Re: OT: Corpses, etc. (was: Re: Gender in conlangs (was: Re: Umlauts (was Re: Elves and Ill Bethisad)))

>I'm aware that capital punishment isn't particularly common in the US. I'm
>also aware that a segment of the American population reacts very negatively to
>any suggestion that is should be abolished
There is also a segment of the American population which reacts very
negatively to any execution.  Wherever there is an execution, there will
also be a crowd of protesters.  I'm on neither side; I just wish that we'd
make it clear whether we do or do not practice capital punishment in
America - when I think about it, that is.

>Simply carrying a weapon is perfectly enough. Under Tairezan law, carrying a
>pistol in your pocket is, technically, armed rebellion.
>
>Needless to say, carrying or even possessing a gun is something that the
>average Tairezan civilian would never even contemplate.
*I* certainly wouldn't contemplate it under those circumstances.  That's
pretty strict gun control.

The only instances in which Trehelish control the carrying of weapons is
that you cannot wear a weapon in a courtroom, nor in the National Council,
and probably not in any other government building, unless you are a
soldier.  The government buildings in Sovchilen are all guarded by soldiers
armed with very decorative weapons, and I had a fun time writing and
polishing (with significant editorial assistence from my husband) a
description of those weapons.

It would be perfectly legal to walk down the street in Sovchilen carrying a
bow and arrows.  People might look at you a little funny, since there's
nothing to hunt for miles around, but no one would stop you.  The military
might keep an eye on you, though, wondering what exactly it was that you
were planning on shooting.

I suppose that Trehelan could simply pass laws requiring everyone to leave
their weapons at home, and the crime rate in Sovchilen would plummet, but I
don't think that it would ever occur to them that that was something that
they could do.  (And it would only *reduce* the crime rate; a large
proportion of the theft is not armed robbery, but pickpocketing.  Weapon
control wouldn't solve that one.)

>[snip]
> > I'm not certain whether
> > it [=Trehelish society] 's really what you would term a "nice" society.
>
>My impression certainly is that it's not particularly nice.
Nor is it my impression.  The more I get to know it, the less nice I find
it.  The Cwendaso/Tovláugad, on the other hand, are a nice
culture.  But...they don't have anywhere near the level of technical
advancement and material comfort that the Trehelish have.  The modern
Trehelish and Nidirino have achieved a pre-industrial level of development
by our standards (roughly Western Europe before coal and steam, but it's
not a direct correlate - there are no firearms nor can they grind lenses,
and all spinning is done on a drop spindle, no spinning wheels.)  The
Cwendaso live in conditions that we would consider to be poor even for a
Third World country.

> > ****Somehow or other, we seem to be keeping this thread on its stated
> > topic, macabre as that might be.  Why is it that the thread on corpses is
> > the one that stays on topic?
>
>We should be grateful there aren't too many Freudians among us ...
I am very grateful.  And I managed not to even mention anything in the
subject line in the body of this post (except for the one instance of the
word in the text quoted above.)  I suppose that what's funny is that we
were keeping the thread on its stated current topic, but I had already
relabled the thread itself as off topic.

Isidora

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