Almost enough collateral damage to break the Pattern and let the DO win without a fight. Seems kind of evil to me.
Quantity is irrelevant when taking a human life. Otherwise, if ten guys were about to kill a baby, how could you justify killing them all to save it? Ten lives next to one? It is the situation that determines if it is murder or not. As for the Borderlanders, you're missing the real reason he wanted to blast them. It wasn't because they had abandoned their post and were leaving their people to die, or that they were trying to trap Rand in a box. It was merely the fact that anyone would go against what he wished, that was why he was going to rain fire on them, not to kill them, but to teach them not to go against him. Seems pretty evil to me.
And why would he think that? Because he is the Dragon Reborn and is trying to fight for all of humanity against the Dark One. The right to kill recalcitrant or disobediant soldiers has long been a morally accepted position for superior officers. Some armies in particular might choose to limit this prerogative, but that is simply a matter of institutional preference. Even if we stipulate that Rand's motives might not be the purest, the situation is perfectly justified. The threat to Cadsuane is also somewhat evil, there's no need for him to threaten her with death.
I think he was warning her, not threatening her. She was interfering in his chain of command, took it upon herself to take over certain issues and failed in her responsibility. He did not kill her on the spot, but he did forbid her on pain of death from interfering with her anymore. Aes Sedai play all sorts of word games, and thanks the Three Oaths, have forfeited any trust, so it made it simple. I like how you want to gloss over the most evil of his acts, almost killing his father
So you admit that the most evil thing he did, was only something he ALMOST did? In other words, he didn't actually DO this thing? I rest my case! for no reason other than the fact that Cadsuane was the one who brought him in.
Highly suspicious circumstances, no? He knows she's trying to screw with his head and it is unwelcome. She has no right to do it. He had a legitimate cause for suspicion when Tam admitted that he was brought in by someone Rand sees as an enemy, who was coaching him on what to say. Rand barely stops himself, and then almost goes off and does something as bad if not worse. He decided he was going to wipe out the Seanchan invasion using balefire and the CK.
INVASION. What the hell is giving you a mental block here? They made themselves liable to death by setting foot on the shore. Or do you want him to get more of his people killed fighting them off? And how many more chances is he supposed to give them after they rejected his peace overtures? If he had actually gone through with his plans he likely would have unraveled the Pattern bringing about the DO's victory. Again his motivation to destroy the Seanchan is not to protect his flanks, but because they dared to not do exactly as he said when he said it.
They destroyed multiple AoL cities (millions of people) before reaching that point last time.
Cannoli
"Sometimes unhinged, sometimes unfair, always entertaining"
- The Crownless
“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” GK Chesteron
Deus Vult!
"Sometimes unhinged, sometimes unfair, always entertaining"
- The Crownless
“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” GK Chesteron
Deus Vult!
Rand is NOT evil in tGS, nor does he do any evil
14/11/2009 12:26:27 AM
- 1347 Views
That is nonsense...
14/11/2009 12:47:22 AM
- 737 Views
Re: That is nonsense...
14/11/2009 05:30:01 AM
- 620 Views
So what?
14/11/2009 09:28:49 AM
- 684 Views
Sorry... gotta disagree.
14/11/2009 01:09:30 AM
- 659 Views
Re: Sorry... gotta disagree.
14/11/2009 03:49:49 AM
- 609 Views
I disagree with prety much everything
14/11/2009 03:10:12 AM
- 588 Views
Wouldn't the Chaos Graendal was causing in Arad Doman be greater than the chaos Rand caused?
14/11/2009 04:11:48 AM
- 739 Views
nothing Graendal did almost caused the Pattern to collapse *NM*
14/11/2009 05:59:21 AM
- 426 Views
The chaos the Forsaken are causing is causing the world to collapse and the DO to get stronger
14/11/2009 07:48:05 AM
- 759 Views
Re: I disagree with prety much everything
14/11/2009 05:45:14 AM
- 656 Views
Why in the world is quantity irrelevant?
14/11/2009 06:01:13 AM
- 443 Views
A murderer is evil. What difference does it make how many? That's just degrees. There's no OK number
14/11/2009 07:22:47 AM
- 524 Views
Ok, let's take this a step further
14/11/2009 09:45:50 PM
- 477 Views
Rand has not yet crossed the moral event horizon of no return,
14/11/2009 03:27:22 AM
- 570 Views
Then he already passed the horizon by your reckoning. He DID choose to do those things.
14/11/2009 07:45:46 AM
- 660 Views
Then maybe we just have different standards.
14/11/2009 11:56:02 AM
- 630 Views
Why do you keep bringing up genocide? Rand was not doing that.
15/11/2009 01:02:23 AM
- 645 Views
To me, the Rules of War is nothing but a contract between parties.
15/11/2009 08:39:55 PM
- 444 Views
It's too late in the game to worry about followers. He has no further political agenda *NM*
19/11/2009 01:01:04 AM
- 199 Views
What Rand did that was evil.
14/11/2009 04:06:17 AM
- 572 Views
I don't see Arad Doman
14/11/2009 04:57:20 AM
- 477 Views