The Bitch that is Relativity

Yeah, all you scientist-y nerds can just buzz off, nothing whatsoever to do with your relativity... I was just having a conversation the other day with a friend of mine, who shall probably be one of the regulars featured here, and hence shall have an actual name instead of an initial - Ego. So anyway, like I was saying, Ego and I were having a conversation about many things not meant for the ears of dim-wit mortals, but one of them struck me and has since stayed with me subconsciously till date. Ego asked me if I am a nice person. Let me tell you, that one threw me for a spin nice and proper.

Seems like a simple enough question, doesn't it? Well, it's not. What determines whether or not you are a nice person? Is it your actions alone? Or is it what other people think of your actions? I mean, I have never really done anything that qualifies as "bad", even though I am not the sweetest or soft-spoken or polite person you may come across. I told that to Ego, and I asked the question right back. And Ego, of course, couldn't give a simple answer, oh no, that would be too plebeian. Ego says to me, depends on how many people are pissed of with me at any point of time. Fought with a classmate, not a nice person, helped a friend by lending some cash or something, nicest person ever. This, people, is the the Bitch that is Relativity.

Bloody annoying isn't it? I mean, it's not the first time I have thought of this, it's always been there. Harry Potter didn't help matters. No Sir, reading it has actually led me to believe even more firmly that there is no such thing as right or wrong, it's just a matter of majority opinion (yeah, I'm pretty sure that's not what Rowling was aiming for when she killed of Voldemort in such a lame-ass way). Now let's examine the First and Second Wars between Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and the Order, Ministry and Aurors and other Do-gooders with death wishes [on a totally unrelated matter, I was typing this and I realised "Voldemort" and "Auror" are not words recognised by the Spell Check, I had to add them. Wtf??].

So where was I? Oh yeah, the Dark Forces and the Other Side. Now let's take a look at this. We learn that at some point during the First War, Aurors were authorised to use the Unforgiveables. So what we have is people from both sides killing each other. Why is killing a Death Eater justified, as opposed to killing someone from the Other Side? I mean lets face it, "he started it!" is an argument that's only cute till you are 6, after which it's just stupid. So yes, the Dark Side started it, but now both sides are killing people who are involved. I mean, Death Eaters have families and lives, they are missed by someone, they too are mourned, but somehow them dying is justified in our minds. Why? Because they are the 'Bad Guys'. My point is (and yes, I do have a point), says who? Why are they the bad guys? We only say that because it's what we believe. And what we believe becomes right because a relatively larger majority of the population agrees with us. I'm sure the Death Eaters were damn sure they were right in their belief. And when we have that short period in part 7 where the Ministry has been taken over by Voldemort during the Second War, what they believe becomes right. It becomes legal and right to throw people into Azkaban for being muggle-borns.

There was this whole dialogue in 'Inglorious Basterds' that if you have a cockroach in your house, you don't offer it hospitality, you crush it or throw it out. Of course, dude was talking about the Holocaust, and that was just wrong. But again, I am pretty sure the Nazis did what they did because they thought they were right.

So... what now, bitches?

You see how annoying this is? How all the moral, social, legal, religious and other such concepts depend entirely on who is in majority, who is in power? So then, what's the point of guiding your actions based on principles or values? They're utterly subjective concepts! There is no way of actually knowing what is right or wrong, good or bad, or yin or yang because of the Bitch that is Relativity.

Now, if only my parents would buy into this argument...