"No... No, you are not. You are trying to convince me that being at the mercy of humans is somehow superior to solving the problems that fall at my feet... that your quite apparent love of having someone else intervene, of clinging to some set of punitive rules, is somehow superior to seeking out the actual issue and fixing it. The bare minimum should not depend on the chance that someone that has come into power over others just so happens not to also be a monster themselves.
"My kind do not steal. My kind do not murder. We need no laws spelled out for us as though we were children... but you insist that your way is superior... because... you are used to it?" He leaned forward slightly, emphasizing his words: "Do. Not. Be so foolish as to think that because my kind had no such ridiculous mess of clearly ineffective formalities, that they were incapable of solving the problems at the root of what your rules are supposedly meant to address. Consider that perhaps we did not have to deal with such issues on a constant basis as the humans do, because we dealt with them fully already. Believing otherwise is like claiming I would not understand how to clean, because you see the area around me without blemish. It does not follow.
"I cannot agree that your way is better, as I look around in this place here and now. Look what your way has wrought. This is punitive. This is vengeful. This is cruelty. This is... these conditions are so poor that my brethren have been reduced to eating other creatures... and for so long that they are not violently ill for it. ...This would never have happened in the first place, were my kin the ones being listened to from the beginning."
He shook his head, adjusting his arms, still folded there across his chest. "I think to some extent, I actually envy you your circumstances. I suspect that your experiences here, in your world, might actually have been favorable enough that you simply cannot comprehend that the humans in positions of power in my world are drawn to depravity and callousness. You clearly believe your own assertions, that your ways are somehow best, as though it applies to me, in my world, as well. That it applies to the humans of mine.
"I suggest you rethink your stance; though you claim you wish to understand, you continue to insist on nonsense. That I am the one who is confused, despite your own lack of acknowledging the contradictions in what you say. Despite the lived experiences of each of us pointing to one society having solved its ills, while the other struggles with providing its people with necessities, its conditions so dysfunctional that its people still do resort to unwanted behaviors to meet their needs." He narrowed his eyes, more pity in the look than annoyance. "I truly hope, for your people's sake, that someday, they may yet catch up to the ways of mine. I hope for their sake, they learn to admit when what they are doing does not work, and accept the assistance of those who have trodden similar paths many thousands of years previously and already found better ways. I hope for their sake, and for yours, that the realization comes that familiar is not always right... that slow, incremental improvement from a position of failure is not superior to having already reached the goal."
no subject
"My kind do not steal. My kind do not murder. We need no laws spelled out for us as though we were children... but you insist that your way is superior... because... you are used to it?" He leaned forward slightly, emphasizing his words: "Do. Not. Be so foolish as to think that because my kind had no such ridiculous mess of clearly ineffective formalities, that they were incapable of solving the problems at the root of what your rules are supposedly meant to address. Consider that perhaps we did not have to deal with such issues on a constant basis as the humans do, because we dealt with them fully already. Believing otherwise is like claiming I would not understand how to clean, because you see the area around me without blemish. It does not follow.
"I cannot agree that your way is better, as I look around in this place here and now. Look what your way has wrought. This is punitive. This is vengeful. This is cruelty. This is... these conditions are so poor that my brethren have been reduced to eating other creatures... and for so long that they are not violently ill for it. ...This would never have happened in the first place, were my kin the ones being listened to from the beginning."
He shook his head, adjusting his arms, still folded there across his chest. "I think to some extent, I actually envy you your circumstances. I suspect that your experiences here, in your world, might actually have been favorable enough that you simply cannot comprehend that the humans in positions of power in my world are drawn to depravity and callousness. You clearly believe your own assertions, that your ways are somehow best, as though it applies to me, in my world, as well. That it applies to the humans of mine.
"I suggest you rethink your stance; though you claim you wish to understand, you continue to insist on nonsense. That I am the one who is confused, despite your own lack of acknowledging the contradictions in what you say. Despite the lived experiences of each of us pointing to one society having solved its ills, while the other struggles with providing its people with necessities, its conditions so dysfunctional that its people still do resort to unwanted behaviors to meet their needs." He narrowed his eyes, more pity in the look than annoyance. "I truly hope, for your people's sake, that someday, they may yet catch up to the ways of mine. I hope for their sake, they learn to admit when what they are doing does not work, and accept the assistance of those who have trodden similar paths many thousands of years previously and already found better ways. I hope for their sake, and for yours, that the realization comes that familiar is not always right... that slow, incremental improvement from a position of failure is not superior to having already reached the goal."