No, I was mostly responding to the article where that guy was implying that it was murder for someone to
not "donate" a kidney. It read to me like more soft tyranny, where a donation was being "mandated." Wasn't aimed at you in the slightest. I'm all for people getting paid to do something like this; simple supply and demand. Make it
worth something, and humanity will find a way.
aadarshinah wrote:I'm curious what these priestess might be like. Would they be looked down on by most Vulcans for being involved with such a "terrible" thing as pon farr or respected?
I'd actually see it as a little of both. With how embarrassed Vulcans seem to be about the whole mating cycle, it's logical (pardon the pun) to presume that seeing these priestess would cause all sorts of uncomfortable emotions to come to the forefront as they are a constant reminder of the entire cycle. At the same time, I could see them being honestly respected for being capable of doing this sort of thing for multiple individuals - I've always perceived Vulcans to be biologically wired toward monogamy, so from that perspective, individuals capable of divorcing themselves from their biology to better serve their society would have to be seen as impressive. Or at least necessary.
Would they be young, unmarried Vulcans or older widows?
Why not both?
What about the children that could be potentially born of such unions - would they be stimatized or accepted by the father's family?
What a fascinating question. My initial reaction is to state that stigmatizing such offspring is patently illogical, but given the sort of travails that Spock endured as a kid, one has to admit that its probable such a stigma would inevitably appear. I certainly like the idea of the children being accepted by the father's family (does being a bastard carry the same stigma in Vulcan society that it used to carry on Earth?), but the cynic in me wonders if the intelligence community would not be more interested in them. I'm reminded of the exchange between Vesper Lynd and James Bond in "Casino Royale":
Vesper Lynd: All right... by the cut of your suit, you went to Oxford or wherever. Naturally you think human beings dress like that. But you wear it with such disdain, my guess is you didn't come from money, and your school friends never let you forget it. Which means that you were at that school by the grace of someone else's charity: hence that chip on your shoulder. And since your first thought about me ran to "orphan," that's what I'd say you are.
[he smiles but says nothing]
Vesper Lynd: Oh, you are? I like this poker thing. And that makes perfect sense! Since MI6 looks for maladjusted young men, who give little thought to sacrificing others in order to protect queen and country. You know... former SAS types with easy smiles and expensive watches.
So I could totally see something like that...
Given that T'Pol doesn't seem to have any problem with the idea of the crew going down Risa and, er, becoming acuainted with the locals
Yeah, but is that example really accurate? At that point, T'Pol was still looking down on humanity somewhat as backward and more than a little socially primitive, and as we've seen on the show, Vulcans are certainly superior snobs who hate anyone poking into their own closets.