1. Archnenna

    Archnenna Active Member

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    Is this a human rights violation?

    Discussion in 'Research' started by Archnenna, May 6, 2016.

    My story is set in a fictional European country. It's a secular, liberal, progressive country (think Sweden, Denmark etc.). Now, the story is Urban Fantasy and recently supernatural beings have revealed themselves to the world. Three years after the revelation, news laws are passed and these beings, being humanoid, are granted the same rights as humans. They are recognized as people by law, have to abide laws just like everyone else, and are also protected by those laws just like humans.

    I was thinking of having a law where everyone should have their species listed on their ID. Now, I'm no expert in politics, so I was wondering if such a law violates human rights? I'm aware that it can be abused (for examples, potential employers can reject candidates based on prejudice and bigotry), which is why I'm unsure whether a modern, progressive country can have such a law.
     
  2. Oscar Leigh

    Oscar Leigh Contributor Contributor

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    Hmm, Nordic model countries do have a pretty good human rights stance. (As well as being awesome, he said non-biasedly, as totally not a Nordic model advocate :whistle::whistle:)
    Well, I'd reference this a lot when considering this question. I've used it before, it's quite an accurate source on human rights. :D
    http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/.
    Looking at it, it seems to be "arbitrary interference with his privacy". They don't put race, sexuality, birth sex, place of birth, political affiliation or criminal record on your national standard ID.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_identity_card_(Sweden)
    So, probably not justifiable. Sorry if this is a major plot point. But I'm sure you can have other ways to have their identities found out.
     
  3. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Is there a practical reason for the species being listed? That's what rights cases often come down to - a balancing of practical considerations against rights to privacy, etc. And is there a significant problem with prejudice and bigotry? If not, the balancing is likely to be less difficult. Like, for example, my driver's license lists my eye colour. People aren't discriminated against based on eye colour, so even though it's not terribly useful information, there's no big problem with listing it. It would likely be MORE useful to list race (assuming race were clearly definable) but it would also be more likely to lead to discrimination, so there's no area for that to be indicated.

    So if there's a reason for the species to be listed (different medical needs, or something like that) and little likelihood of discrimination, I don't see a human rights issue. If there's no reason for the listing and a high likelihood of discrimination, it could be an issue. Nothing is ever clear cut!
     
  4. Oscar Leigh

    Oscar Leigh Contributor Contributor

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    Yes!!!
     
  5. Archnenna

    Archnenna Active Member

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    Thank you for the links! I will look into them, they look very useful! :)

    About practical reason - I haven't come to that yet. I'm finishing book three at the moment, and these laws don't exist yet as the supernaturals have only now come out. Book four will have a time jump and that's where these political issues will come in. I still have some planning to do, and am still doing research.

    There is definitely a problem with prejudice and bigotry. One of the bad guys will be a particularly nasty hate group heavily involved in politics.

    Some beings do require different medical needs, and I can see your point in that.

    Thank you, everyone, for the replies! You've also given me a lot to think about and work out, so thanks!
     
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  6. KaTrian

    KaTrian A foolish little beast. Contributor

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    @Komposten Care to chime in? :D

    @Archnenna You might want to check out this Swedish sci-fi TV show called Äkta människor (if you don't mind subtitles) as when the show progresses, it starts to address the issue of "human" rights for androids in modern Sweden, and it's quite interesting. You can probably find it online or on Netflix.

    I think in Finland, my native country, the health insurance institution would have humans and non-humans registered. You'd basically tick a box, maybe add a description of what kind of non-human you are if that's relevant to your story. When you visit a doctor, this might also be noted as it can affect your treatment, so they'd have a database where they'd see if their patient is human or something else.

    Another thing our news media tends to do is release the ethnicity of criminals, while I think Sweden omits it, and they don't even keep records of it in criminal cases. In our criminal records, the ethnicity is noted, and every year statistics are released, detailing the amount of crimes committed by people of Finnish and non-Finnish background. There might be this type of register in your fictional world. It can breed xenophobia in humans because they'd see on the news and crime stats whether or not the perp has been non-human.
     
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  7. newjerseyrunner

    newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    I would think a fairly progressive country could see the potential for disaster there. Jews had to wear special badges in various times throughout history to identify them, whether intended or not, it always ended up badly for them.
     
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  8. Oscar Leigh

    Oscar Leigh Contributor Contributor

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    What about if it was only on more private medical records that just your doctors and other authorized people look at or something? Rather than putting on their standard ID or anything.
     
