Trial by Fire (Part 1)

Or, “The Slightly Very Dramatized Dramatization of My Beginnings at the Library.”

It all started with an off-hand comment to my in-laws during Sunday dinner: “I work with the Navy SEALs of the library.” It was true. When I first started at my branch, no one warned me that we were, among many other things, the busiest branch out of the forty branches in the system. No one warned me that the Cincinnati Public Library was one of the busiest metropolitan library systems in the country with a rich history to back it up. I didn’t know I’d be conceptualizing and executing displays and programs in addition to helping people find books.

I also didn’t know that I’d be working with a team of individuals who were not only very good at their jobs, but passionate about it, too. They’re truly the best of the best. This past March, I was given the task of working on a display that would go in the lobby area. The display would illustrate just how many materials go out our doors in a year and a plethora of other stats that would make patrons boggle. One portion of the infographic was dubbed “No Easy Day,” a nod to the book written by retired Navy SEAL Mark Owen. That part showed our busiest day from the past year with the circulation number well over 2400— and that was with a team who was shorthanded by two people.

Now that the library was recently awarded the IMLS Medal for Library Services, I felt like this was a good time to publish the story that’s been on the backburner for so long. This is the first half of “Trial by Fire.”

Enjoy!

Finding Humanness in All the Right Places (Part 2)

Note: I’m trying to be as spoiler-free as possible. So if my examples sound vague or devoid of details, it’s for a reason.

Respect is one of those slippery concepts that can mutate into something horrible if it leans too far in any direction. Chief amongst those mutations is fear. Those who cannot inspire loyalty or unadulterated respect often default to wielding fear as a means of gaining and maintaining power.

But, as we learned from Lorewalker Cho in Mists of Pandaria, “Those who lead through fear only stay in power while those they govern lack courage.”

Power through coercion is much like using sand as a foundation for your house. That “respect” is tainted, poisoned, and fleeting. Yet, if the line between respect and fear is so thin, then how does one discern the difference between them?

The way I see it, the one who leads through fear and coercion is the same person who casts aside their humanness during their pursuit of power.

Let’s take the latest occurrence of this dynamic in Warcraft: Garrosh Hellscream. He does not see the people he leads as people. They’re merely tools for his grand scheme and machinations. During the campaign in Twilight Highlands in Cataclysm, he has no qualms about using the player as bait to draw out a sleeper agent in his ranks. In fact, he’s so self-assured that his plan is the right (and only) plan, he even tells you straight up that you were bait without a second thought— as if you would naturally agree that this was the right thing to do and not want to strangle him for his bold-faced arrogance.

In Star Wars, we see that the loss of one’s humanness is both literal and figurative. Anakin’s fall to the Dark Side is manifested into his rebirth as Darth Vader: something that is part organic, but mainly mechanical. He looks human, or has a human form, yet retains little of his humanness afterward. If you don’t believe me, let’s see how easily you make the decision to destroy a planet full of people. Or, better yet, let’s see how easily you make the decision to construct a giant laser beam so you can threaten to destroy a planet full of people. See? There’s that whole “ruling through fear” thing again.

Let’s not forget that, in the video games, your Light Side/Dark Side alignment affects how your character looks over time. The more you go in one direction, the greater the effect. For those who choose to go Dark Side with their characters, you end up looking like a walking ghost and, for once, choosing to show your helm is actually a good idea.

The same sort of mechanic was at work throughout the Mass Effect series. Your main villains progressively become less and less recognizable as people both physically and mentally. It’s a point that punctuates each of the three games, driving home the point that the only way you can lose the fight is by losing your own humanness in the process. Fortunately for Commander Shepards everywhere, the friends you make along the way help you keep your humanness in tact with their own brand of humanness.

We saw the reverse occur in Portal 2 with the transformation of GLaDOS. The humanization, if you will, of the homicidal and sadistic AI closes the series with the realization that maybe GLaDOS isn’t all that bad and even likeable.

