Fwd: MDDM Ch. 66 Stig's Tale: An Interpretation

[Bandwraith at aol.com]

But there seems to be a definite asymmetry between the Vikings
and the Skraelings with respect to weaponry. A steel blade might
not be as effective in changing the course of social evolution as that
"new, and still Most secret German rocket bomb" espied by Pirate
while gathering bananas. But then again, the difference might just be 
a matter of scale. The Rocket might be a manifestation of the steel 
blade grown large.

I don't think Stig's tale is a representation of the clash between
different moral systems, one better or more pure than the other,
especially with this group of Vikings who've seem to have fled much
of "the european" on their journey to Vineland. It is their weaponry
and the technology which produced it that differentiates the two
cultures, that is coveted by the Skraelings, hoarded by the Vikings
and that leads to this particular murder.

Technology, like Stig's axe, seems to be highlighted by
this narrative.

In a message dated 7/24/02 5:15:52 PM, jbor at bigpond.com writes:

<< There's no evidence *anywhere* to suggest that violence and murder were
unknown amongst indigenous North Americans prior to the arrival of
Europeans, or that they'd never used "weapons" of some description, whether
in pre-Columbian times or after 1492. >>

 >>

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