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[universalwonder]

Am I the Asshole? Meme



a meme for the frustrated moral philosopher in all of us

r u l e s

➤ post with your character
➤ in your toplevel, without using names, icly explain a conflict your character has with someone else
➤ comment to other characters voting on who the biggest asshole was in their situation: them, the other guy, both or neither
➤ defend your opinion
➤ profit??

Comments

[gatescostmoney]

Grief drives people to do and think crazy things...

[foolswisdom]

Grief? Perhaps it was something like that.

[ Grief or envy. It could have been either, or both. Solomon's smile never wavers. ]

In the end, those circumstances mattered little to me. What I was asked to judge was simply who was the true mother, and I did so.

[gatescostmoney]

I'm less likely to think that you're the asshole and seriously question the sanity of the mother who would accept half of a dead baby.

[foolswisdom]

Do you question it? There are many reasons that might have motivated her.

Perhaps she wished for companionship in her misery. Perhaps she did not wish for her rival to rise higher in the eyes of the man of the household. Who can say?

[gatescostmoney]

I do. Whatever the motivation, if she takes it out on a defenseless newborn, that's cause for concern. I don't think I'd trust her with the care of a child if envy or grief causes her to harm another.

[foolswisdom]

And so her child was taken away by God, and so her chance to steal her rival's child was also taken.

I did not hear what became of her after that. I suspect, however, that her husband was not well-pleased that she forced a squabble that was forced to be taken before the king.

[gatescostmoney]

To answer your original question, I still can't see how you were the asshole in this situation. Maybe your method was unconventional, but it wasn't you being an asshole.

[foolswisdom]

I see.

[ Spoken like a man who had no doubts about that in the first place. ]

My people certainly praised the wisdom of my choice. Though I am given to understand that it is considered... rather extreme, to others.

[gatescostmoney]

[ If he had no doubts, then why bother asking? Perhaps that makes him an asshole. ]

Extreme, yes. That much is true.

[foolswisdom]

I see. I suppose age softens all of us, even the Almighty. It was not such a strange thing, in my time. And the outcome turned out favorably. Isn't that what we all seek in the end?

[gatescostmoney]

[ Is this guy calling Sasuke old? He's 23! ]

No kid was maimed, and the true mother kept custody of her child.

[foolswisdom]

[ He's referring to justice standards. ]

Precisely. I am satisfied with my judgment.

But that is hardly the point of this little game.

[gatescostmoney]

It doesn't change my earlier answer. You're not the asshole in this situation.

[foolswisdom]

You're very kind to say so.

[ He says it so mildly. It's hard to tell if he means it sincerely or if there's some kind of barb hidden beneath it. ]