On Gay marriage and the SCOTUS

This is a post I made on AVfM on the recent gay marriage decision in the USA, in reply to “keep your dirty government fingers out of my marriage!” fools. I think it sums up my opinions.

---

Family members have legal status. Should we do away with the notion that – in the eyes of the law – one’s brothers, sisters, parents and children have a status that strangers do not? That they should not be able to see us when we are in hospital on our deatbeds? That if we die intestate, there should be no presumption that our estate descends to them? Should the day come – God forbid – that someone must decide whether or not to turn the respirator off, should this decision not be in the hands of someone we love, and who we believe loves us? Doing this makes the government, or our employers, or the hospital, the only “family” we have. It’s the opposite of what most libertarians and suchlike would want.

Family means something, and it should mean something in law.

Marriage is a declaration to the world at large, and therefore yes – to the state: “We two are family now. This other person is closer to me than my brothers and sisters, and is first in line in my life.” By its very nature, it is not a private act. That’s why it is done in front of witnesses. Its public-ness is the entire point of it, it’s the difference between a marriage, specifically, and just sleeping with someone you like.

Gay people, pleading equal protection (rightly in the eyes of the SCOTUS) have won the right for their partnerships to be legally recognised in this way. It’s not “tyranny” or anything like it: if anything, it’s the reverse – someone who can rightfully stand between oneself and the uncaring mechanisms of state and medical industry when we are incapacitated. It’s an issue particularly poignant for people who, so often, are rejected by their own natural families. The state now recognises that, for gay people, the person they love and care about more than any other person in the world has some sort of legal status in their life.

Brus Reckoner – The Beginning of the End

At last Coin tells us how his machine works, how it will bring an end to this entire plane of doors. The dimensional anchor will be attached to a spool of unbreakable cable. We will take that anchor all the way to Limen’s sanctum and ground it there. Then, Coin’s machine will haul it back into the tesseract. Simpler said than done, of course – the forces involved are immense. But that, in essence, is how his machine works.

But we still need a MacGuffin or two. A certain clutch of Soul Gems. And for that, we need some help. A paladin named Quicksilver.

According to the angels, Quicksilver is dead. But the angels were misled by Li-men. Instead, he seems to be on one of the planes. A hop, skip, and a jump and we are there.

We arrive at a hillock overlooking what seems to be a conquered city. Brus uses his new spell – Find Quarry. Quicksilver is in that evil-looking tower over there on the other side of the city (of course). His “mode of movement”, according to the spell, is hanging by his ankles and swinging gently.

Find Quarry – You sense whether a well-known creature you can clearly visualize is within a 20-mile radius of your current location, as well as the distance and direction to the creature in relation to you. You also discern whether the creature is moving, and its direction, speed, and mode of movement. The radius you can sense increases by 5 miles for every two caster levels you have above 10th (to a maximum of a 45-mile radius at 20th level).

And this evil-looking tower is not just any old evil-looking tower. A quick flick through the K (religion) recognises it as being dedicated to Zon-Kuthon. Quicksilver, one can guess, is having an unpleasant time of it.

How to get across the city? Around? Through? Under, via that conveniently-placed sewer outlet? Well, we are packing Wind Walk now. We are informed, however, that approaching the tower under cover of that spell is infeasible due to divine interference – a strong Deus ex Machina field surrounds it, and we will need to do at least some of the encounters our DM has lovingly prepared.

Smoke rises from a small cluster of buildings. We elect to alight there and take a squiz.

---

We head into one of the small, squat buildings with thick clouds of smoke coming from the chimney. The odour of rotting death and charred flesh is all but overpowering. Inside, three chained up somethings – humanoid shaped, at least, probably undead – are positioned to be overlooking a room full of charred skeletons. Brus attempts an intimidate: “surrender, or get killed!”. Yeah, it’s basic: but that’s what intimidate boils down to, anyway.

