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// Octavia, on Casual Racism 
// Story: Dream On: Vinyl and Tavi's Private Weblog 
// by Koiyuki 
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During my anthropological studies, I learned much on the Magika, the Aeros, the Terran and Archeon, the 4 base genetic classifications each of us fall under. I know such things are not what strike your fancy, but if you give me a moment, I promise there's something...juicy, I believe the term is? For you to dig into. I've listened to you blather on plenty about your journey for the perfect bass drop and set list, you can at least do me this kindness. 

At any rate, the Magika, from my understanding, are coded with immense potential to channel the energy that flows within and around us, transforming it to their will, as I'm sure you've done many times before. Why, from what you've personally demonstrated, I know they can control matter from great distance, teleport certain distances, manipulate many things at once, focus it into an offensive projectile, along with who knows how many other applications (perhaps some can even peer into the flow of time, itself)

The Aeros, in comparison, carry an innate relationship with the elements, and work with them to direct where they may be needed. Because of this relationship, they can focus their energy as needed into wings granting them the power of flight, that same energy regulating the pressure their body feels as they rise into thinner air and push their aerial abilities to the brink (I've heard some Aeros can even break the sound barrier while not turning their insides into jelly). 

Terrans, like myself, are closest to our biological ancestors, and as such, are built to be much more hearty than the others. We may not be able to fly or use magic, but the ingenuity of our forerunners has produced many tools to make up for it, such as...well, just about every modern marvel you can think of. I'd like to think our strongest trait is to tap into the potential held not in nature or in the energy around, but in our own two hands, driving the world forward with our own two feet. 

Archeons, like the royals, have found a way to tap into the potential of their Terran, Aero and Magika coding to achieve unfathomable things, such as working with the cosmos, themselves, but the secret to how seems to be under lock and key-and is likely that they have no bloody clue, either, and happened to strike upon the genetic jackpot to end them all

I bring all this up because recently, I've been deep in thought about the divide between those of different classes, nationalities, and social standings. Before I met you, I didn't give much thought to how people from other ranks got along, and grew more horrified as I discovered the kinds of struggles your family went through...along with how flippant my peers were of them. I was chatting with some family friends recently, and when the subject of crime in the Manehatten boroughs came up, this is what they had to say(to help distinguish the two speakers, Speaker A will be between [these brackets], and Speaker B, {these})

[Nah, trying to force education on those primitives over there just makes them angry. You can see how well inner city kids do when people try to educate them. You get one or two who are already above and beyond their peers, and move on while the rest of the monkeys fight over bananas.]

{That's because they're raised from birth to oppose education. Not that I'm seriously proposing this as a solution, but if you were to take every single child born in such a situation, including any small portion of unrefined Terrans that might end up like that, and gave them to foster parents, within one lifetime today's bastardry will be all but gone}

[Maybe that would work, but as you said earlier, its not a feasible solution. And it would still be a maybe, at best. If we want to actually get rid of todays bastardry, you have to somehow remove them from it. Kick them out of the country, reinstate slavery, etc. The easiest way would probably just be to load up swat teams and start clearing out the ghettos. Sure, you may get a few innocents who are just getting by, but thats true of any war. Changing society requires drastic steps, and once all is said and done the eradication of this plague would be nothing but good for society. When confronted with a problem, the easiest solution is to remove what is causing the problem. Its the same as wiping out insect infestations or mold. Left alone it will ruin the surrounding area, but with the right tools we can clean the mess up for good.]

{But wiping out an entire species of insects in the animal kingdom would have far-reaching consequences. Society works close to an ecosystem than you think, and you are suggested disrupting that ecosystem. You can't seriously be this unaware.}

[I'm suggesting the removal of a localized infestation, not wiping out a whole species.]

{Aren't you? Psychological differences are this ecosystem's diversity. They think differently than us, and are more violent. They are classified differently because of this.}

[Ideological differences are more this ecosystem's diversity. Their ideologies are self destructive at best and detrimental to others at worst. This isn't to say there aren't outliers, I work with a lot of Terrans, and they seem just fine. Well adjusted, calm, professional, even fun to hang out with.]

{On the whole though, these differences are terrible to the society this country was built upon. Hard work, respect, honesty. At one point, all of these things were at least something to strive for, and respected as universally good. now, with the way these people effect our children (fight the power by buying our illicit substances and telling your elders to buck off because clearly they know nothing of the world!) is effecting our future in a negative way. The current administration's pandering to them through welfare and the like doesn't help either, teaching younger generations that its ok to get by on the backs of others without doing any work yourself. I'm not saying that there aren't some of them that contribute positively to society in some way, I'm saying in general it just isn't worth it. I'm not racist, I just see a problem and try to find the easiest solution. Bullets just happen to be cheap.}

[Still, pushing them out of the country wouldn't solve anything. It's like if we just stopped letting foreigners jump the border. They're taking the jobs we don't want, and aren't educated enough to get jobs we do want. Change how they think, not where they live.]

{The difference here is that the ghetto people don't want to work. they want free money so they can live as lazily as possible. the only way to change this thinking would be to cut welfare off completely and let them figure it out on their own.}

[The real issue here is that we already know how that will pan out, we have a whole continent of these people who just don't care about what tomorrow will bring]

{We should cut off welfare completely. Many people think it would be bad for us, but only in the short-term and only for those who rely on it. This country was founded on the idea of freedom, and all the things that come with it. A true capitalistic society would be better long-term than what we have going on right now}

[But what happens if suddenly (some ghastly percentage, i'm sure)% of the Terran Manehatten community has 0 income. They would start rioting and looting and it would come down to a show of violence anyway. At least, thats how I would expect it to go.]

{That's where it becomes a matter of national security. Those that riot will be forced to deal with the police and the military, if it gets bad enough. It's not genocide, it's a police action. After the initial turmoil, the country will be stronger with a higher percentage of the population working. I can't claim to be a racist. What I can claim to be is pro-capitalist. When I think "Terran" I think "low or no income citizen". And that's bad.}

I had become quite cross by that point, so I felt it best to excuse myself before I said anything too regrettable. Mind you, my parents used to be that way, as well, towards those of lower social ranks, but when they got to know you, I could see their stance start to soften. I remember when you played a piece for them on our baby grand, and they said, "Who knew people of your station were capable of such elegance?" It probably helps that you knew more about proper etiquette than even I did at that point, and that you acted like a highly refined young madam...until the wine started going about.

As the only one who abstained, I remember clearly how you freely discussed the shortcomings of people you've met in your comings and goings, along with how well you held your liquor(it turned out to be so well, you drank them under the table). Seeing you share a drinking song with them brought a smile as wide as the isles to my face, and gave me hope for a future where Terrans, Aeros, Magika and Archeons can unite as one for a common goal: to get absolutely smashed in an atmosphere of peace