  9. Archnenna

    Archnenna Active Member

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    First, thanks for the show recommendation! I added it to my IMDb To-Watch list. :D

    I could do that thing about the info being private and sealed. I can have those bad guys campaigning to limit the supernaturals' rights also have the "register the supernaturals" agenda, amongst other nasty things they're attempting to make legal. Now that I think about it, it does seem like something a hate group would want to do.

    Thank you, everyone! :D
     
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  10. yeybez

    yeybez Member

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    I wouldnt say it was a human rights violation but you could deffinately use it to create tension between the species if you had say scenes where bartenders or shop owners refused to sell after seeing they were part of the other species for bigoted reasons or whatever. you could be going another way with it though, idk.

    I think the only thing that would make it a rights violation would be if they was mandatory chip implants involved or something, that would be crossing a line.

    also, is this story meant to be symbolic of the migrant crisis? thats what came across to me when reading the synopsis you gave. kinda curious about it now.
     
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  11. Archnenna

    Archnenna Active Member

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    It's not. A few years ago in my country this hate group (I refuse to call them anything else but that) collected signatures and successfully arranged for a referendum that limited certain rights to a group of people I will not name. Writing them into my story as extremists and hypocrites (I plan on the leader being a supernatural herself and using her abilities to help her campaign) is sort of my Take That at them.
     
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  12. Komposten

    Komposten Insanitary pile of rotten fruit Contributor

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    Before I start: I'm not a political person, so my knowledge when it comes to things like this is pretty limited.
    Also, as it might be relevant to the discussion, I do live in Sweden.

    Looking at my own ID card I can tell you that, other than stuff like date of birth and personal identity number, it also lists the owner's gender (I presume it's a M/F systm, but I'm not sure) and their nationality. No such things as race, ethnicity, religion, etc. are stated. I do not know if it would violate human rights to add something like it, but it could definitely be problematic. As it is, employers do abuse the current system (even though it is a punishable offence) and discriminate people based on names and gender; and if employers abuse it you can probably imagine what the real bad guys would do.

    Also, if the rulers of the country would want to have such information on an ID card (something I believe Sweden would never do) they would have to have a damn good reason for it. Unless there is an actual reason for it other than identification of which species an individual belongs to, a law like that would feel like placing a sticker that says "I'm different" on every supernatural's forehead. What I mean to say is that putting species in the passport would essentially be a way to separate the supernaturals from the humans, and without a good reason for it it would simply seem like the authorities want to be able to control them without affecting the humans. When a new group emerges like this they are bound to be perceived as different, and by labeling them this perception is only reinforced. I guess the comparison @newjerseyrunner made with jews isn't too far off, though the information would be more hidden in an ID card.
     
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  13. Komposten

    Komposten Insanitary pile of rotten fruit Contributor

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    Also, as @KaTrian said, Äkta människor ("Real humans") is a really good show. I highly recommend it if you can stand hearing Swedish. :)
     
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  14. Archnenna

    Archnenna Active Member

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    Swedish is no problem at all. I grew up with subtitled movies and shows, so I'm used to subs. ;)

    You bring up great points. Now that I think about it, it does seem discriminatory and a bit controlling for it to be a law. Which also makes perfect sense for villains to attempt to make that very same law.

    I would like to thank everyone who replied here! You've all been extremely helpful, and have given me a lot to think about. So thanks! :D
     
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  15. Rob40

    Rob40 Active Member

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    Just to note something about this. Human rights violations, on a world stage or in a world court, do not encounter prosecution unless those events affect and happen within other countries. Crossing the border. Looking at genocide within the borders of an African nation, the world news and world reactions might condemn the actions, but unless the genocide spills out of the borders and begins to kill peoples of other nations who are not part of that nation's government, only then can the world councils go in and do something about it. Otherwise, whatever happens within a country is its own sovereign government matters regardless of what others think. It's unfortunate and horrible to believe but it would be directly interfering with a country and it's people only for the beliefs of the observing country. That's what they're trying to overturn the concept of in the UN.

    Now, in your story, it would only be a human rights violation if it was determined to be by factors that can force the government to consider it as such. Otherwise, it wouldn't be because the law doesn't think it is. You have to work within the constraints of the world you built and it's laws and beliefs. If it's not a violation, then you have a means of discrimination in your world to deal with. Now, as others have pointed out, you have sources for contention and motivation and deep-rooted feelings of revenge, or escapism, etc... Many things you can use to deepen the character backstories.
     
