Mutants, Unite Online!

[Taya Robbins]

I wouldn't try to use the rating system as a way to keep score. I mean, I can understand the reasoning behind it, but it's really messed up if you think about it. Maybe I'm a 1, maybe I'm a 2 because I have scary claws... but what about a non-mutant person who's a sixth-degree black belt, or somebody who carries a concealed handgun? Chances are they're more dangerous than me! Not that I think we should start tagging people who study martial arts or who have legal carry permits, but I don't know that we should be tagging mutants either!

Look at it another way. I know a woman who runs a nonprofit home for mutant kids. Sweetest, most caring person you could ever meet. But because she can shoot ice beams out of her hands, that means she's either a 2 or a 3. So basically, because they also add points if you've got a criminal record, this wonderful, selfless woman who's essentially a house mom for underprivileged teens could get the same rating as a "nonthreatening" mutant who straight up murders people.

LightKnight, sounds like you're in law enforcement or at least the legal system... would you care to comment on that? It just doesn't seem right at all.

Posted by CaliforniaGrrl @ 2:42 pm

[Alex Kaine]

Oh my gosh don't even get me started about mutant threat ratings. Oh wait, too late.

The big problem isn't the way the scale works. It's that we have a scale at all. Okay, maybe, maybe I could understand if the scale only applied to criminals, but at that point just put the details in the police report. What the California government is saying by giving every mutant a threat rating is that it considers every mutant a threat. Even if you've never had so much as a parking ticket, you're on the scale because some dumbass in the California legislature thought the most important thing to know about every mutant is how much firepower it'd take to bring them down. Talk about a regime of fear.

Heck with kung fu masters and wannabe desperadoes. There are thousands of assholes on the 101 every day who are way more dangerous than any mutant I know. Traffic fatalities in California last year? 3974. Mutant-related fatalities? 18, and that includes five mutants who committed suicide because of persecution borne out of fear-mongering bullshit like this.

So where does that opinion put me on the panic scale, Mr. LightKnight?

Posted by SonOfThunder @ 3:19 pm

[Svetlana Ustinov]

At about a 4, for the sheer sharpness of your tongue and your frequent inability to censor it, handsome. *grins* Or need I remind you of the way you reacted when you met my dad?

Posted by IBleedGreen @ 3:28 pm

[Freight Train]

Relax, Thunderboy. If Knight is who I think he is, he's the LAST person you need to be venting your spleen at. I mean, I see your point about leaving the scale on police reports and out of the public stream, but...y'know...too late, now. Personally, I like the idea of rating high (not like, criminal high, but powerful high). If I made 3 or 4 (not criminal 4) how many of these hate-monger people do you think would really mess with me? For some mutants, a big number is safety from the anti-mutant rabble, even if they wouldn't actually use their powers to hurt someone.

In forum news, I'm thinking of looking at how to add dates to the time-stamp. All the a.m. p.m. back-and-forth is making it look like some of us are from the future/past. o.O

EDIT: 4/20.

Posted by TougherThanU @4:20am

[Stern]

SonofThunder, your anger at the MRA mutant rating scale doesn't put you anywhere on the list. Just don't demonstrate your displeasure by bombing the capitol of California, and we'll be set.

Also, CaliforniaGrrl, I am in fact law enforcement.

If you guys have more questions about the Mutant Registration Act, your rights, or concerns you have, feel free to talk about them and ask questions. I promise not to play censor or cop on here: I only post off-duty. I'm more for protecting mutants and their rights than putting them behind bars.

Posted by TheLightKnight @11:03PM

[Tom Harriman]

While there isn't necessarily "tagging" for people who are martial arts experts, CaliforniaGrrl, there are licences and registrations for them. My martial arts licence counts as membership of an international organisation, and provides up to $1 million of health insurance for myself or anyone who gets injured if and when I use my trained skills.

It also includes a disclaimer of when use of my skills is authorised: "In officially sanctioned training sessions, or in the defense of law and order." I had a friend once who was one of the top five Tai-Qwon-Do practitioners in the country: when someone jumped her in an alley and she used her training to subdue him, things went much more smoothly with the police, because they knew what she was capable of; and they knew she could do what she did without it being a side effect of excessive force.

While yes, I chose to learn the skills that I have, they are now as much a part of me as my mutant ability. The police or the government aren't going to take my martial arts skills away if I misuse them; they can't delete that knowledge from my brain. But if I use my skills and someone gets hurt, it makes life easier for the police, easier for the emergency services, and easier for insurance companies. If I break a guy's arm because of a block I made out of sheer reflex, being open and honest about my skills helps to ensure that I'm judged appropriately and fairly for my actions.

I registered as a mutant for exactly the same reason.

Posted by RigelIsInMe @ 11.33 pm

[Freight Train]

Oh, not to rub it in but BAHAHAHAHAHA OHIO HAS NO REGISTRATION LAW

Posted by TougherThanU @ 8:48 am

[Tradeskill]

Right, so...is it me, or does all the really big mutant stuff happen in and around L.A. or NYC? You never hear about mutant "riots" in ATL or a fledgling mutant accidentally burning down parts of Chicago with freshly manifested powers. Why do you suppose that is?

Posted by TheLadyCanCook @ 3:55 am

[Terrus Vall]

Hello folks, im new to the mutant world. My nick name is Solarn i have the power to manipulate solar energy into a deadly force.

[Stern]

I think you might be right, CanCook. It's probably only because of the sheer number of people. The odds of things happening in densely populated areas is just higher. Though I do think it would have been rather amusing to see societal unrest and the quest for mutant rights happen somewhere like Topeka, Kansas.

I've been very busy lately, so the internet has been a rare luxury. Between all the incidents I've been working and trying to make sure I get quality time with my wife, finding room to eat and sleep has been a challenge as it is.

Posted by LightKnight @ 8:02am

[Freight Train]

It's been over a week! POST SOMETHING YOU CONFOUND-ITS!

Posted by TougherThanU @ 10:33 am

[Stern]

Sorry, I had to step out to fight crime. Crime doesn't know it yet, but I'm winning.

Oh, and just because you have destructive powers, does not mean you should use them on whatever person, place, or thing you want.

Mutants may only make up 1-3% of the population, but they are involved in enough crimes to ensure I only get 4 hours of sleep a night. It's making me cranky.

Posted by LightKnight @ 10:16pm

[Andrew Crest]

Mutants may only make up 1-3% of the population, but they are involved in enough crimes to ensure I only get 4 hours of sleep a night. It's making me cranky.

Ugh, tell me about it dude. I run security at a night club in San Fran, we get trouble from both the normals and muties, but muties tend to be the biggest issue. Humans are more a pain in the ass to deal with, but don't do as much collateral damage when drunk and pissed.

Anywho, yo all. You can call me Slug. Think Cali has labeled me as a Class IV, but I don't really pay attention to politics. I can manipulate kinetic energy of inanimate objects, haven't really test limits yet. Not sure if I want to.


Posted by Slug @ 3:44:am