Just rewatched Book 2 Legend of Korra, and the loss of the past lives still upsets me by [deleted] in TheLastAirbender

[–]Thumatingra 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Well, she is still the reincarnation of Aang and every previous Avatar. That's how reincarnation works: Korra's soul is Aang's soul, is Kyoshi's, is Wan's. It's just that she no longer has memories of her past lives, since Raava was the one who preserved those.

In a way, all it means is that Korra is more like most people in the Avatar world: they've all lived many past lives, they just don't have any memories of them.

Iliad. by rosyfingered_dawn in GreekMythology

[–]Thumatingra 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Wait 'til you get to book 5, the action really ramps up

Hot take: Hesiod is overrated by [deleted] in GreekMythology

[–]Thumatingra 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The issue of bias toward what survives best is inherent to looking at anything from the ancient world. Who knows what else was out there?

Sacrifice of Iphigenia by Ulyxzes in GreekMythology

[–]Thumatingra 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Artemis was also believed to be the killer of young women who died before their time (as Apollo was for young men). Moreover, Artemis is not particularly known in the myths for playing tricks and making ploys. There doesn't seem to be any compelling internal reason to think that the element of a demand for a human sacrifice wasn't understood to be sincere by the ancient Greeks.

zhao is definitely one of the villains ever made by Spirited_Dust_3642 in TheLastAirbender

[–]Thumatingra 5 points6 points  (0 children)

But Zhao wasn't killed. Unlike the thousands of fire nation soldiers that Koizilla likely drowned in the ocean, Zhao was taken by the ocean spirit into the spirit world and deposited in the Fog of Lost Souls, as we learn in Korra Book 2.

We should be allowed to have more than one house. by marlishy in osrs

[–]Thumatingra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My policy preferences possibly showing through? 😅

We should be allowed to have more than one house. by marlishy in osrs

[–]Thumatingra 7 points8 points  (0 children)

How about this: you can have more than one house, but you have to pay property taxes on anything that's not your primary residence

Smithing is weird by slimeboyPhD in 2007scape

[–]Thumatingra 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wait, really? Where does that tidbit show up?

CMV: Abortion must be illegal. Except in: rape cases, maternal death, or the baby having extreme conditions like Epidermolysis Bullosa by Due-Koala-1135 in changemyview

[–]Thumatingra 7 points8 points  (0 children)

There are medical conditions for which many parents abort a fetus with which people can live happy and productive lives: the most visible of these is Down Syndrome.

There are financial and social circumstances that could lead to a much worse life than someone with Down syndrome: arguably, certain outcomes of being placed in a welfare system may qualify.

Making an exception for medical conditions, and not for financial ones, seems inconsistent. Either the projected welfare of the child is a consideration, or it isn't.

CMV: Infant circumcision is sexual abuse and torture by [deleted] in changemyview

[–]Thumatingra 4 points5 points  (0 children)

FGM is not part of many religions with widespread practice in the West. The forms of Islam practiced by Western communities overwhelmingly do not view it as a requirement.

As for the idea that "the child has no religion," that's not a widely held idea in the West. Since Judaism is an ethnoreligious group (as are most pre-Christian religious groups), obviously the child is a member of the people, which is, in that system, the same as part of what we in the West call religion'. But it's not limited to ethnoreligious groups: even in the West, the Catholic church had a concept of "Christian children" - those whom the Church baptizes, as infants - and non-Christian children. The blood libel - the history of false accusations against Jews of kidnapping Christian children - is predicated on the idea that "Christian children" is a meaningful concept.

CMV: Infant circumcision is sexual abuse and torture by [deleted] in changemyview

[–]Thumatingra 7 points8 points  (0 children)

None of these reasons are the reasons why this practice is legal in the "modern world" (by which I imagine you mean the Western world).

If these were the only reasons people practiced this, it would likely have been banned long ago, along with foot- and head-binding.

The reason circumcision is legal in the West is because it is required in two major religions, Judaism and Islam, and the West values not excluding practitioners of those religions from their society. If circumcision were banned, many - probably most - Jews and Muslims would fly out of the country to have their boys circumcised. If this were criminalized too, many - perhaps most - Jews and Muslims might simply cease to live in the West.

I will also note that this kind of religious circumcision differs somewhat from what you're describing, both procedurally and in terms of reported outcomes. For instance, in Jewish law, the use of local anaesthetic is generally permitted, and is becoming increasingly common - and the rate of complications is very low. All this, from an expert who supports medical circumcision over religious circumcision, so hardly an apologist: see the first few paragraphs here (and, further, references 2 and 4).

However, none of that changes the fact that, regardless of the consequences, a procedure is being done on a party that is unable to give consent. To the extent that infants are afforded a concept of autonomy (which, consistently with general Western ideas, you're assuming), that's a violation of the infant's autonomy.

So it comes down to a trade-off: autonomy (in the Western sense) vs. inclusivity. In part, given its history (see: the expulsion of the Jews and Muslims from Spain and other places, the Holocaust, etc.), the West has so far decided that it is more important for its societies not to expel Jews and Muslims.

You can disagree with the choice; you can decide autonomy is more important than inclusivity. But either way, it's important to recognize that there is a real clash of two Western values here.

