Revenge of the Smallfolk

[astarkchoice]

4 minutes ago, Corvo the Crow said:

The most famous slave revolt in Rome and perhaps history was started by gladiators. Slave soldiers indeed should have it better, at least in our world they did but guess what, even having it much better not from just your average slave but a majority of free people as well, they overthrew dynasties like in Egypt or practically controlled the government like in the Ottoman Empire. 

True but in planetos the force that can be brought to  quickly bear on them before they can build momentum  in slavers bay is overwhelming.

Quarth seems much more  odd as they are not a martial people,  geographicaly far from any outside help  and overrun with slaves yet no rebellions!!! We can assume the sorroful men combined with the terror(as well as some genuine power)  the warlocks can inspire has prevented one

The free cities we can assume its.more to do with the proximity of bravos as an escape route out of the misery

[Nevets]

59 minutes ago, SeanF said:

Tysha, Mycah, Daeron are just the tip of a very large, and very unpleasant, iceberg. Even someone as sympathetic as Ned Stark summarily beheads a desperate man, at the very start, and is untroubled by the casual murder of Mycah.

Murder, rape, pillage, and arson, directed at the Smallfolk, are standard operating practice on the part of the participants in WOT5K.  Hoster Tully slaughters a village because it's lord defied him.  Attractive young women among the smallfolk have to just spread 'em and take it, if one of the highborn takes a fancy to them.  When food is running short, what do the nobility of the Vale do?  Organise a tourney where they'll have a seventy course meal.  Cersei, Tyrion, and the nobles in the Red Keep, stuff their faces, even as the masses of Kings Landing go hungry.

Serfdom does not formally exist, but the nobility have complete, untrammelled, judicial power over the Smallfolk.  They can execute, maim, geld, whip, torture at will.  And, so, most of them abuse that power.

Lords that are actively sadistic are indeed outliers.  That makes the majority better than the Eastern slavers.  But, the majority of lords are intensely selfish.

We seem to be reading different books, or at least taking different things away from them.

Ned executed a deserter, standard practice in the North, and the rest of the country, for that matter.  It was also standard punishment in our world until fairly recently.  If there's an insanity defense in this setting, I'm unaware of it.  And war trauma wasn't considered legit until well into the 20th century.

Wartime is not the same as peacetime. I thought I made that clear. Bad things happen to civilians in war; always have and still do.  But most the time, Westeros has been at peace.  And I haven't seen any indication of general unhappiness with nobility despite Arya spending time with smallfolk, and Brienne spending time with the likes of Septon Meribald.  He sounded like the type to pass on that sort of thing.

Yes, life is probably tough for smallfolk, but that's nothing new.  And I see no indication that the nobility make it any worse.

 

[Otatop1000]

“Peaceful land. A quiet people.”  Bolton (Roose) at least seems to treat most of his small folk well.  Even treating Arya so well that she asks to be taken with him, rather than hang with the Bloody Mummers.  I know he rapes Ramsays mother on a whim.  But then treats her like a modern day divorced wife.  I hate the man but he seems to keep his proclivities somewhat in check.

[Hugorfonics]

I can't stand the smallfolk lol. I know that's very politically incorrect and obviously 95% Westeros shouldn't be lumped together as annoying, especially since Mycha was chill as was the background characters of A Hedge Knight.

Now having said that, they call for the death of Eddard, try to rape Sansa and are obsessed with Marge despite her family starving them. Then there's like the Mad Huntsman who's just cruel and unusual.

[Craving Peaches]

1 hour ago, Hugorfonics said:

Now having said that, they call for the death of Eddard, try to rape Sansa and are obsessed with Marge despite her family starving them.

That's what happens when people are in a big group. They become stupid.

1 hour ago, Hugorfonics said:

Then there's like the Mad Huntsman who's just cruel and unusual.

Isn't that a response to the death of his wife and daughter after months of the Riverlands being trashed. Not saying it excuses him, just that I thought it was a reason.

[Hugorfonics]

3 hours ago, Craving Peaches said:

That's what happens when people are in a big group. They become stupid.

Nah. Thats not very democratic. Strikes and protests and mass elections aren't the cause or effects of stupidity.

