Re: Complete Canine Curfew

From: Alex Ferguson <abf_at_cs.ucc.ie>
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 18:28:36 GMT


David Dunham:
> There's obviously less agreement on
> their treatment of dogs, especially from the Seattle Pro-Dog Posse
> (paraphrasing: "but why would anyone not like dogs?").

Is Pam a Posse all by herself? I defer to you Wild Westerners as regards correct usage here.

> Harmast is also an imperfect individual, not immune to temptation. He
> is put in a position where he gets to define Orlanthi myths.

I think that's something of an exaggeration: we speak of Vingkotlings, Heortlings, and even or Alkalorings, but Harmastings would be a new one on me.

> On the other hand, any clan who goes by the canonical (King of Sartar
> p.71) version of the pantheon myths will have their magic weakened if
> they don't act against dogs. Orlanth fights the Bad Dogs. QED any dog
> in the next valley over is potentially a Bad Dog, and should be
> suppressed.

I agree, and I'll highlight several implications: firstly, it holds true for people who hold the 'canonical myths': i.e., no-one, or more precisely, Everyone But Us. Secondly, it means that among those that do follow this aspect of the canon, there's a perverse incentive to have 'bad' dogs around, to get the magical benefit of mistreating them. (One could say the same thing about sun worshippers and goats, though I'm sure that both would be offended by the juxtaposition.) To quote the Nickster, wipe them out and you end up with the "What's a dog?" syndrome. Kicking them routinely seems nicely 'sustainable', but vast systematic canine pogroms would seem to be over-doing things.

> > Apparently some can carry forth this chain of reasoning and conclude
> > that there's not a dog (much less, goat) alive in all of Kerofinela.
>
> Not I.

That's grand, then: like the joke about the woman on the train, now we're just haggling about the price, or in this case, rather the numbers and exact niche.

> I've always wondered why there is more than one Universal City in the
> USA. You'd think one ought to cover it.

Guffaw.

Slan,
Alex.


Powered by hypermail