Post by Sea Drops by a Bird on Mar 17, 2019 17:57:38 GMT -5
So the clans all have the warrior code, and it outlines the typical things a warrior should and shouldn't do. But what it doesn't do is outline specific punishments for breaking them, and as a result the reactions to cats breaking the warrior code have been on a massive spectrum and the deciding factor is how popular they are with the clan or the leader, or both.
For example Leafpool broke both the medicine cat code and the warrior code by taking a windclan cat as her mate; she then got her sister to help cover it up. Granted I like Leafpool and all but her punishment? Ehh. What I see a lot of for cats who are favorites is "The emotional damage is punishment enough"- that's definitely what Bluestar said about Graystripe. She opted to step down as medicine cat but other than that she wasn't punished, and given she resumed her duties later it didn't even take. In perspective, Yellowfang's punishment was that two of her kits would die and the one who lived was the devil.
Mapleshade was banished for taking a RiverClan cat as mate- though when I looked closer I realized the real reason she was banished was because she either said or allowed other cats to believe that the dead son of the leader was their father and was found out to be a liar. So her punishment was retaliation, not a fair punishment for her actions- or was it?
Blackstar never received any punishment for killing Stonefur- should there be one? He was acting under the orders of both his and Stonefur's clan leader so you can argue that while it was morally wrong it wasn't exactly a crime- it was a punishment for him being half clan. And in that same vain who punishes a clan leader who breaks the warrior code?
Blackstar killed Redwillow for supporting the Dark Forest yet Firestar only banished Darkstripe for attempting to kill Sorrelkit, and Breezepelt was an avid supporter of the DF.
Prey stealing has sometimes resulted in being forced to "repay it" and other times in a battle. Crossing borders can get you reprimanded or get you killed.
I say all that to say the warriors have rules, but they have no guidelines for what to do when those rules are broken. It's completely up to the leader or other authority figure at any given time which has proven to result in some pretty unfair treatment of cats' crimes. Should they have specific punishments for crimes or should it be at the leaders discretion? Should major infractions result in some sort of trial? What do you think the punishment should be when these rules are broken? Do leaders have the power to execute a cat for breaking the code?
For example Leafpool broke both the medicine cat code and the warrior code by taking a windclan cat as her mate; she then got her sister to help cover it up. Granted I like Leafpool and all but her punishment? Ehh. What I see a lot of for cats who are favorites is "The emotional damage is punishment enough"- that's definitely what Bluestar said about Graystripe. She opted to step down as medicine cat but other than that she wasn't punished, and given she resumed her duties later it didn't even take. In perspective, Yellowfang's punishment was that two of her kits would die and the one who lived was the devil.
Mapleshade was banished for taking a RiverClan cat as mate- though when I looked closer I realized the real reason she was banished was because she either said or allowed other cats to believe that the dead son of the leader was their father and was found out to be a liar. So her punishment was retaliation, not a fair punishment for her actions- or was it?
Blackstar never received any punishment for killing Stonefur- should there be one? He was acting under the orders of both his and Stonefur's clan leader so you can argue that while it was morally wrong it wasn't exactly a crime- it was a punishment for him being half clan. And in that same vain who punishes a clan leader who breaks the warrior code?
Blackstar killed Redwillow for supporting the Dark Forest yet Firestar only banished Darkstripe for attempting to kill Sorrelkit, and Breezepelt was an avid supporter of the DF.
Prey stealing has sometimes resulted in being forced to "repay it" and other times in a battle. Crossing borders can get you reprimanded or get you killed.
I say all that to say the warriors have rules, but they have no guidelines for what to do when those rules are broken. It's completely up to the leader or other authority figure at any given time which has proven to result in some pretty unfair treatment of cats' crimes. Should they have specific punishments for crimes or should it be at the leaders discretion? Should major infractions result in some sort of trial? What do you think the punishment should be when these rules are broken? Do leaders have the power to execute a cat for breaking the code?