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  16. Oscar Leigh

    Oscar Leigh Contributor Contributor

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    It's like the Liberals propositions to put criminal records out publicly for like, almost every arrested person. I don't like that idea.
    Um, they have responsibility to protect now. We are doing this in my legal studies class right now. It means they can interfere as long as there are crimes against humanity, essentially on or Kore forms of mass violence, and the P5 agree. They interfere d with Libya it's just Syria has a lovely friend called Russia vetoing the intervention proposals.
    But yeah, in this case it's not about intervention. But it doesn't need to be. It's called bad PrR. What do you think happens every time Uganda walks into the UN? Everyone knows they've got at least the major human rights issues. Plus the whole point was the country is not that sort of country.
     
    Last edited: May 7, 2016
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  17. Rob40

    Rob40 Active Member

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    I understand, but my point was to describe that whatever is happening within the country she has created, might not be considered a human rights violation because it's solely within the borders of that country, and like you say, everyone knows Uganda has human rights issues but they can still walk into the UN and I don't see anyone storming their country to fix it. It's their own country and they're not crossing borders to do the same elsewhere like some terrorist groups.

    So, I pointed out an area where that happened. Since you are in a legal studies class on the subject, I'm sure you have seen the documentary Watchers of the Skies. If you haven't, I really suggest you do because it's depressing but fascinating on that front of the UN and the work it takes to make change and when it's permissible to go do something as a global concern.
     
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  18. Oscar Leigh

    Oscar Leigh Contributor Contributor

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    `
    Yeah, I know. :( I don't like the Security Council tbh.:(:(
     
  19. ToBeInspired

    ToBeInspired Senior Member

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    I do have a few questions which may weigh on this point.

    Is the source of these newly obtained ablities a byproduct of something that could have potentially be seen as a violation of their own rights? (exposure to chemicals, unlawful experimenting, etc.)
    * Which would bring more light onto any following actions which could potentially be depicted as a violation of their human rights.
    Do any of their powers potentially have the ability to threaten national security? Are there powers so dangerous, or simply uncontrollable, that it would endanger the lives of fellow citizens?
    * If so, it may become the responsibility of the government to monitor the activity of people with powers. For instance, before leaving the country it may be required to identify yourself (and power) to the proper authorities. This could of course be private, able to do so without discerning eyes, but may be necessary. If a private citizen with the uncontrollable ability to cause random explosions were to visit the United States and an incident occured it could become international in nature. Not taking measures could even be seen as an act of aggression, though unlikely. Of course, what about the abuse of such powers? Even if an unwilling participant, crime may occur. If a criminal, or terrorist group, where to take your family hostage and force you to use your powers for nefarious purposes it could cast an ill light on the "species." Fox news is a great example of such, they have a well developed media designed towards hate and bigotry.

    How would they determine the existance of a superhuman?
    * If it is able to be determined at birth, that solves most of the future cases. If it require a blood test, how would you have everyone register without involving the participation of non-supers? It begins to not only infringe on the newly designated humans but of all humanity.

    Back to your question, would a listing of species on their identification card be a violation of their human rights. I would not believe it to be, but the case would be argued. As stated previously, there would need to be a reason to even warrant such a classification. The threat of security is one such reason this may occur. If there comes a superhuman with the seemingly harmless ability to shift into another person's appearance new national security measures would have to be taken. Due to the fact of having a high ranking doppelganger there would have to be tests run before any important decisions or actions are initiated. This would not only be on a governmental level, but in the private sector as well. Any crime committed could be used to further label and persecute their species.

    I would believe that it would take the opposing hate group prior "ammo" to latch on before they would be able to pass a law along that nature. I could see the government asking for a sealed registeration. However, if that information was available to the police it could be used for discrimination. X has the ability to phase through solid objects. A neighboring house was robbed, without activation of any security alarms, causing unwarranted suspicion to fall on such person. Now due to the nature of X's power, the police bring X in for interrogation. It can begin to fall into the lines of harrassment. There are many ways that a person's human rights can start to become infringed on. Hell, none of this even mentions the religious zealots.

    Well, good luck. You have some issues to work through, that's for sure. Depending on the nature of the power(s) many of these factors may not be of issue, but it always seems other arise.