The – things – declare that they have seen things worse then death, and begin making gaze attacks. It’s on. Brus hits one, Faugh hits one, Picklick is outside, and John is just hanging back. Bottom comes in and commences trying to untie one. Brus goes “hmm, ok” and teams up with Faugh. Good tactics. Will calls out “We are supposed to be helping them!”, Brus replies, “We are!”.

More gaze attacks. The front door swings open a little, and the creatures shrink back from the light. Hmm – interesting. One goes down, then another – not before one of its gaze attacks finally hits home. In one of those bursts of unfairness of which the universe is so fond, Will is the victim. He feels a chill, a sapping of his life force. (One negative level to Will.)

Bottom frees the last one of its chains, and attempts to drag it away. It fights and resists with all its might. Brus, deciding that it would be educational to see what happens to these things in full sunlight, joins in, and he and Bottom drag it into the street outside. It’s screams grow louder and louder, more and more desprate until – bodily dragged into the full light of day – its flesh begins to smoke and fall apart, and it disintegrates into dust.

---

A few minutes inside the building tell the tale. These undead were once men, chained up and forced to watch as person after person was burned alive in front of them, the horror driving them mad. These buildings are factories to create new troops for Zon-Kuthon.

The party confer briefly. The fight may come down to John’s channelling and his Asimaar Daylight ability. In any case – they agree that they seriously need to be out of here before nightfall.

Bottom has a moment. It has been difficult for a Lawful Good monk travelling with this gang of frankly murderous worshippers of the Outer Gods. But what he saw in that building was a whole new level of evil. It put things in a little perspective. The tower lies ahead, and there’s plenty of city between here and there.

What a shame we aren’t using sanity point rules! Oh well 🙂 . Just the one fight because we spent a fair bit of time sorting out level 12 gear and purchases. Unfortunately, Brus’ weapon has a book value of 71k which completely blows out the value of his gear. I have sent some mail to our mailing list to try to sort it out. Ultimately, there is going to have to be some handwaving going on even if we do cut back his more expensive items (he is rocking a belt +6, which in all fairness is crazy at 12th level).

We are having a bye next week. More madness after that.

For @AndreVltchek

For @AndreVltchek, in response to In the USA – “I Cannot Write!”.

“During those two weeks I met some of the greatest thinkers living in the United States: Michael Parenti, and John Cobb. Some time ago I worked with Michael on two books, one his and one mine, but this was our first face-to-face encounter. I discussed Christianity with John Cobb, trying to define what is encoded in it that allows the most horrid atrocities to be committed in the name of the Cross. It was deep, philosophical discussion, and we will convert it into a book, soon.”

What do we know about Jehovah, god of the earliest parts of the bible?

Well, he is slow to anger, but his anger is very terrible. When he becomes angry, he shakes the pillars of the earth. He punishes people by making the earth open up and swallow them. Smoke issues from his nostrils. His eyes are a flame of fire, and his mouth is a consuming fire. The radiance of his immediate presence is so great that no man can look directly upon him and live. He led his people across the desert with a pillar of smoke by day and fire by night. Moses received the law by ascending a mountain that smoked and shook.

He kills almost indiscriminately – human lives are nothing to him. His anger against all humanity is so great that he can only be placated by sacrifice. And not just any sacrifice, but one that is pure and unblemished. Innocent. The key to the redemption of man is a human sacrifice, and not just of any human, but of a sinlessly perfect one. But people still anger him even so, so he will cast them into a lake of fire that wil burn and burn forever. His rage is bottomless, limitless. For his enemies (anyone that does not prostrate themselves to him) no vengeance, no matter how extravagant, is enough.

According to the bible, all of humanity is descended from a tribe of people from the region of Mt Ararat. I would wager a considerable amount that 10,000 years ago or so, those mountains were active volcanoes.

What is encoded in christianity that permits atrocities? Only the most fearsome, violent and unpredictable phenomenon in all nature, one that must be placated, pleased, flattered by any means necessary, at any cost, and not always with much success. Jehovah is a volcano god – he is as as frightening and cruel as every other volcano god like him.