I tried watching "Ben Hur" from the 50s and I can't get past the scene at the "beginning" where Hur is giving one of his women slaves to some guy to be married, and she is basically crying because he is such a great slaveowner so she doesn't want to stop being his slave. I mean wtf? Am I supposed to root for this guy for three hours? "He is a cool guy who has slaves". All he wants is to go home to his slaves, and Jesus himself helps him get reunited with his slaves in this heartwarming story.

I don't know what am I missing here. Maybe Boru can explain it to me.

Could be a comparison thing. "He's a shit ton better than Marcus Black Boardus."

BTW, the Roman navy didn't use slaves on their triremes. Too many extra mouths to feed, mouths that didn't fight. Rowing, on the infrequent times it was needed, was done by the combat troops, kept them fit.

(February 20, 2023 at 2:04 pm)Fake Messiah Wrote: I tried watching "Ben Hur" from the 50s and I can't get past the scene at the "beginning" where Hur is giving one of his women slaves to some guy to be married, and she is basically crying because he is such a great slaveowner so she doesn't want to stop being his slave. I mean wtf? Am I supposed to root for this guy for three hours? "He is a cool guy who has slaves". All he wants is to go home to his slaves, and Jesus himself helps him get reunited with his slaves in this heartwarming story.

I don't know what am I missing here. Maybe Boru can explain it to me.

I haven’t seen the film - mainly because Charlton Heston was a crap actor -, but it’s generally acknowledged than the slaves of wealthy Jews received better-than-average treatment (especially if the slave was also Jewish). There’s compelling evidence that being owned by a Jewish master was often considered preferable to freedom.

Boru

I often said that being in the military was preferable to working for a living.

(February 20, 2023 at 7:13 pm)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote: I often said that being in the military was preferable to working for a living.

I had a high school teacher who was a veteran. He said that if he carried a clipboard and walked quickly, no one ever asked him to do anything.

Boru

(February 20, 2023 at 7:50 pm)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote:

(February 20, 2023 at 7:13 pm)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote: I often said that being in the military was preferable to working for a living.

I had a high school teacher who was a veteran. He said that if he carried a clipboard and walked quickly, no one ever asked him to do anything.

Boru

Though I was officially in communications, I was put in supply because I could type.  Most of my time was spent sitting in my office with the occasional trip to the basement of the barracks to escort soldiers who needed things out of, or to put things into, their storage area.  Mostly that was luggage for people coming and going on leave or moving on to their next duty station.  I read a lot and wrote letters home.

Other than fending off my First Sergeant, I was never in any danger.

(February 20, 2023 at 7:13 pm)Gawdzilla Sama Wrote: I often said that being in the military was preferable to working for a living.

Having spent 2½ years in Vietnam, I disagree completely. I was underpaid, the working hours were long and hard, and soldiers got little respect, if any. Most officers and senior NCO's regarded enlisted men as nothing more than something they would scrape off the bottom of their shoes. At the end of my last tour, I was entitled to an early discharge, which Uncle Sam tried to screw me out of. I didn't know anything about Stop Loss Orders at the time. I finally got my early discharge with the help of my congressman. After that, I wouldn't have re-enlisted in the army if they paid me a $50,000 bonus. 

(February 20, 2023 at 7:57 pm)arewethereyet Wrote: Other than fending off my First Sergeant, I was never in any danger.

I was safer on the Mekong than I was at home in Indiana.

The 1997 remake of 12 Angry Men.  Not bad, but not a patch on the original.

Boru