My mother used to say one’s beauty is more of a reflection of what’s inside a person, rather than how expensive their clothes are, or how much makeup they wear. “You could be wearing a trash bag and rags,” she would say, “and you’d still be the most beautiful person at the party because you are a good person and it shines from the inside.” She would also admonish, however, “It doesn’t matter if you spend a lot of money to make yourself look good on the outside. If you are a bad person, you will always be ugly because you are ugly on the inside.”

It’s another one of those bite-sized morsels of wisdom that I’ve carried with me for well over twenty years. When Yoda told the young Anakin Skywalker that fear led to anger, that anger led to hatred, and hatred led to suffering, it wasn’t merely a warning against unbridled emotions. It was a warning against losing sight of humanness in others and failing to respect the humanness of those around us. Light-sided actions and decisions can be boiled down to the simple component of recognizing and respecting another person’s humanness. It’s really that straightforward.

If you ever have trouble understanding what it’s like to see humanness in someone else, just remember that Tirion Fordring let himself be branded as a traitor and exile because he refused to acknowledge Eitrigg as anyone other than a brother, instead of a “monster.”

To close, I leave you with another piece of wisdom from Lorewalker Cho: “Your voice. Your hands. These are the tools of a true hero. Use them well, and you can change the world.”

First Time for Everything

We’ve all been there.

The first time you wiped the raid or instance group. The first time you said something stupid in chat, or over Vent. The first time you accidentally hit an ability or right-clicked the enemy and prematurely started the boss fight. The first time you cleansed Unstable Affliction from your teammate in a battleground, even after telling yourself time and time again to ignore it.

A couple of Fridays ago, on my way to the fish fry at my parish, I got into my first auto accident.

Chapter 4: “New Arrivals” (WoW Fiction)

Read “Chapter 1: ‘Homecoming’” here
Read “Chapter 2: ‘An Audience with the Warchief’” here
Read “Chapter 3: ‘The Idea’” here

[Writer's ramble: I know it's been a while since I've last written a part of Toriah's ongoing story, or anything substantial, for that matter. This winter's been particularly hard on the health of those around me and, now, me. But the steroids the doctor put me on yesterday are helping a lot. So much so, I was able to finish Chapter 4 here. I hope it's not another two months until I can sit down and write again! Enjoy!]

Finding Humanness in All the Right Places (Part 1)

“[Humans] are more individualistic than any other species I have encountered. If three humans are in a room, there will be six opinions. I like your species; I am curious to see what you will do.”
– Justicar Samara, Mass Effect 2

I’m going to warn you right now: This post is going to tackle a touchy and very slippery subject. If you are deterred by such things, I only ask that you 1) at least give me a chance to attempt articulating my thoughts and points; or 2) quietly ignore this post if you find it truly isn’t for you. I apologize now if I fail to properly explain my points and perspectives; I encourage all of my readers to thoughtfully and civilly discuss the things this post brings up in the comments, if you are so inclined.

So, what exactly am I going to talk about this week? Race. With Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this past Monday, I thought it only fitting to firmly delineate my thoughts on the difference between race, ethnicity, and culture. As expected, I am going to do this through the scope of video games.

Hands On and Involved

It was Parent Night in my religious education classroom this week. To my pleasant surprise, all but two of my students’ parents showed up. The kids and parents usually came to the classroom together, but separated when they sat down: students to their desks, parents to the back. I never said anything either way about seating arrangements, not even to the students last week.

One of the things I learned in my social anthropology classes was to let the people you study act naturally and without your influence. So, I sat at my desk in the front and smiled amiably at everyone, knowing they were evaluating me as much as I was secretly studying them. Not a single person asked, “May I sit with my child/parent?”

‘Twas the Night Before Winter Veil

‘Twas the night before Winter Veil
And all through Orgrimmar
Adventurers have gathered
From near and far…

Toriah leaned back in her chair, a mug of hot spiced cider in hand. She gazed around the room, lit by the millions of candles and lanterns and fires roaring in their hearths. Her friends— and those more like to family than friends— had all come together for the annual Winter Veil feast. Members of every Horde race filled the dining hall, their laughter and merriment echoing in the city beyond. It made the elf ranger smile.

This is the Horde I remember, Toriah said to herself. This is the Horde I know.