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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   24411 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of August 10, 2026

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‘I am sorry,’ said Frodo. ‘But I am frightened; and I do not feel any pity for Gollum.’

‘You have not seen him,’ Gandalf broke in.

‘No, and I don’t want to,’ said Frodo. I can’t understand you. Do you mean to say that you, and the Elves, have let him live on after all those horrible deeds? Now at any rate he is as bad as an Orc, and just an enemy. He deserves death.’

‘Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many - yours not least. In any case we did not kill him: he is very old and very wretched. The Wood-elves have him in prison, but they treat him with such kindness as they can find in their wise hearts.’

This man, as deeply flawed and as wronged by institutions as he wronged them, has left behind children and wife. Do not blacken your heart by thinking this is a good outcome. Do not celebrate misery.

To the extent that "choice" means anything at all, Gollum didn't become evil by choice. They had a lot less pity for Sauron than for Gollum.

Well said. To celebrate someone's death is an act of genuine evil. Sometimes it might be the case that someone must die, but even when that is necessary we should never be happy that such a thing came to pass.

If you go around feeling bad each time you manage to kill an enemy soldier, you will never win the war. Bryan Caplan's missing mood is just not realistic human psychology.

Along with a couple of men from my company who had hooked up with me, I proceeded down the path. To the right of it was a fortified line, from where we came under heavy fire. We retreated to the first of the dugouts, over which the bullets of both sides were soon flying back and forth. It looked as though it had been a base for messengers and bicyclists attached to the artillery. Outside it lay my British soldier, little more than a boy, who had been hit in the temple. He lay there, looking quite relaxed. I forced myself to look closely at him. It wasn't a case of 'you or me' any more. I often thought back on him; and more with the passing of the years. The state, which relieves us of our responsibility, cannot take away our remorse; and we must exercise it. Sorrow, regret, pursued me deep into my dreams.

So that's why Germany lost the War!

Bryan Caplan is an ideologue before anything else, and transparently so. I wouldn't trust anyone who quotes him in earnest.

That said, I'd much rather celebrate Arday's discovery as a liar and his deserved disgrace than his death, since the latter is orthogonal to his wrongdoings.

When did I say this was a good outcome?

Do not celebrate misery.

Save that for the dead man's living supporters.

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