00.2 resumption [text]

[ifightfor]

[Text-only. Par for the course with Rinzler.]

Query: Barge status?

[A later edit adds:]

JA307020 once more present on Barge system. |

Apologies to those who remained; anticipated earlier return.

Standard introduction: Security Program JA307020, designation "Rinzler," Class:Warden. Unassigned at present. Remit: Barge security.

Comments

[text]

[wemaketheworld]

Situation normal.

[Ha. It's a Ror-joke. Which means...it's not actually that funny and more of a statement.

He vaguely remembers Rinzler; not much, mind, he'd never actually talked to him before, but. He has notes? Which is almost like knowing him.]

More proof of Stockholm Syndrome theory.

[text]

[ifightfor]

Initial reports indicate "normal for given value of normal".

[You get a Rinzler-joke right back.]

Clarification requested on "Stockholm Syndrome theory".

[text]

[wemaketheworld]

[He...might have laughed a little. Well. More like a dry, wheezy sound that's easily mistaken for a cough. Not that Rinzler can hear it, but. It happened. Congratulations, apparently you have the same sense of humor.]

Psychological tendency of a hostage to bond with, identify with, or sympathize with his or her captor. Term comes from a bank robbery in Stockholm; employees were held hostage for five days. Became emotionally attached to robbers, to the point where they rejected help from government during ordeal and tried to defend robbers when they were finally freed.

Victims mistake lack of abuse for kindness.

[Sound familiar?]

[text]

[ifightfor]

[Alarmingly familiar. If Rinzler were less resilient or more prone to melancholy it would be a revelation worth sulking over; as it is there's a delay before he responds, as he's filing this away for later consideration.]

Understood.

Suggest if captor prone to abusive and/or spiteful behavior, lack of abuse may indeed be extent of capacity to be kind. [...He has history with just that sort of person.]

[text]

[wemaketheworld]

Doesn't make it kindness. Entire point of theory. Victims see empathy where there isn't any.

[text]

[ifightfor]

Suggest perception of empathy already based in value judgment. Acts nominally considered kind or empathetic often part of larger social game.

Consider also: Prisoner's dilemma. Game theory suggests optimal strategy tit-for-tat response to fellow player's actions. Decision to withhold information may be "empathetic" choice; also most strategic choice if fellow player previously chose "withhold".

[text]

[wemaketheworld]

Assuming all kindness is ultimately out of self-interest.