Hard Contact Chapter 1: Commandos vs Regs

[mamuzzy]

You know, for some reason this part doesn’t leave me to rest. I spend days now on this particular post, because I have trouble making coherent thoughts. I realized why: The topic of bullying. 

 

Or possible bullying. I’m tuned to everything with hypervigilant anxiety that resembling to bullying to the sligthest. 

 

First of all, I don’t believe that the Grand Army of the Republic with 2 millions of clones are a big giant family who love each other unconditionally. You lock testosterone-filled children in a highly competitive environment with little to no positive reassurance and where your only reward is that you survived another day, I don’t think most people will turn to each other with kindness heart. Not everyone at least. Now while the clones are closed off from normal people’s society, but they have their own little culture, they have their own little rules about how a community should work, who should be outed and who should they be with friendly terms. Not to mention that there is a Caste System among clones in RepComm. 

 

• ───────────────── •

Every item of his gear was manufactured to a higher spec. A trooper’s life was less valuable than a commando’s. It was the way things were, and Darman had never questioned it—not for long, anyway.

• ───────────────── •

I wanted to include this quote for another reason: The logic behind that that they won’t waste resources and high quality equipment on troopers who are more like not going to bring it back.  Therefor regs don’t get high quality items. 

 

If there is a community, there will be always bullying, there will be always outcast, there will be gossipping, there will be attempts to alienate each other, especially when people get bored or when they need an outlet. 

 

I really find the following sections of the chapter interesting because we can’t really decide if it’s the narrative that states fact or is simply Darman already having prejudices against the Clone Troopers. Or more precisely Darman is having prejudice against clone troopers having prejudices toward Commandos (ugh this is a hard sentence lmao). 

 

Darman’s thinking patterns sometimes remind of a person with hypervigilance: but hypervigilance doesn’t necessarily comes with objectively and factually true conclusions. Darman is already in a hightened emotional state, and already feels he isn’t fitting onto these sea of strangers. 

 

• ───────────────── •

Republic Commando 1136 studied every face in line waiting to board the gunships.

Some were helmeted, and some were not, but—one way or another—they all had his face. And they were all strangers. 

• ───────────────── •

Darman rarely had any contact with the other clones: commandos trained apart from everyone, including ARC troopers. 

(…)

But they both knew exactly who and what they were.

• ───────────────── •

Darman knew what troopers thought about him and his kind. They don’t train like us and they don’t fight like us. They don’t even talk like us. A bunch of prima donnas.

• ───────────────── •

Darman had absolute confidence that he was one of the best special ops soldiers ever created.

• ───────────────── •

RARELY had any contact. Which means, they made SOME contact before. It could mean that Darman encountered with situations previously where regs talked about them, and he was perceived negatively. Or Darman felt it was negative. 

 

Darman knew what troopers thought about him and his kind. <- This also indicates that he really made contact before with regs, or at least was in earshot to hear them shittalk about commandos. In Republic Commando game, we’ve met regs who were disrespectful toward the Delta Squad, so I can totally see the regs are having prejudices. 

 

Clone Culture is just really interesting to think about, how they would differ from those who were socialized in much more humane society. . 

 

Comments

[mamuzzy]

When reading RepComm we really really need to be careful when deciding the gained lore informations are subjective POV, or actual facts, that's for sure! Everyone has their own truth, their own impressions, but just because it is written down on the paper by the author, it doesn't mean it's the universal law. And i love this. It makes you use your brain.

And yes, the reg vs commando differences are much more visible later in the books! But even commando & commando pods are different even under the same sergeant. It's so interesting!!!