ldwechsler wrote:cthia" quote="cthia wrote:It's time to scratch the hard questions. Questions itching up my butt . . .
Will Treecats be considered totally equal to humans? Does a Treecat have a right to protect himself if he feels threatened? How far does that go? If a Treecat is intentionally slipped a Mickey to incapacitate him, does Nimitz have a right to attack? If he is found guilty, then the 'Cat should be able to accept jail time.
Let's consider another scenario very close to our hearts recently. Had Nimitz slit Burdette's throat in the ramblings thread, would he simply have been subjected to the legal system or summarily shot? Which should happen, if the defendant is human?
ldwechsler wrote:The problem is sort of moot. At the time of the duel, there had been no rulings. If Nimitz had not been shot by a guard, etc., he would have been held as a prisoner while the issues were discussed. The loss of Honor probably would have killed him anyway. Remember that most cats died when their humans did.
Cleaned up quotes.
I'm trying to point out the implications of the Treecats found to be an intelligent species needing to be integrated in every way into human society. Which means man has to watch his step now, lest he finds himself on the receiving end of some sharp claws.
Let's consider a common situation where a bunch of yahoos - who haven't exactly gotten the message - get into a reckless mood and decide to taunt a treecat. Perhaps with what they feel is a harmless act of bullying. Let's say shooting a cat repeatedly with plastic darts from a child's toy. The 'Cat may not view it as harmless, seeing the possibility of losing an eye, the same thing a child's parents warn against. What's a 'Cat supposed to do, turn the other cheek?
<I turned the other cheek, it didn't like it either.>[/quote]
Most people on Manticore and Sphynx know about treecats. Also, cats are really good at throwing things. Would you want to be the recipients of one of those darts?
And the cats are fast. They can get into the face of those doing the annoyance and use true hands to annoy without killing.
Plus, people will recall that it's called "The Queen's Justice".
Would you want to piss off this particular queen by damaging a treecat?[/quote]
Treecats understand proportional response to situations. Consult Tennessee Bolgia and the Macabees coup assassins. Lionheart and company shredded his environment suit into confetti and left him with a load of scratches and Nimitz killed his first target and blinded the rest who were later interrogated. If a bunch of punk kids were harassing a treecat that way, I can see a couple of kids hiking home with a boatload of scratches in there underwear and trying t o explain to there parents why the treecats did that to them.