    If you ever need a beta reader, feel free to consider me. I've always had an interest in these forms of novels. I have a fascination with evolution and superhuman abilities. If you look past the fiction aspect, and more into a biolgical or genetic, every imagined ability has very real possibilities. X has superhearing, but how? Lot of different ways to explain that one instead of a single statement.

    Alright, back to my self imposed course lessons. Need to finish a paper on an example of how a genetic mutation has harmed the evolutionary growth of a species, leading to extinction, and how another species seemingly insignificant survival trait allowed it to flourish. Maybe I'll even have time to research the effects of climate on specific species growth, eh?

    Good luck on your novel!
     
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  20. Archnenna

    Archnenna Active Member

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    Q: Is the source of these newly obtained ablities a byproduct of something that could have potentially be seen as a violation of their own rights? (exposure to chemicals, unlawful experimenting, etc.)
    A: No. In my universe, magic is natural, and so are creatures possessing it. The only exception are vampires, who were created by a witch a long time ago. other than them, other creatures are just as natural as humans. They are just born possessing certain abilities or being of certain human subspecies (werecreatures, sirens, mermaids, angels, demons, kitsune to name a few. I mentioned lots of creatures, though not all have been introduced as characters yet).

    Q: Do any of their powers potentially have the ability to threaten national security? Are there powers so dangerous, or simply uncontrollable, that it would endanger the lives of fellow citizens?
    A: Yes. Vampires have the ability of compulsion. Some species have telekinesis. Some have element-based abilities (pyrokinesis, aerokinesis, hydrokinesis, atmokinesis, geokinesis etc.).

    You bring up interesting points.
    There are characters who abuse their powers, and not in a harmless, having fun way like, say, moving the furniture with telekinesis, creating a breeze on a hot day or something like that that, frankly, every one of us would do if given powers. Rather, they use them to commit murder and such.
    But then, there are law abiding supernatural characters whose only crime, in the hate group's eyes, is being supernatural.

    Q: How would they determine the existance of a superhuman?
    A: Since magic and inhuman beings are natural, it can be determined. A blood test would do.

    I agree with you on that. It does sound totalitarian to have everyone have to take a blood test to "prove" their species.

    You, along with everyone else, have given me things to think about. Considering that the book containing these issues is close, but still not THAT close, I have enough time to better think through everything.

    I would ask you to read, but I'm from Croatia and writing in my language. Plus, haven't gotten to these issues yet in the series. But thank you for offering! :)

    This was fun. Thank you and good luck to you, too!
     
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  21. ToBeInspired

    ToBeInspired Senior Member

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    Luckily for you I'm actually fluent with every language known to man. Darn, writing something doesn't make it reality once again. I'm telling you, one day it's going to work.

    Umm, so your explanation brings up a whole plethora of other problems.

    Your list includes subspecies of a more nautical theme. While I wouldn't mind flipping around in some waves with a siren, I kind of have to wonder what your laws are for marine life as well. Say you have a siren/mermaid that's near the coast of Japan. With the aggressive, and very violent, fishing industry they possess not sure how you can guarantee any safety. What's the laws on a "mermaid" citizen who crosses water boundaries? Not all countries have defined territories in bodies of water. If you're talking about a landlocked inner country in Europe, how do you relegate nationality? Can your mermaid(s) survive in their own man-made pond?

    Skipping over that, are they all able to "blend" into human society with perhaps a disguise or obscurity? If it's a form of magical illusion, covers a lot of your bases. If it's obscurity you have to factor in environment and encroaching destruction of natural habitats. You also would need to explain "why" they hadn't been exposed at an earlier date. Be it a low population density, a powerful society covering they're tracks (think T.V. show "Haven"), or some other such rational device.

    Huh, depending on how far you push it some of your abilities can be INCREDIBLY dangerous. Aero -- create a vacuum. Hydro -- freeze blood. A lot of potential problems faced in trying to control those.

    Well, consider the basic characteristics and traits of each of your supernaturals and think of how they would be affected by human development and growth. Imagine some animals that are currently endangered or gone extinct. They'll face similar problems as those animals have. The only real difference is they now have a larger scale of rights and are better able to defend themselves by voicing such concerns.

    So you have a group of "bad" guys or mainly bigots with influence. They use crimes to attack the supernatural community. Any decent respective lawyer would completely mention atrocities committed against his clients... say the Sea of Japan and some mermaids get washed in with the dolphins. Poor little mermaid babies, no that's not a manatee Mr. Motor Boat enthusiast.

