The cowardly bombing of Panem. Leave the Federation.

[Abraxis]

Today, I made the decision to renounce my allegiance to the Federation over the bombing of innocent farmers on Panem.

It doesn't matter what they were growing, be it onionhead, hallucinogenic mushrooms, tomatoes or beam lasers. You don't bomb civilians and just get away with it.

I don't care if it was collateral damage or an intentional example of what happens when you break the arbitrary rules of the Federation. Onionhead has been around for a long time, and it's not going to go away just because you make it illegal. Cultivation of onionhead, regardless of its potential for abuse is a victimless crime.

When you allow someone else to tell you what you can do with your own body, it's only a matter of time before they decide they own your body.

We have to take a stand against this illegitimate and brutal action now, or risk losing one of our most essential rights, namely the right to decide on matters regarding our own bodies.

 

[EAGLE 5]

Yeah but let's look at the timeline:

1. Onionhead is an illegal substance in Federation space with known adverse health effect.
2. Kappa Furnacis is producing and distributing said substance in Federation space.
3. Cease and desist orders have been repeatedly ignored by leadership of Kappa Furnacis over the illegal export of the controlled substance to Federation space.
4. Federation leadership adopted a multi step approach to curtailing the smuggling of onionhead by blockading the system as the first step to a conflict resolution (after the C&D request was ignored)
5. Commanders sympathizing with the local leadership decided to run the blockade and engaged Federal forces in the sector.
6. After two days of repeated skirmishes between KF leadership and Fed forces the order was given to destroy the crops curtailing the illegal export at the source.

A sound approach if you ask me.

 

[Abraxis]

Considering this entire course of action is justified by the Federation on the premise of "x is illegal, therefore anyone who makes x is an evil criminal," all we have to do is deconstruct that premise to show that all of the actions taken based on that premise are completely unreasonable.

Wine, beer, liquor, tobacco have many adverse (and potentially lethal) health effects of their own, yet they remain legal in the Federation. Why single out onionhead? You might argue its effects are much more deleterious, but that is entirely dependent on the amount the user decides to consume. Just as with alcohol and tobacco. Let's not even begin with prescription drugs. If this was about health, the policy should be consistent. Either outlaw everything that might be harmful, which is impossible, or let the user decide, while providing all of the known information about positive and negative effects of the substance at hand. There will always be use and abuse. Laws will never prevent abuse. Education might at least minimize it.

When you back people into a corner who just want to live their lives without harming anyone else, what option do they have but to struggle? If the Federation declared your livelihood illegal and came to take away your means of survival, would you put down your tools and surrender?

 

[Arktac13]

This was a good read, I'm very far from Panem and haven't heard work of any bombing. Thanks for sharing

 

[EAGLE 5]

Oh ok so I suppose it's ok to let a foreign power infiltrate your national borders be it through illegal substances, subversive cells and/or open terrorism? That does not compute commander! And the difference between tobacco, alcohol and all sorts of controlled substances is that they are screened for quality and distributed in accordance to law so that their consumption is "safer" though the best course of action of course is to not do any of it at all but we all have our flaws.

Fly safe.

 

[MACMAN86]

Did you guys not get noob status resets on release? That sucks to noobers! You can't have a fair reward competition by this standard. Shameful!

 

[Amaze]

The farmers on Panem were not doing anything illegal.

Crack down on the trafficker is ok but bombing the farmers where the produce is legal, thats going too far.

 

[r4nger0]

Today, I made the decision to renounce my allegiance to the Federation over the bombing of innocent farmers on Panem.

Those farmers weren't "innocent". My Federation flag stays flying, thank you.

 

[Amaze]

Bombing non military targets is terrorism.
If you cant regulate your borders its your own problem.

As far as I'm concerned the Federation and the empire are both corrupt.

 

[Abraxis]

Those farmers weren't "innocent". My Federation flag stays flying, thank you.

Supporting the Federation blindly is your prerogative. But don't expect anyone to come to your assistance when they decide your activities to stay afloat in a harsh galaxy are illegal as well. Today it's onionhead. Where does it end? When every trading ship in the universe flies for and on behalf of the Federation?

 

[r4nger0]

Supporting the Federation blindly is your prerogative. But don't expect anyone to come to your assistance when they decide your activities to stay afloat in a harsh galaxy are illegal as well.

Ma'am, exploring is my business. I doubt the Federation will stop buying my data. As far as needing assistance, all I can do is quote the legend Hank Williams Jr... "a country boy can survive".

[video=youtube;3cQNkIrg-Tk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cQNkIrg-Tk[/video]

 

[EAGLE 5]

Ah Bocephus... nice

 

[Caspar]

Supporting the Federation blindly is your prerogative. But don't expect anyone to come to your assistance when they decide your activities to stay afloat in a harsh galaxy are illegal as well. Today it's onionhead. Where does it end? When every trading ship in the universe flies for and on behalf of the Federation?

Sometimes we look at these things too deeply and get too involved in the personal struggles of the peoples involved. Above all that is a process or mechanism where the cogs of the bigger machine turn, driving the future of nations, supernations, worlds and other mega galactic unions. If you care about the long term future then it's at this level you need to focus. Not petty handbag waving at the faux injustice of narcotic production agencies being taken out of business.

I regret the bombing - not because of the act but because of the all too predictable anti Federal propaganda that has been generated since. If I had my way, I would have appropriated the system and taken control of the revenue stream to ensure that it didn't go towards funding terrorism.

You can settle your soul when you finally come to understand that there is no utopia out here in space. Each is bent towards their own and those who are not aligned will suffer accordingly. The Federation is best placed to capitalise on this law and it's only a matter of time before either the lost tribes of the Alliance or the anachronistic kowtowing petty crown licking surfs of the Empire come back in to the Federal fold. To flee in the other direction is against the natural order of things.

 

[Iori]

Join the Empire, we also bomb stuff, but with honor and style.

 

[FS3DPete]

If there is a Cmdr Jay out there, perhaps they will Mock the Federation?

Regardless, while the Federation is paying for missions, I'm going to take advantage of their credits so I can purchase and build a ship that I can defend myself with. My cheap Sidewinder was brought from a scrap merchant if the controls are anything to go by. I have so far spent six hours in a repair shop trying to get the controls re-aligned.