TEST Book Club - August selection
- Thread starter Printimus
- Start date
About half way through - only put one evening towards reading it so far tho. Work keeps stealing reading time
Make that time to read! I usually find myself reading most as I get ready for bed, laying down and getting into a comfy position to read till I fall asleep. Makes for some awesome dreams too.
BarthSarafin
Admiral
...I actually have the book now :)
I'm only a couple chapters in so far, not sure if i like it or not yet.
Finished it in 3days, thanks to being on holiday lol
I've already read it many many years ago, just a bit after the movie came out. Still love both. Only big difference is, that now I can kinda understand the political side of it too. Which is quiet interesting, even if it seems flawed.
When/where will we discuss it? Here or separate thread?
Next week we can finally discuss spoilers and all that here on this thread. I want to thank all of you for not spoiling it! I'm liking this whole book club thing and hope it will continue to thrive in the months to come.
Beerjerker
Grand Admiral
Ch 13, not much further to finish up! Probably done later tonight.
I've been a bit vacant on the forums, but I'll be sure to pop back in to discuss!
I've been a bit vacant on the forums, but I'll be sure to pop back in to discuss!
Alrighty folks, be on the look out for a new thread for September's nominations! You may now discuss any details of the Starship Troopers book you wish in this thread. I want to thank you all for not revealing or spoiling anything!
Oh, you're welcome. It wasn't any trouble at all.
*is still only halfway through*
Not much of a spoiler, but some of my favorite parts in the book were when Rico was remembering Mr. Dubois's lectures in class.
What are yall's favorite parts in this great book?
What are yall's favorite parts in this great book?
Same here. I find it amazing when I read older books and I see the same social, moral, and ethical challenges that we experience today. This book is no exception. It's almost 60 years old and yet it describes some of the same issues we currently struggle with. It is easy to imagine that current issues are new. You often see blame for some societal shortcoming placed on recent events, trends, laws and law makers.
Yet the facts are, some of these issues have existed long before and will exist long after. The same ideas, opinions, failed solutions, and misplaced theories existed back then just like they do now. I guess it's too easy to get lost in a "back in my day" sentiment. I don't want to spoil anything. So I won't go into further detail, other than to say he really nailed it with crime and punishment.
Maybe we should bring back flogging?
Well, I think it's safe to say our judiciary and incarceration systems are a complete disaster. The whole thing is disfunctional at best and has the added benefit of being wildly expensive. Once upon a time, I used to be a guard at a medium/maximum. Each inmate there cost the state $90,000 per year to house. I can also assure you, no rehabilitation was to be had there. It also wasn't too much of punishment either. It was a running joke among us guards that they lived better and ate healthier than we did (or could afford).
We also learned that only 1 out of every 200 crimes even resulted in incarceration. So even if they make it through the incredibly complicated, expensive, and wasteful judiciary system, they mostly end up with no real punishment at all. Honestly, there isn't a single portion of the current crime/punishment system that I have anything even closely resembling faith in.
Conditions keep getting better for inmates. Punishments keep getting less and less severe. There was even a local program that sought to treat criminals with more respect and rehabilitation. It was intended to take place over several years. The result was immediate. As criminals realized it resulted in more of a "catch and release" program coupled with basic outpatient therapy, crime and violence skyrocketed. It was drastic. There wasn't a single neighborhood in town that wasn't immediately turned into victims. It didn't rehabilitate the criminals, it empowered them.
So yea. From my perspective and experience, I think it's worth a shot. I think the current system is broken. It continues to become less functional the further down this path we go. Criminals don't respond to respect and gentleness. No predator has ever cared how kind their prey is. If they respond to flogging, it might be worth it. The main question against it would be if it is humane. However, is it more humane to inflict pain if it saves a lifetime of dysfunction? Or is it better to meticulously worry about treating them with a gentle hand but risk keeping them in the dumpster for the rest of their lives?
Beerjerker
Grand Admiral
Sheesh, @Bruttle , what's the good news?
I joke, but I see it too. The city I'm in wasn't an open air mental asylum 15 years ago, but it sure is now. It was always... shall we say, quirky and naive, but people didn't use the side streets as toilets and build garbage forts everywhere between "peaceful" protest riots.
Not that I know what the solution would be, or that I'm convinced old Colonel Dubois framework would be as ideal as depicted. Still, it's an interesting concept tucked away in a science fiction story, a society dictated by a voluntary duty to it instead of insatiable individuality or hive structure devoid of will at all. Maybe it was the other way around, hypothetical theory of civilization with a science fiction story tucked in?
Either way, I really enjoyed this one. I can see how it might play to my own biases, being a veteran (when he talked about "the hump," I almost had to do some push ups and sit ups, just out of nostalgia) and also, I admit it, being prone to impatience with other perspectives.
(EDIT: I think it would've broken the story to add any nay-saying, the society wouldn't have made sense and neither would the characters. Well oiled machines, no matter how fictional, don't second guess themselves.)
TL;DR: Bring back flogging :thumbsup:and the only good bug is a dead bug :thumbsdown:! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye::beers:
I joke, but I see it too. The city I'm in wasn't an open air mental asylum 15 years ago, but it sure is now. It was always... shall we say, quirky and naive, but people didn't use the side streets as toilets and build garbage forts everywhere between "peaceful" protest riots.
Not that I know what the solution would be, or that I'm convinced old Colonel Dubois framework would be as ideal as depicted. Still, it's an interesting concept tucked away in a science fiction story, a society dictated by a voluntary duty to it instead of insatiable individuality or hive structure devoid of will at all. Maybe it was the other way around, hypothetical theory of civilization with a science fiction story tucked in?
Either way, I really enjoyed this one. I can see how it might play to my own biases, being a veteran (when he talked about "the hump," I almost had to do some push ups and sit ups, just out of nostalgia) and also, I admit it, being prone to impatience with other perspectives.
(EDIT: I think it would've broken the story to add any nay-saying, the society wouldn't have made sense and neither would the characters. Well oiled machines, no matter how fictional, don't second guess themselves.)
TL;DR: Bring back flogging :thumbsup:and the only good bug is a dead bug :thumbsdown:! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye::beers:
Last edited:
See, this reminds me of Mr. Dubois's lecture to Johnnie about the puppy. I think flogging would work for the same reason someone disciplines a puppy for an accident in the house. So long as it is done correctly.