    It would be wise to show a display in both national and private security. If vampires are the only one with compulsion, though I would assume witches would too if they created them, then security measures against them would be prudent. If they can't walk in the sun, then synthetic lighting that copies the sun for instance. It might help, as a twist, if you demonstrate the government has a general understanding of the abilities of the supernaturals, but becomes surprised by an unlisted ability at a later date.

    Always, always more. The more information I get the more I can work with. Good luck, again.
     
    Last edited: May 13, 2016
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  22. Archnenna

    Archnenna Active Member

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    Darn, writing something doesn't make it reality once again. I'm telling you, one day it's going to work.
    I wish it did. :D

    I decided not to make sirens marine creatures. They're humanoid in appearance and their abilities are sound related (vocal mimicry, sonokinesis, siren song, sonic scream). :D

    What's the laws on a "mermaid" citizen who crosses water boundaries?

    This is actually an excellent point. I haven't even thought about it. Thank you for bringing it up! I plan on a solo book with mermaids as a main focus, but considering my writing speed, it'll take a while for me to get to it. I will think this through, though.

    My mermaids don't live in the water. Rather, they live on land, having fit in with humans for centuries. They can shapeshift their tails into legs, so they survive just fine. Most of them live by water, though, such as on islands, coast towns etc.

    You also would need to explain "why" they hadn't been exposed at an earlier date.


    This is somewhat explained. It's said that, at least in the fictional country the story is set in, thousands of years ago supernaturals were out in the open. However, with the rise of religions and colonization, they sort of hid themselves and as time went by they became myths and legends. Until recently.

    This is a quote from the narrator, my main character: "There was a time, in the distant past, when I could have done even worse, completely within the law. Just because humans forced their behavioral rules upon the supernatural population and turned us into mere legends doesn't mean we have to come to terms with it."

    Note: I apologize for the poor translation. As stated before, I'm writing in my own language. Translating is hard.

    So you have a group of "bad" guys or mainly bigots with influence. They use crimes to attack the supernatural community.

    The idea is that at first they only attack humans and stage it to look like the supernaturals did it. Basically, the hate group's leader is a supernatural herself. She was human at the beginning of her campaign, but along the way she became a "queen" of these parasite-worm-like supernatural animals and instead of quitting like a decent person would, she decided to use that to her advantage. These parasites can possess humans and humanoid supernaturals. And they're all under her control. So she uses them to possess people and gain herself more followers, and also has the possessed attack humans to make it look like supernaturals did it. And it works because the possessed host gains super strength so, naturally, the suspicion falls on the supernaturals.

    There's little DNA left at the crime scenes, and the test show it's human DNA. If the attackers were supernatural, it would show in the test, and these clearly aren't. However, the hate group counters this by saying things like "there was a mistake" or "it's a coverup" (you know how hate groups and conspiracy theorists do in real life and people believe them).

    However, one time they will mistakenly attack a kitsune, who puts up a fight. There's DNA, and again, it's human. But, long story short, she wasn't even supposed to be at the spot where she was attacked, but rather her human friend was. The friend got a text asking her to come out. The kitsune, knowing of the recent attacks, told her friend not to go and instead went to investigate herself, and got attacked.

    That's how they realize the supernaturals are being set up.

    After it's been announced to the public, that is when the hate group begins their actual crimes against supernaturals (attacking them, the queen sending her parasites after them etc.).

    Any decent respective lawyer would completely mention atrocities committed against his clients... say the Sea of Japan and some mermaids get washed in with the dolphins. Poor little mermaid babies, no that's not a manatee Mr. Motor Boat enthusiast.

    True, but these people will claim they have not done that, and turn it around to make themselves look like the victim. As mentioned, I'm basing them on a hate group from my country and kinda describing all their tactics to gain sympathy and supporters.

    If vampires are the only one with compulsion, though I would assume witches would too if they created them.

    Witches used a ritual with many different ingredients to create them, but they, themselves, don't have compulsion. But their magic is powerful and they can do a lot of damage if they want to.

    If they can't walk in the sun, then synthetic lighting that copies the sun for instance.

    Like in True Blood? I like this idea. :D They can only walk in the sunlight if they wear jewelry with a sunstone, but it has to be spelled by a witch. Also, vampires in my universe are wounded by gold. I know it's silver in many works, but I used silver as a weakness for werecreatures in my universe. The explanation is that gold is, in the supernatural sense, the Sun's metal, and since the Sun burns vampires, touching gold does, too.

