"Gor is not Fair."

     Upon the planet of Gor, and within the overall Gorean philosophy which we have extrapolated from reading books about it, there is no governing force which will automatically assure that each and every Gorean gets a fair shake. The Gorean is responsible for seeing to it that he is treated fairly, or in a way which seems good to him. If he feels slighted in some way, he is expected to do something to remedy to the situation. If he is unable to do so, then he is expected to shut up and take it.

     Upon Gor, slaves are entirely at the mercy of the Free. They therefore have relinquished any right to expect what they consider to be equitable treatment at the hands of others. There is no great guiding power which sees to it that they are treated in a way which seems good to them. They are required by the circumstances of their slavery to shut up and take whatever comes their way.

     "Gor is not Just."

     See above. There is no automatic system in place which determines the rewarding of the "good" and the punishment of the "wicked" upon Gor. Upon Gor, people do much as they please, until they reach the limits of what they can directly control. At that point, a great high and mighty morality does not take over and see to it that all works out right in the end; the fate of a Gorean, and the justice he earns for himself, depends upon his own actions and his ability to protect himself and his interests.

     The slave must accept the fact that they have become subject to the whims of the Free, and that those whims have no limits, other than the limits imposed upon them by other Free Men. Therefore, there is no "justice system" which protects them, other than that put in place and maintained by their owners. Even the Gorean judicial system does not recognize them as actual people, therefore they are denied the dubious protection of even that.

     Gor is a place where a Free Man might do much as he pleases; it is only the swords, and strength, of others which will set him his limits.

     The same holds true for Free Women; they are subject to the will and tolerance of their Men. Those Men set them their limits.

     The Free, both Men and Women, set the limits of slaves. And so on, right down the Gorean social "food-chain."

     Therefore, when one is injured or ill-treated, if one is too weak to do anything about it, there is often no recourse. In that respect, Gor is not Fair, and Gor is not Just.

     Not automatically. If portions of Gor are that way, it is because the swords of Men have made them that way.

     And all you women who would be of Gor: you are subject to the rules of we Gorean Men. You may not like it, and you may find our rules annoying; but know that, out there beyond the walls, there are other men who would abuse you and mistreat you, who might woo you with artificial words which describe half-baked concepts, and pretend to agree with your theories of equality until they had gotten through your defenses, only to then use you as THEY see fit.

     There are other men besides Gorean Men, who would conquer you and ravage you in far more insidious ways than we.

     But you know what?

     In order for them to do that, they would first have to get through me, and through every Gorean Man I know.

     We make the rules, and defend them, as we see fit. If that thought troubles you, then the wall is always there; you have only to climb over it and take your leave. Go and seek a more fair, "equitable" version of society; but keep in mind that such a society as that MIGHT be built upon a lie, or series of lies, and that it might turn out to be a trap in which your very femaleness might be quelled and killed, so that weaklings can be more comfortable when dealing with you.

     Gor is not Fair; neither is Life.

     Fate is cruel, and therefore, occasionally, so must we be.

     C'est la vie, c'est la guerre, c'est la Gor.

     Why, OF COURSE he is.

     Why do you think he spends so much time regaling us with his notions of such things as honor, duty, and courage? And why else would he devote hundreds of hours to writing a fantasy series based upon the heroic deeds of fictional males and their relationships with beautiful women?

     In my experience, men, as a whole, tend to be more "romantic" than most women, though they often have less obvious ways of showing it. That is one of the reasons that such abstract concepts as honor, duty, courage, and glory figure so prominently in their thoughts, and why they are often so confounded in their attempts to deal effectively with "modern" females, who often take the attitude of "How sweet he is! And how silly are his impractical notions about the way the world actually works! Well, I'll soon train him better."

     This attitude is, in part, the same attitude as that adopted by females who believe that men are simple-minded oafs designed for their pleasure and amusements, incapable of maintaining a pragmatic world view. These same females smile secretly behind their hands, thinking "I will humor the men around me, since they are so easily coaxed into doing what I really wanted anyway."

     That is a mistake, I add. Men are more perceptive than most females credit them for. It is just that often, to the inherently romantic male viewpoint, he dismisses the activities of such pragmatic females as foolish and unimportant.

     In many such cases, both parties wind up believing they are "humoring" the other, and the relationship proceeds on those terms, simply a matter of "business as usual" among both parties.

     It is only when the male re-interjects the purely physical aspect of their relationship, and takes advantage of his natural strength in that area, that matters grow a bit less comfortable for the female in question.

     Some women find this appealing; others find it frightening. The majority, however, find the activities of such males to be both appealing AND a bit frightening. In such a case, men cease to be silly, simple-minded creatures in their eyes and suddenly become fascinating and intriguing, their maleness a strange unexplored world of possibility to the curious female.

     It is a foolish female who assumes that she has figured out the way by which the male mind works; in such a case, a wise male will allow her to assume such as long as it pleases him, knowing this gives him an advantage over her in the mental struggle for dominance.

