shaker ground.
Why do Lunars need apologists? Does any Gloranthan society need an apologist? Does Sheng? Does Arkat? Harrek? Even the KOW has proponents on the Digest.
> It seems to me that those pushing the destruction of the Monomyth are
also pushing
the Red Goddess as the true and proper religion of Glorantha.
I guess some folks could assume that these two are linked. In my mind they are not. While I am a vigorous opponent of the monomyth, (stomp, stomp, stab!), I in no way think of the Red Goddess as the true and proper religion of Glorantha. It is fun to look at Glorantha from Her POV, but it is also fun to look at the world from the Orlanthi "No one can make you do anything" creed, or the simple wisdom of the Telmori: "If it moves, eat it; if it doesn't, pee on it".
If you reject the monomyth, it's easier to see how (nearly) every Gloranthan religion/society is as valid as any other. If you read the history of Glorantha, it's plain to see that these cultures conflict over the centuries, each gaining the upper hand for a while. They are _all_ pretty brutal by our 20th century/Western standards, but very few of them are evil, and all are worth understanding.
The Lunars are fun because, as an empire with an ideological agenda, they allow players and GM's to toy with modern ideas. (The political commissar in "Tarsh War" selling off the soldier's beer ration to finance more "Little Red Books" comes to mind.) MGF is lost if you reduce this culture to a horde of genocidal maniacs and non-persons. The Orlanthi are fun because they allow people to play with mythic Saxon & Celtic cultures. (Like decorating your chariot with heads instead of fuzzy dice.) MGF is lost if you turn them into mechanical killers.
Please notice that the rabidly pro-Lunar comments of Nick and Peter are all tongue-in-cheek. Just as, I'm sure, your "Better Dead than Red" slogan is!
I think David B's whole question is: "Why wouldn't the Orlanthi see the Lunars as "Evil Incarnate?" Lots of people have already answered this. In short - because the "Orlanthi" and "Lunars" are both made up of individual humans, with different experiences, who are capable of thinking for themselves.
Pam
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