    Talking to you is really amazing. You're a great help!

    I have a question, since you seem knowledgeable on this. :D Would it be an alright law if werecreatures were required to keep themselves caged during the full Moon?

    I've had a family of werewolves in the story, and they caged themselves up in their basement every full Moon so they don't hurt anyone. But there are also werecreatures who prefer to roam free (I had werewolves who refused to cage or chain themselves). Note that during the full Moon they become wild, people-eating beasts with no control over themselves, and have no memories of what they've done once the Moon's effects wear off in the morning.

    Perhaps I can make it so that some forests are reserved for weres during the full Moon, or maybe even some lakes for water-animal werecreatures. There can be those "danger"-like signs warning people off certain forests or lakes during full Moons.
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2016
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  23. Archnenna

    Archnenna Active Member

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    Just to add, the vampires were a legitimate threat. Back when the supernatural was still unknown, vampire victims were written off as being killed by wolves. Also, at the end of book one, after his friend was killed, the big bad (the second oldest vampire in the world) unleashed his army of vampires on the entire country, killing hundreds of people just because he was angry and wanted vengeance, despite the fact that he and his friend were the ones who started the trouble - they were, after all, the bad guys.

    That's how the supernatural got exposed. After vampires were out, other species outed themselves, too, only not in a violent way. Rather, they did it civilly (such as online, speaking on TV, giving interviews etc.).

    I have to note that not all vampires are like that. Those who did that worked for the bad guy, and they're only a minority of the vampire population. But it's understandable why humans would think that all members of the species are evil after being exposed to them in such a way. And the hate group sure does love to use that incident against the supernaturals.
     
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  24. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    [draft speech]

    YOU people's toleration of so-called supernatural beings...this is beyond all my comprehension.

    Wipe them out, and show spirits, harpies, two-headed dogs of war, show them all who is boss in your countries. Reader - hasten the sterilisation of gothic communities at the very least, and now. Warning shots must be fired over, above, and through the heads of these vampire beasts. Indeed, one and the same are emo sympathisers, the romantic poets, the feminists of the forest; sign post our intentions, and an intolerance of (un)dead walking upon this, our only true planet. [Gaia messaging]

    Corpses in my sauna, I think not...brothers.

    Three years - is literally a blink in the eye for once proud nations of Scandinavian lifestyle - and all living peoples (plus Finland), and this proposal of yours...@member is a poke in the eye...

    [Applause rings throughout the Senates]

    Enough is enough. I, for one, say NO to the ghosts.
     
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  25. Jack Asher

    Jack Asher Banned Contributor

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    You guys are forgetting the very good reasons a government ID exists.
    1. Getting arrested. Or at least giving an officer the information he needs to not arrest you. But most likely to arrest you.
      1. If an officer is arresting a vampire, who can mind control him, a fairy who can't touch the steel in the handcuffs, or a siren that can blow his ear drums at a moments notice, he has a goddamn good reason to know these things.
      2. If a fairy is allowed to use certain substances, illegal to other races, for cultural or biological reasons; it's probably prudent to have a way of telling who is a fairy and who isn't.
    2. Identifying your dead ass body.
      1. If your dismembered body happens to wash up on shore, wallet on board, knowing that you are a mermaid, and have therefore not drowned, save some valuable time.
      2. It's also nice to know that your skin has been burned off from exposure to the sun, rather than purposeful immolation.
      3. Should you have special considerations needed for your corpse, a stretcher that can accomidate a dogs body, as well as a humans, for instance; this is important information for the body wagon
    3. Identifying medical need. When you are unconscious on a stretcher, the first place your EMTs are going to look is your wallet, at the very least to figure out your name. But in a world where medical decisions must vary wildly across species.
      1. It would be nice to know that a blood transfusion/incorrect oxygen mix/anesthetic, will not immediately kill the patient.
      2. Heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, and BMI, all being wildly different, probably need a realistic baseline. It would be pretty bad to give a werewolf a cardiotonic, only to burst all the blood vessels in his eyes.
      3. And of course in the worst case scenario, an elven organ donor probably need to get his organs put into other elves, or bad things happen.
    So yes. There are a bunch of very good reasons the government should know what race you are on your driver's license.
     
    Komposten, Oscar Leigh and Archnenna like this.

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