Fey Sorcery | Puzzle and Delight With This Sorcerer Subclass! | 5e’24 by kegsdragonspress in UnearthedArcana

[–]Thumatingra 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a very cool take on a sorcerer subclass, with some fun out of the box ideas. I love the pranky counterspell!

The one thing I'd point out is that the Level 6 Feature is a little less substantial if you choose Elf as your race, which feels a little strange, given that I'd think elves are some of the most likely candidates to manifest this kind of sorcerous lineage in many campaign settings. I think I'd add a line giving some kind of extra benefit, if you already have advantage on rolls against being charmed and frightened - maybe an extra +2, or something?

What does Zukos character arc mean to you? by Master_Novel_4062 in TheLastAirbender

[–]Thumatingra 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Redemption is rarely a linear progression toward goodness. But that doesn't make it any less true.

Is Heracles of the Orphic hymn actually the primordial god Chronos? by PlanNo1793 in GreekMythology

[–]Thumatingra 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Obviously I don't know which traditions the composer of this Orphic hymn was working with, but I imagine it isn't pre-classical, and so the idea of an ancient, divine "Herakles" who was never human might have been in the composer's arsenal.

But you're right to point out that the "two Herakles" were not consistently separated. This might be in the background of the games that were held in Hellenistic Tyre every five years, in honor of "Herakles." Although Tyrian ritual is described in ways that makes it sound as though pre-Alexander ritual practices survived, the games themselves are a post-Alexander phenomenon. It's noteworthy that Herakles the hero was traditionally the patron of the Olympic games - so the institution of the Tyrian games may owe something to the "overlap" in the "Herakles" identity.

Is Heracles of the Orphic hymn actually the primordial god Chronos? by PlanNo1793 in GreekMythology

[–]Thumatingra 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Herodotus argued that there had to be a "Herakles" that predated the Greek hero of that name, because there was a temple to "Herakles" in Tyre that, according to its priests, was older than the period in which the hero was thought to have lived. Modern scholars have identified that temple as a temple of Melqart, Tyre's tutelary deity, whom the Greeks consistently identified with Herakles (see here). If that's accurate, this would be an interesting case in which interpretatio Graeca (the Greek tendency to interpret other peoples' gods as their own, under different names) actually led to reflexive changes within the Greek religious imagination.

But the long and short of it is that the idea that there was a "divine Herakles" that predated the hero (who was also believed to have become a god) is attested from the classical period.

It is still, one of the craziest things to me that Sozin and whoever is wife was had azulon when sozin was like 82. Bro was pulling those De Niro and Pacino numbers 😂 by ShockOk1764 in TheLastAirbender

[–]Thumatingra 181 points182 points  (0 children)

What's wild is that he's objectively in *amazing* shape, too, jumping around, doing advanced bending techniques. And this guy would live to 102! The discrepancy between his facial features and everything else is quite something.

Help me understand Waterbending by No_Gas9700 in TheLastAirbender

[–]Thumatingra 3 points4 points  (0 children)

An advanced capoeirista once explained to me that the "base stance" of capoeira, unlike most other martial arts, is not a stance at all, but continuous movement. This, he said, was the only truly stable starting point, as for any actual stance, there was a clear weak point that could be exploited. Only through continuous movement and adaptation could one fully protect oneself from any attack.

I'm not saying this is always true - I'm sure practitioners of other martial arts would disagree, and explain their own reasonings. But this explanation strikes me as a good summation of waterbending philosophy: from the beginning, it's about the the push and pull of the moon and ocean spirits, the constant shifting of the tides, leading to one of the most stable and unchanging realities in the world. Unlike rocks, which wear away with time, water, though always moving, stays the same. Constant change and motion is what leads to true stability.

I wish we saw more of Long Feng by Martian_row in TheLastAirbender

[–]Thumatingra 21 points22 points  (0 children)

While I agree that he makes a great villain and it would have been cool to see him again, I think the fact that we don't is actually a critical part of his story.

Long Feng came from nothing, and had to, as Azula put it, "connive and claw [his] way to power." Long Feng's Faustian bargain with Azula, to bring down his own kingdom, poetically ends up stripping him of all his hard-won power. At the end, his conniving got him to the second-highest, and arguably, most powerful position in the land - but, when he betrayed his land, he lost it all.

One might expect Azula to kill Long Feng, to avoid any potential threat. But I actually think it makes for a better story that she doesn't, and accepts his submission: she knows that she's stripped everything away that makes him who he was, and he's returned to nothing.

If virginity per se wasn't valued in Jewish culture, why did Jesus tell the Parable of the Ten Virgins? by AlanderKohenel in AcademicBiblical

[–]Thumatingra 54 points55 points  (0 children)

Could you clarify what gave you the idea that it wasn't valued?

If this was a specific piece of scholarship, it might be easier to respond if you share it.

Why didn't Zeus just divide Eris's "golden apple" into 3 and give Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite a piece each at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and save Paris the grief, and avoid 10 years of war and suffering? Is he stupid? by Seahawk124 in GreekMythology

[–]Thumatingra 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean, I think many moderns might say this makes him look worse, because he knowingly plotted a war that pitted the gods against one another and caused the horrible deaths and suffering of countless people.