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[Herald Talia]

No: HPFGUIDX 24474



> Robyn Herald Talia (is that an SCA name?) wrote:

> > He is also acting out of extreme selfishness,
> > which seems to be the essence of evil (snip) 
> > Good is selflessness, a giving up of self for 
> > others. Evil is the opposite.

And  Rita wrote.
> Wise, scholarly, virtuous, and personally heroic people have stated 
> that
> definition, but I find it defective. If 'good' = 'giving up of self 
> for
> others', than 'good' = a young and healthy and not at all suicidal
> person who enjoys life shooting himself in the brain on the front
> doorstep of a hospital so as to make his organs available for
> transplant.'

Hi, just replying to my part.
(BTW Herald Talia is just my favorite character in all of fantasydom. I
use it for listserves, only. )
	The "good" suicide person that you mentioned would be accomplishing a
good at the expense of an evil. That would not be good. Harry prevents
Sirius and Lupin from killing Peter (something good, or at least
something just.) because he doesn't want them to do something evil to
accomplish something good. When Sirius tells Harry about Barty Crouch,
Sr. he talks about the way ol' Barty allowed very harsh measures against
the Death Eaters, and was not in favor. That would make the wizards just
like the Death Eaters, it seemed to imply. 
	Suicide is also an essentially selfish act, even for the purposes of
organ donation.Therefore, suicide contains elements of evil. All the
problems that the suicide ended it all to not have to face, now have to
be faced by others. Suicide also cheats whatever entity you believe in -
it gave the individual life to accomplish something, and the individual
is so ungrateful, it ends that life. 
	I would define "good" as someone who would endure the pain of bone
marrow or kidney donation to give life to another. And I would define as
"evil" a suicide who chooses to take as many innocent people as he can
with him, in order to give his death meaning.  

Robyn

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Donald heard a mermaid sing, Suzy spied an elf.
But all the magic I have known,
I've had to make myself- Shel Silverstein
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