[DL] North-South inversion in Deadlands

["Daniel Gwyn" <dgwyn@colba.net>]

The comment raised about the relative "creepiness" in Deadlands of the Union
vs Confederacy in the spiritualist thread actually raises an interesting
tendency in the game:  that of role inversion.  In the real world, there is
a tendency to place the Union totally in right and the Confederacy
completely in the wrong in the wrong.  (Yes, I know I'm oversimplifying but
I'm doing so to make a point, so I would ask any C.S.A. enthusiasts to
kindly forgive me.)  In doing so, people have a tendency to overlook many of
the less reputable means the Union employed to secure its victory, such as
the widespread and systematic looting of southern farms (viz. Sherman's
march to the sea.) in the name of the abolition of slavery.  Not only does
this imply "the End justifies the means" which is a concept with which I do
not hold, but it also hides the fact that some of the motivations of
abolitionists were not entirely noble.  Conversely, the South tended to have
a much more gentlemanly way of fighting war, partly because it was fighting
on its home turf most of the time and partly because of the more gentil
nature of its military leaders.  The classic example being Robert E. Lee vs.
U. S. Grant.
    In Deadlands, as the "cause" of the Civil War being removed, the North
is stripped of its nobility of purpose and is thereby left with only its
relatively ignoble means.  Similarly, the South gains stature by having
essentially won the Civil War and by doing so by mostly reputable means.
This inversion of roles is reinforced by modern revisionist views of the
Civil War, long standing confederate nostalgia as exemplied by movies such
as "Gone with the Wind", and, dare I say it, the designers succombing to the
common desire to be different.  Therefore, we are left with a world in which
the North has essentially lost the war and all its hypocrisies are left for
all the word to see.  Conversely, the South has won and basks in the glory
of the victor.  And it is the victor who writes the history books.
    My two cents worth.
          Daniel Gwyn

"Y si yo vuelvo a nacer, yo los vuelvo a matar.
Padre no arrepiento, ni me da miedo la eternidad,
Yo sé que allà en el cielo el ser supremo nos juuzgarà
Voy a seguir sus pasos, voy a buscarlos al mas allà."

From "El Preso Numero Nueve (The Ninth Prisoner)" author unknown