Treating people like beasts, discouraging reading and stepping above your class, mixed with a few healthy doses of propaganda are the causes and effects of stupidity 

3 hours ago, Craving Peaches said:

Isn't that a response to the death of his wife and daughter after months of the Riverlands being trashed. Not saying it excuses him, just that I thought it was a reason.

Reason for justice, not cruel and the unusual 

[SeanF]

21 hours ago, Otatop1000 said:

“Peaceful land. A quiet people.”  Bolton (Roose) at least seems to treat most of his small folk well.  Even treating Arya so well that she asks to be taken with him, rather than hang with the Bloody Mummers.  I know he rapes Ramsays mother on a whim.  But then treats her like a modern day divorced wife.  I hate the man but he seems to keep his proclivities somewhat in check.

For Arya it’s a choice between eating nails or cyanide.

[Craving Peaches]

1 hour ago, Hugorfonics said:

Nah. Thats not very democratic.

When people are in a group, they become much more prone to mob and follow-the-leader type mentality. There's lots of studies on it. Stupid was an exaggeration but you become less likely to question things.

1 hour ago, Hugorfonics said:

Strikes and protests and mass elections aren't the cause or effects of stupidity.

But those things are (somewhat) organised, not like the mob in King's Landing.

[Hugorfonics]

49 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

When people are in a group, they become much more prone to mob and follow-the-leader type mentality. There's lots of studies on it. Stupid was an exaggeration but you become less likely to question things.

There's a pack mentality for sure but it goes different directions. Like the same ones who tried to kill Sansa cheered for Marge, and they were also in a group. It's all really about the food and emotions.

Also fleabottomers always suck, like Dunks memories or when Tyrion took his strolls.

52 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

But those things are (somewhat) organised, not like the mob in King's Landing.

Strikes and mass elections are definitely organized, protests maybe less so but usually are.

The two riots, dance times and acok, were I'd say like 99% percent chance they were organized.

So little imo about the attack on the dragonpit makes sense. There was like that mysterious prophet (maybe two?) Who just disappeared when shit popped off. And then just, humans do crazy stuff, like war and what not. But just charging into dragon fire is so stupid. Tbh I don't remember the story that well but I remember thinking stuffs not adding up. Especially when compared to what Sam was told, that maesters killed the dragons not smallfolk.

Acok it's really 99.99%. Where was Varys? He's always there, except for this one specific occasion (sending the girl to Dorne in all royal splendor), and then Tyreek goes missing and Varys is all like "idk where he is". 

[Otatop1000]

Why did Varys make Tyrek disappear?  Just to remove a Lannister from the line of succession?  Does he already plan to kill Tywin and Kevan?  Obviously The Bard here didn’t plant the seeds of that three books in advance…

[Craving Peaches]

3 minutes ago, Otatop1000 said:

Why did Varys make Tyrek disappear?  Just to remove a Lannister from the line of succession?  Does he already plan to kill Tywin and Kevan?  Obviously The Bard here didn’t plant the seeds of that three books in advance…

I think the theory was he was keeping a 'puppet Lannister' in reserve for F/Aegon to be the new Lord of Casterly Rock, to be fair I think Tyrek ranks quite low down the Lannister succession but those above him could always be labelled traitors and have their lands/titles stripped.

[Nevets]

50 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

I think the theory was he was keeping a 'puppet Lannister' in reserve for F/Aegon to be the new Lord of Casterly Rock, to be fair I think Tyrek ranks quite low down the Lannister succession but those above him could always be labelled traitors and have their lands/titles stripped.

I think he's too far down for that to be feasible.  I know Kevan and his four children were all alive and ahead of him, plus whatever descendants of Tywin were still alive and eligible.  And that's after you get rid of Tywin.

If there was a specific reason, possessing valuable knowledge is the one that makes most sense.  Tyrek was one of Robert's squires, along with Lancel.  He could have feared harm, and left on his own or with help, or Varys could have stashed him somewhere intending to use his info in the future. The problem is, I expect any information he has would be stale by this point.  I do expect to see him at some point in the future though.  If Varys has him, his intentions could have changed, since the succession list is shorter now.