This is much more like the tone of conversation I’ve been wanting to have in this thread. Thank you, Sera.
That’s not dissimilar to saying “even if individual Matari don’t want to live under the rule of a budding tyrant, they don’t get a choice.”
But we do get a choice. And the Amarr get a choice too. Governments serve at the will of the people. Always. When you see tyrants grow, that’s when that Sanmatar or that Empress or that Lord or that Khumatar has forgotten that fact. Government exists to serve its people. The people don’t exist to serve the government.
Rulers are, or should be, the ultimate public servants. They should represent the interests of their constituencies, and address the needs of those under their power. When rulers begin to serve their own interests rather than those of the people, then the people—these Amarr and Matari individuals—will replace them in a peaceful and lawful transfer of power. And if that peaceful transfer happens to fail, and these individuals appear before their respective governments in neatly fitted battlecruisers, well, who’s to say no changes will occur?
Indeed, Sera, the truth that these rulers fear is that we—all of the people, not just capsuleers—hold the power. We can hold them accountable, and we can dispose of them by any means at our hands.
You’re very right: the Amarr people will be the ones to stand and produce change. Not their governments.
Zashev’s fate might even prove an excellent expression of that. That’s why I’ve quite literally bet that Zashev will escape justice in some form of governmental failure. I want Lord Consort Newelle to observe these things I’m saying in real time. And he will.
I agree here, too. I never said the Empire was not a threat. I said that it is not currently the active threat. To wit, it is not primary. We should focus all of our firepower on the primary, and go back to shooting the Empire later, if necessary.
Counterpoint: Maybe my Amarr associates will become the leaders of a rejuvenated Empire, and those Holders and royals clinging to the old ways will be the ones cast out.
Now this statement might be the only thing you said here that rings false. Constantin is Archbishop of the Hinterlands, which makes him a leadership figure over all the faithful in Republic space and pretty much everywhere else that isn’t Amarr. His role is an administrative one over an archdiocese that serves faithful who live in the Republic—whether former slaves who kept their faith, or recent additions. I’ve never seen him or any of his staff “convert” or “reclaim” any Matari. And I’ve never met a parishioner of theirs that was present against their will.
Personally, I despise the Amarr faith. And I’d rather not see it in the Republic. But it is already there; our returning sisters and brothers often keep to it, as you know. As long as a person is choosing to follow or keep to the faith of their own free will, I don’t think we can object to it.
So, insofar as Constantin is concerned at least, there’s no need to worry about a sinister plot to reclaim Matari via “travel to Tribal space” to tempt us into liking their god. I’m perfectly happy to vouch for him.