Thread:Mesektet/@comment-27729149-20160128170019/@comment-3581997-20160510111323

Tiger and the Monk,

A Buddhist monk finds a tiger trapped a poacher's cage in the jungle and sure to be rounded up. The tiger asks to be freed, for he is a Buddhist and can not allow for animals to be abused if he can to do something. The monk goes to free him and asks if he frees him if he will eat him, the tiger says "yes, I am hungry and you are food, it is in my nature." Monk replies "Why should I free you then?" Tiger states: "Because you are a monk and it is in your nature." Monk can not argue with this logic for it is true, as a Buddhist he must be willing to give of himself to help others, even others who mean him harm, he goes to unlock the cage and but Buddha comes by and stops him. And tells him that you do not grant mercy simply because, you grant it to creatures that worthy of it. and able to appreciate it.

Moral of the story is don't be an idiot with what you are willing to overlook just because you think it is the moral thing to do.

But if you want pop cultural reference, there was an old He-Man episode with a similar moral. Trapjaw is abandoned by Skeltor and Orco finds him, he says he is willing to help them if they will accept him as an ally. Orcho gives him a shot, in the end he betrays when Skeletor says he is willing to take him back. He-Man's big, moral of the day at the end is this. Don't forgive people just because they want you to. You give the benefit of the doubt to people you know you can trust whether they are friends or foes, you don't give it to any potentially dangerous person who has never even tried to earn it.

Batman has had this a few times with Catwoman, how he would love for her to turn over a new leaf but she has tried that before and it never seems genuine.

Here is an old one from the ye old Adam West Batman, in all it's campyness.

Catwoman: Please Batman, we be great together?

Batman: "It would never work. I could never help you commit your nefarious crimes."

Catwoman: "Well, well then I will give up crime, lets fight crime together, you and I. We could clean up Gotham, if only you would be with me. A crime fighting duo, just you and me."

Batman: "What about Robin?"

Catwoman: "Oh that's right. Let's kill him!"

Batman: "I should have known you would be incapable of changing even if you tried. It's a shame."

And that is just the campy 70s Batman. The comics have done similar, although less corny versions of the same conundrum with Batman and Catwoman throughout the comics.