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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& #39;ll find it referenced to Carpe Jugulum, first published in 1998, in which Granny Weatherwax says:
& #39;sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. Thatâs what sin is.â
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& #39;sin, young man, is when you treat people as things. Including yourself. Thatâs what sin is.â
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But that& #39;s not the first mention of the idea. I& #39;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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& #39;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& #39;
It& #39;s also explicitly in I Shall Wear Midnight, with sideways mentions in other books such as Nightwatch.
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It& #39;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& #39;s mind. But what does it mean?
It& #39;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& #39;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& #39;s notable that they& #39;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& #39;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& #39;re honest, we all do.
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I mean, I& #39;m never going to enslave someone, or torture someone, or start a war.
But prioritise my own comfort and convenience over someone else& #39;s wellbeing? Carelessly forgotten something that was important to someone else? Yeah... I& #39;ve done those. Honestly, haven& #39;t we all?
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But prioritise my own comfort and convenience over someone else& #39;s wellbeing? Carelessly forgotten something that was important to someone else? Yeah... I& #39;ve done those. Honestly, haven& #39;t we all?
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That& #39;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: & #39;I don& #39;t care about that person; my feelings are more important.& #39;
It gets close to evil once we reach: & #39;That person doesn& #39;t matter.& #39;
And: & #39;Those people are disposable.& #39;
And finally: & #39;They aren& #39;t even really people.& #39;
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It gets close to evil once we reach: & #39;That person doesn& #39;t matter.& #39;
And: & #39;Those people are disposable.& #39;
And finally: & #39;They aren& #39;t even really people.& #39;
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We& #39;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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