On Fri, 18 Jul 1997, C. Wong wrote:

        After being on the FFML, more than ever before had I seen cases in
which Cologne became the ultimate bad guy/ghoul in at least 70% of all the
fanfics on the list.

<snip>

        So to all those writers using Cologne as a evil character without
stating that it is OFC, I would like to ask WHY do they do what they do with
Cologne.  

                                                 Adrian Wong

	That's rather easy for me to answer, Adrian. It's Cologne's
obsession with making the Amazon village _strong_. There are very strong
echos of Germany under Hitler, there. And of Stalin under Russia. Almost
every dictator who assumed power by popular (or semi-popular, please
remember that over 70% of all Germans approved of Hitler's actions, and
remains approving until _they_ were the ones getting shot at), did so by
promising to make the country/people/fatherland/motherland strong and
free.

	Granted, Cologne is doing this for the best of reasons and with
good intentions (i.e., the preservation of the Amazon way of life) but you
know what they say about good intentions. 

	Additionally, there is her attitude that ONLY the Amazon way of
life is worth saving. As far as she is concerned, all other codes of
honor, all other ways of life, all other cultures, as just things to be
used. Think of the attitude of American slave owners before 1865. They
were human beings, yet they obviosly didn't feel much for their slaves..
if they had, they wouldn't have abused them so fiercely. Answer to this
apparent contradiction? The deeply held belief that blacks weren't even
human.. just animals that happened to have a vaguely human shape. It was
all right to beat a horse, therefore it was all right to beat a black.

	Cologne shows evidence of this sort of bigotry, which is somewhat
prevalent in the far east. Each nation, indeed each _people_, sees itself
as human, and any others as somewhat less than human. (Refer to the native
american in this case.. each and _every_ tribal name by the tribe for
itself LITERALLY translates out as 'the people'. Navajo is rather blunt
about this. Their original word for non-tribespeople is similar to the
word for animal.) 

	Colonge, in a very real sense, regards any NON-Amazon as both
inferior and not-quite-human. She respects (and possibly fears) those more
powerful than herself, and mildly despises those weaker, seeing them as
things to be used, not fellow people to be cherished.

	Sorry about the rant, actually.. this sort of touches me on a sore
spot, as both of my parents came from prosecuted minority groups. having
grown up on BOTH sides of that particular fence, so to speak, I know
EXACTLY how Cologne feels. Family/Neighbors/Tribe = human. Stranger =
non-human/possible danger to self/tribe.

	<shrug> I went thru that stage myself, being an third generation
Army brat.. (Civilians? Ya can't trust them boy.. they'll cheat ya, then
send ya to war, hoping they won't have to pay you what they owe ya iff'in
ya get yerself kilt dead.)

	See? It's a natural habit for humans, a naturally tribal animal,
to fall into. Cologne is just a little more obsessive about it, that's
all. Unfortunately, that's _exactly_ what makes a great villain.

	Hope I haven't bored you all to tears. Thanks for listening.

	Ed Becerra

	"Dreamers may die, but the dream is eternal..."