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This seems like a good time to have a little thread on the #Discworld #TerryPratchett philosophy of not treating people as things...
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If you google this quote, you'll find it referenced to Carpe Jugulum, first published in 1998, in which Granny Weatherwax says:
'sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. Thatâs what sin is.â
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'sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. Thatâs what sin is.â
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But that's not the first mention of the idea. I'm actually not 100% certain (and happy to be corrected), but I think the first time might be Hogfather, first published 1996...
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'Mister Teatime, who saw things differently from other people, and one of the ways that he saw things differently from other people was in seeing other people as things'
It's also explicitly in I Shall Wear Midnight, with sideways mentions in other books such as Nightwatch.
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It's also explicitly in I Shall Wear Midnight, with sideways mentions in other books such as Nightwatch.
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It was clearly an idea that was much in Terry Pratchett's mind. But what does it mean?
It's easy to think it means big things, such as slavery (Feet of Clay, Snuff) or torture (Small Gods, Nightwatch), or using human lives to gain power (Monstrous Regiment, Jingo & others)
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It's easy to think it means big things, such as slavery (Feet of Clay, Snuff) or torture (Small Gods, Nightwatch), or using human lives to gain power (Monstrous Regiment, Jingo & others)
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But I think those things are too obvious, and it's notable that they're not (in the main) the books where it comes up.
No, I think he was trying to remind us about the LITTLE things. The little, everyday carelessnesses that, if we're honest, we all do.
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No, I think he was trying to remind us about the LITTLE things. The little, everyday carelessnesses that, if we're honest, we all do.
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I mean, I'm never going to enslave someone, or torture someone, or start a war.
But prioritise my own comfort and convenience over someone else's wellbeing? Carelessly forgotten something that was important to someone else? Yeah... I've done those. Honestly, haven't we all?
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But prioritise my own comfort and convenience over someone else's wellbeing? Carelessly forgotten something that was important to someone else? Yeah... I've done those. Honestly, haven't we all?
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That's where it starts: when you get careless with other people.
Terry Pratchett was trying to remind us to watch for that, I think. To notice it in ourselves, to apologise, to learn.
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Terry Pratchett was trying to remind us to watch for that, I think. To notice it in ourselves, to apologise, to learn.
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Because if not checked, NEXT is consciously thinking: 'I don't care about that person; my feelings are more important.'
It gets close to evil once we reach: 'That person doesn't matter.'
And: 'Those people are disposable.'
And finally: 'They aren't even really people.'
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It gets close to evil once we reach: 'That person doesn't matter.'
And: 'Those people are disposable.'
And finally: 'They aren't even really people.'
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We've all slipped along this slope. The only question is where you stop. Do you strap on the crampons of apology, haul yourself up, & try do better next time? Or do you thrown your arms up & slide down with glee?
Terry Pratchett was saying, I think: be aware of the choice.
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Terry Pratchett was saying, I think: be aware of the choice.
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