A thread to discuss My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and the tie-in media.
All of the usual forum rules
apply. In addition, please remember that the thread is discussing a kids' show, and it's primarily focused on the work itself, not the fanfic — in particular, we don't want to see lewdness creeping in.
Edited by Mrph1 on Aug 26th 2024 at 10:24:26 AM
Unfollowing.
You've said that before.
I put my friend in a coconut! He lives in my hat! Hey, come hang out!Ike: I saw a vid where the director of Chronicle gave his thoughts on the film Man of Steel, and I liked his take on the Thou Shalt Not Kill rule. Basically, when Superman is dealing with someone like Lex Luthor, who can't physically compete with Supes, then he has a moral imperative to take them alive. In the same way that, if a child attacks a police officer, the cop should be able to subdue the kid without hurting him. But when dealing with foes like Darkseid or Zod, who are a match for Supes and are actively killing innocents, then sometimes lethal force really is necessary.
With the prison escape rate of my country, I don't have any faith in people's ability to keep dangerous criminals behind bars. I consider letting such people live, supporting their ability to kill others.
Of course, I'm pretty cynical, apparently.
And I've tried to shove my pen through a mugger's eye and into his brain before, so my position is pretty clear.
The ponies had no problem blasting Sombra to bits.
EDIT:
Now that makes sense to me.
edited 30th Jun '14 12:47:33 PM by Sereg
Suddenly I'm wondering if all of the mane 6 would have the Thou shall not kill rule for certain situations, thanks to Sereg pointing out Sombra's demise. Fluttershy and Pinkie are obvious ones, and I'd bet that Rarity and AJ might, but I'm not sure about Twilight and RD.
My issue with lethal solutions is that it denies the villainous party any right to repent and eventually change. If nothing else, I believe in second chances.
That having been said, I recognize there are times when the person in question isn't going to change, no matter what you do, or they simply present a threat too great to weigh it with their potential good. In such a scenario I would consider killing justified and necessary, but I don't think I can ever consider it morally right. Simply, sometimes the morally right thing is not the best course of action.
Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes.@Sereg: Yes, incarceration is only viable if you can trust the prisons to hold the bad guy.
I can't take the entire continuity of the superhero comics seriously for that reason. Joker Immunity, Cardboard Prison, and Thou Shall Not Kill all together just don't make sense for that long.
edited 30th Jun '14 12:56:48 PM by MetaFour
All this talk of Thou Shall Not Kill, and somehow my mind got onto a train of thought where all the ittybitty pieces of Sombra get burried by squirrels and grow into evil trees.
I'm sorry, I have no idea where that came from. You guys are having a serious philosophical discussion and I'm just being dumb.
edited 30th Jun '14 1:00:19 PM by PrincessGwenevere
"I feel like I'm on a raft and surrounding me is an ocean of dumb."- Mr. SarkThe way I see it, the approach is "preserve life when doing so is reasonably possible and responsible." I.e. if you're trying to apprehend a criminal, stick to nonlethal methods unless A. such methods aren't available and B. subduing them with lethal force is the more responsible action as opposed to letting them live. But you would never use lethal methods to attack somebody unless there was no alternative available.
Also, having to kill someone in the process of trying to prevent them from injuring or killing someone else is very different from executing someone who's already subdued and in no position to cause further harm. Once the threat is neutralized, I think it's the best option to give them a chance to redeem themselves.
@Kegisak: There are a few situations where I think I could consider it morally right, specifically if your options are between killing the perpetrator and allowing them to kill someone else. If I see someone trying to shoot somebody else, and I have a gun, I'd say you could make an argument (not saying that it is, having never been in that situation) that shooting them to save the life of someone else would be the morally correct course, because the alternative is letting an innocent person (and possibly others) get killed.
And of course all that assumes that you have enough information about the situation to avoid killing the wrong person.
That must make it hard to sleep on windy nights.
edited 30th Jun '14 1:05:35 PM by JapaneseTeeth
Reaction Image RepositoryI need help, please. Does anypony here know anything about drawing tablets? I want to get one, but know nothing about them.
Could someone recommend me one or talk about it?
Please?
edited 30th Jun '14 1:22:32 PM by Wereael
"Moody Stops Bicycle Theft, Takes No Prisoners"- Harry Potter and the Natural 20
I do not, unfortunately. I think Wacom
tablets are generally pretty good, though I have no idea if it's in your price range or not.
i got one recently, and it's a big help. this is the one i got.
it's working great, no complaints so far. though, it took a bit getting used drawing on the tablet and looking at the screen.
Turcom and Huion are the cheapest brands i've found so far.
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.I actually agree with this.
And I actually disagree with this.
Yet, I not only agree with this, I consider it common. In addition, I believe in the importance of sending a message. When you kill a criminal, you not only stop them from commiting future crimes, you tell every other person that that behaviour will not be tolerated and will lead to death. That's important.
Yeah, I don't have any stats offhand, but I think it's been shown pretty definitively that using the death penalty as a deterrent really doesn't work very well. That said, most of those studies aren't done in South Africa. But around here at least, it's pretty clear that it doesn't really do much to deter people.
@Gwen: For a while I was considering getting one; they go for around 80-100 if you get the economy version. I eventually decided against it, mainly because I just wouldn't have the time to actually use it. I have enough trouble finding time to write.
edited 30th Jun '14 1:41:25 PM by JapaneseTeeth
Reaction Image RepositoryThat's because people are often too short-sighted to see beyond their greed. They want what they want now, consequences be damned. Somewhat minor example: my dad's store has visible cameras all over the place, but people will try to steal products and always be shocked when they get caught and banned from the store. More major example that I've seen multiple times: people backstabbing their family in order to embezzle money, even if it completely ruins the business' finances.
FE: New Mystery Only Feet 7PM PT Sun, Mon, Fri; Umamusume Haru Arima 7PM PT Wed, Thurs: http://www.twitch.tv/kuroitsubasatenshiThanks for the feedback, peeps! This looks like a good choice.
@JT: Yeah, that sounds about right. I think I might be remembering wrong and skipped the beginners tablet and went for a more intermediate one. I can't remember its been a couple years. It's served me well, but I think it's time to retire it soon.
edited 30th Jun '14 1:52:14 PM by PrincessGwenevere
"I feel like I'm on a raft and surrounding me is an ocean of dumb."- Mr. Sark

My only problem with the whole Thou Shalt Not Kill thing is when characters stick to it despite there not being any viable alternative or explanation for it. I.e. if you give the character a good reason to have a moral imperative against killing, fine, but it needs to be a strong enough reason that the reader will accept it. I.e. "Superman can't kill because he's the good guy" doesn't work when not killing ends up leading to more damage and pain than the killing would. However, if they delve into his psyche a bit and come up with some personal reasons why he refuses to do so, it could work.
Reaction Image Repository