     In the end, however, the male and the female are eternally strangers to one another: one cannot fully know the other, ever... they can only make informed deductions based upon what they have seen and experienced with members of the opposite sex.

     This entire commentary, for instance, is just an opinion of mine, based upon what I have personally experienced, and filtered through my overly-romantic male expectations and beliefs.

     Men might not weep during love scenes while watching romantic movies; but they may very well cheer, or weep, during scenes of great bravery and personal self-sacrifice during WAR movies. This, too, is romanticism, though not of a sort which most females can readily accept or understand.

     Awhile back I was told the following:

     "Due to the Earth's rotation and axis, it cannot be "fair." If it was, everything would be lush, green, hearty, and alive. Instead we have barrens, deserts, areas which languish under darkness for months out of the year... but are these "bad" and "unfair" features of our planet needed?"

     My answer?

     They are needed. They are part of the world ecosystem. They are part of the planetary process of change. Without them, the other more "fair" areas you refer to could not, and would not, exist.

     One cannot air-condition the world, though there are certainly Earthlings who would try to do so: to repress and control the inviolate powers which fuel nature' fury, and to reduce every inch of our planet to a "safe, sane and consensual" environment with a constant temperature, humidity level and adjustable lighting which is pleasing to the eye.

     The world is not "ergonomic." It is not "user-friendly." It is not designed so that anyone, no matter how small or slight or inherently weak, can dwell there in equal comfort and confidence with others who are perhaps hardier, stronger, more adaptable and more intelligent.

     It is one of the great follies of mankind, and the sad result of human arrogance, that he believes that he can remake his world without first having to deal with the ravages of subverted nature.

     Gor is not fair. Earth is not fair.

     LIFE is not fair.

     Whoever said it would be?

     And who the hell invented the concept of "fairness" in the first place?

     "Fairness" is, on a global scale, a pipe dream. Even on a lesser scale, as seen in games and sports.

     "The rules make it fair!" we are told. But what about natural selection, biological propensities, and the benefits of good genes? What about the existence of better training techniques, available to one athlete and not to another? What about THE REST OF IT, that which takes place before the whistle blows and the game begins?

     There is no such thing as "Fair." Even here, on the internet, where the playing field is supposedly level: what about those who are naturally more talented at writing? Who are more naturally imaginative, or who are better at debate and discussion? What about those to whom English, the language which is most commonly used here, is a second language? Is that fair?

     "Fair?" Ha!

     I, a self-proclaimed Gorean, scoff at such a ridiculous concept. If something is "fair," it is only "fair" up to a certain point, after which the facts of the matter take over.

     That is one of the reasons why we strive to maintain "honor." It is one of the few devices through which any kind of fairness or equality can be assigned or achieved, and even then, it is based only on its practicioner's WILLINGNESS to behave in an equitable fashion to those whom they respect, and their unwillingness to take advantage of those over whom they have some measure of superiority.

     "Fair?" Bah!

     I have no doubt that the concept was invented by those who felt themselves too weak to actively compete in the day-to-day struggle to survive and excel.

     It's just life, folks. You may not like it, but there is only one way out of it: through the bottom. To survive, you have to keep your head above water, fair or no.

     Below are listed a few which immediately come to mind.

     You will note that the intricacies of "morality" are left entirely out of the picture, as well they should be. "Morality" is dependent upon cultural rules and religious beliefs, whereas the ideal character of the consummate Gorean male seems to be found across all Gorean cultures and walks of life.

     Therefore, according to the list below, both Tarl Cabot (hero to millions) and Surbus (nasty murdering pirate from book 6) fit the bill of the consummate Gorean male archtype equally.

     Which seems to me to be an indication that one does not have to be "a nice guy" to be Gorean. In fact, one can even be a total monster, hated and despised by others. Whether or not one is a pleasant fellow to hang out with is something that is determined after the fact; one qualifies for Gorean male FIRST, before any such decision is rendered.

     Here is my personal list, in no particular order:

     Strength, both physical and mental.

     Intelligence.

     Adaptibility.

     Tenacity.

     Courage.

     Honesty.

     Endurance, both physical and mental.

     Understanding of the natural order of things, as he sees it.

     Willingness to maintain the natural order of things, as he sees it.

     Self-sacrifice in order to maintain the natural order of things, as he sees it.

     Suspicion towards what is alien; replaced over time with devotion to what has proved itself worthy to be included within his lexicon and world view.

     Pragmatism, and willingness to accept the truth despite his personal agenda.

     An overall love of life, and willingness to rush headlong into the living of it, draining each moment to its dregs, making no excuses and being the consummate male in all respects.

     The refusal to bow before anyone or anything which is weaker than he.

     "No, I would not try to reform man by pretending that my wishes for him were the wishes of Priest-Kings, even though this might be effective for a time, for the wishes that reform man, that make him what he is capable of becoming, and has not yet become, must be his own and not those of another. If man rises, he can do so only on his own two feet."