>The grounds upon which it has been denied that the Kralorelan government
>is oppressive are specious and based entirely on only one model of
>oppression, the 20th-century Western totalitarian method. There are
>other methods.
Since the purported models for Kralori oppression viz-a-viz the Instant Torture Camps were 20th century western totalitarian ones, I can only agree here. I don't have any trouble with the examples of what a Kralori Mandarin would crush (ie bandits and rebels) but I'ld like to make a couple of minor observations.
>The tolerance of Immanent Mastery again says nothing about tolerating
>outright Orlanthi worship becoming widespread in K. for example.
The Immanent Masters are tolerated because their worship is conducted in the no-go zones of the cities, a tacit understanding with the Mandarins. Orlanthi would be tolerated if they stuck to the worship in the same regions but through their ignorance of Kralori mores, they usually end up outraging the local populace or the Mandarins or both.
>Immanent Mastery is a stupid and offensive practice, but it is a stupid
>and offensive practice that is from people one EXPECTS to be stupid and
>offensive--your peasants.
Actually the people who worship Immanent Mastery are usually urban poor (ie peasants who have migrated to the cities). Most Peasants are too much under the thumb of the local gentry and landlords (who indulge in Metsylan enlightenment) to sneak of after dark to the local immanent master for study.
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