I don't understand why some would force metaphorical rules created by the writers into a universe where those metaphors don't exist. While it's true the writers went in with the intent to have demons represent multiple things from a metaphorical point of view (fears, drug addiction, etc.), that is not the universe in which the characters existed. No one walks around, looks at a being and says, "Hey--you're really a metaphor in my reality." We don't; the characters in the Buffy and Angelverses didn't either. It's a ludicrous notion.
Some people do though, I remember having a school friend who deeply believed that Snakes were evil. Thing is that in real life those notions are always ludicrous and good and evil are not really definable. So I agree metaphorical badness is not enough to define them as evil within the story.
Within the story they are mortal enemies and I think that's how I find all the moral greyness works best.
Thank you. I think the notion comes a lot from books and from roleplaying. During roleplaying I always meet those players who just want to win. They'll do anything as long as it doesn't cost them points with their moral alignment. But true greatness shows when people behave morally towards someone they don't have to treat well to be considered good.
Hm, I can agree with that, only that I don't think of ticks any more as evil as I do of cats. And not all predators have to kill either, most cats these days are fed very well by their keepers and they wont even eat a mouse they killed, they just like to hunt.
But same as I think it's ok to kill a tick, it's equally morally ok for a tick to try and feed on a human. There is no good and evil here, just opposing natures.
It really a matter of how the war is fought in my opinion. Killing a tick is perfectly fine, picking off it's legs one by one? Not so much. Spraying an entire forest with pesticides to kill them all off? Neither.
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I don't understand why some would force metaphorical rules created by the writers into a universe where those metaphors don't exist. While it's true the writers went in with the intent to have demons represent multiple things from a metaphorical point of view (fears, drug addiction, etc.), that is not the universe in which the characters existed. No one walks around, looks at a being and says, "Hey--you're really a metaphor in my reality." We don't; the characters in the Buffy and Angelverses didn't either. It's a ludicrous notion.
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Thing is that in real life those notions are always ludicrous and good and evil are not really definable. So I agree metaphorical badness is not enough to define them as evil within the story.
Within the story they are mortal enemies and I think that's how I find all the moral greyness works best.
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But same as I think it's ok to kill a tick, it's equally morally ok for a tick to try and feed on a human. There is no good and evil here, just opposing natures.
It really a matter of how the war is fought in my opinion. Killing a tick is perfectly fine, picking off it's legs one by one? Not so much. Spraying an entire forest with pesticides to kill them all off? Neither.
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