Saturday, August 25, 2012

Schism

[Post by Will Price]

We have come to a crossroads here in New Haven. I talked the other day about the fact that we need to face the future with our eyes and minds open. To achieve much there has to be sacrifice, but we also have to remain willing to bend to the times. You probably guessed that this post has to do with our prisoners. You are right. Not just with the Exiles we have in captivity, but also the ones still out there. Those are the ones making this situation more difficult.

Within New Haven there is a division between people. Some want the council to follow the path we laid out with the original truce. They want us to kill the prisoners and declare war on the remaining Exiles. Not because those citizens are angry or want revenge. They see a threat to our home and recognize the need to neutralize it. They see enemies who were given a chance to walk away and did not take it.

That opinion isn't wrong or right. Most of those backing a violent solution to this problem have suffered at the hands of the Exiles or people like them. There are a significant number of new arrivals that have been brutalized by marauders at one point or another. It isn't just long-time citizens that feel this way.

The other side want us to mitigate our response. They argue that we should have learned a lesson from the debacle with Louisville. That killing is a last resort, one to be avoided if possible. It has been pointed out to me that the Exile infiltrators were working and doing a good job by all accounts. What if this signifies genuine change, a willingness to move beyond the people they once were?

Both sides have reasoned and compelling cases. The council is deadlocked. I am the deciding vote. It rests in my hands alone whether we spend our efforts working on the expansion or trolling the local fields and woods for enemies. Do we show our strength and determination in the face of enemies or allow for the possibility of their personal evolution and growth?

I am balanced between them. There are too many variables to consider. A lot can go wrong either way. A good leader should never show hesitation or fear. The person in charge is supposed to be the example for everyone else. Once upon a time I would have agreed with that idea wholeheartedly. Not today. Maybe not ever again.

If the trouble with Louisville has taught us anything it's that open and frank discussion is important. I need to make a call on this situation very soon, by tomorrow at the latest, and it's important that none of you think I will come to it lightly or easily. Lives could be lost. Probably will be, either way. Not many people are furious enough to kill based on what I've heard, but it only takes a few sparks to start a fire.

That kind of turmoil is the last thing we can afford. The question or right and wrong in this context is the worst part. We have always tried to fight for life, even when that meant making ourselves violent enough that no enemy would dare come after us. New Haven has been a collection of people painted in contrasts since before it had a name. Even when this was the compound, the cold choice to kill did not come without some cost.

My only choice is to weigh them now. Wish me luck. Wish all of us luck.

3 comments:

  1. What if they were to work with the Louisville crowd....the quarantine zone you're making? Let them prove their worth.

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  2. Remember in the past, how questionable people were integrated into the New Haven community? They were placed under extreme watch, had to earn privilages, weren't provided with a bed, had to do what others commanded without fail weren't even given the rights of food and had to rely on folks to generously feed them. I don't mean to bring up sore subjects, but there was success at finding out the truth behinsd motives with out a fast and furious decision that could have resulted in disaster. It was diffucult, I can only imagine, but I am glad for the trial by fire. There is a strong leader who knows the hearts of population. Have we evolved too much to try this strategy again? We are not the same people as we were a year or two ago. If this strategy is tried and the questionable people are up to no good, then yes, deal swiftly and harshly with them. If they are truely trying to change, it too will show. A rock and a hard place. The Louisville event was completely different and while understandably is in the forefront of eveeryone's minds, it cannot dictate this situation. They are too different. It's just I was thinking there is almost a precedent for what is happening. It tried and doesn't pan out, then you are given more time to find another solution. God be with you all.
    P.S. I know Josh is still healing, but does he know? What are his thoughts, as he was one of those involved in the earlier choice discribed above.

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  3. Louisville and the Exiles are two different situations. The Exiles are breaking a truce of peace deliberately. Louisville acted out of desperation. The Exiles should be punished....this will also set an example for any other bands of idiots that think they can mess with your group.

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