You put the fox on the boat first so it doesn’t eat the chicken, then.... no because the chicken will eat the grain.  So you put the grain on first and ... no…

I give up.

1 - Sinbad - cannot tolerate a man who takes advantage of a woman.  Period.  Sinbad was clearly a slimeball.

(here’s where it starts to get more difficult)

2 - Slug - I don’t really have a lot of respect for anyone who thinks the best answer is violence.  Ever.

3 - Gregory… see 2.  And up to this point in the story I felt bad for Abigail, and Gregory wasn’t very understanding.

4 - Abigail - her intentions started off good.  Although, the idea of her laughing at him is pretty shitty.

5 - Ivan - although the entire thing could have been prevented if he had stepped up to help, you can’t fault a person for staying out of it.  A lot of people do just that.  It’s what makes those who are willing to step into the fray that much more admirable.

Ah shit - I only had to explain the first and the last.  i suck at directions.

1. Abigail- She’s the reason all the good guys are f*cked up.

2. Slug- He’s Abigail with a penis.

3. Gregory- No matter how mad, it’s just wrong to hit a woman.

4. Sinbad- True he was a jerk, but he obviously knew he’d be able to get some.

5. Ivan- Smart man knew Abigail and all the drama she causes. Knew better to stay out of it!

1. Abigail - While it was nice of her to inform Gregory of what she did, she’s a dumb bitch for doing it.  Retaliating because of a situation she brought upon herself is ignorant.  I find her behaviour immoral.

2.  Slug - I wouldn’t call what he did ‘help.’ He compounded the problem for what appears to be his own gain, the whoring bitch, Abigail.

3.  Sinbad - Completely devoid of ethics.

4.  Gregory - While his reaction is horribly wrong, he has every right to feel betrayed...because he was.  He should not have hit her.

5.  Ivan - Offering no help is not a crime.  It is also not beholden upon anyone to involve themselves in other people’s problems.  His actions affected the entire outcome which leaves him looking like the bad guy. 

BUT he could not foresee that his choice not to help would bring about the trouble that it did. 

He can not be held accountable for the actions of others.

In every single case, I will always side with a person whose spouse/so commited adultery/was unfaitful.  I despise that behaviour completely.  I find it impossible to respect anyone who does that.  In this day, divorcing is easier than ever.  There is no excuse for infidelity when you have the option to divorce.

And while I am a pacifist and shun physical violence, I can’t, in good conscience, say I wouldn’t slap my husband across the face were he to cheat on me.

My answers are kind of malleable depending on how hard I think about it...and like some others said, one can’t really be condemned for the actions of others.  I do think too much, though.

Anyway, here they are.

1 - Abigail for leading the men on and for becoming a whore, willingly.

2 - Slug for using physical violence and laughing about it.

3 - Gregory for using physical violence when his heart was broken.  (If he had not struck Abigail he would go to the bottom of the list.)

4 - Sinbad for requesting something unreasonable of Abigail, turning her into a whore.

5 - Ivan for turning on a friend.

I’m disturbed at the parallels of another story that isn’t a story at all.

1) Abigail.  For not having respect or care for herself, Gregory or anyone else.  Bitch.

2) Gregory.  For not understanding the sacrifice that Abigail made, and hitting a chick just ain’t cool.  He could’ve been happy with Abigail!  Moron.

3) Ivan.  He could’ve prevented the whole mess from occurring, and Abigail considered him a friend.  So much for a friend in need, and what kind of person doesn’t want to bring two potential lovers together...what “situation” was he looking to avoid?  Jealous prick.

4) Slug.  At least he had some compassion, and Gregory did have it coming.  Granted he’s thinking with his penis...but perhaps Abigail was the only woman on that side of the river?  I’m giving him the benefit o the doubt.  Besides you have to feel for the guy, cause you know Abigail is going to screw him over eventually.  Poor bastard.

5) Sinbad.  Look the guy just made an offer, Abigail didn’t have to take it...and he did honor the deal once Abigail did her “part”.  “Just Business”

Abigail - She strikes me as sadistic, and too easily jumps from one man to the next, as if she’s using each one of them for something, and then moving on.  Though I give her credit for seeking an alternative solution via Ivan, she did sleep with Sinbad so she could cross the river, and I think remaining in a long-distance relationship until the bridge was rebuilt would have been preferable to sleeping around in order to get closer to her SO. The end does not always justify the means.  Also, if Gregory was so precious to her that she was willing to prostitute herself to see him, how is it that she was able to laugh and enjoy seeing him being severely beaten.  I can understand she may have been angry and wanted revenge (though she’s described as feeling “heartsick and rejected” ), but the beating he received was far more severe than a slap, and should not have made her so happy that she walked off laughing.  She’s the one who approached Slug, and she most likely manipulated him using her story into beating Gregory, or at the very least she had no objection to Slug doing so, because she enjoyed watching it.  To me, having Slug do her morally reprehensible bidding and thereby making herself appear as an innocent bystander, is worse than her beating Gregory with a bat herself. Finally, the story ends with Abigail walking off hand in hand with Slug the very same day.  Gregory must have been dispensable from the very beginning, and she must not have felt all THAT heartsick when Gregory left her. Given her actions, I kind of wonder if she was trying to cross the river to see Gregory because she wanted to use him for something, or if she genuinely just wanted to be with him.

Slug - Although he was most likely manipulated by Abigail, and unlike Abigail, did not laugh or seem to derive sadistic pleasure from beating Gregory, adding more violence to the situation was wrong because he wasn’t defending Abigail from imminent bodily harm. Whether Slug knew Gregory or Abigail before she approached him isn’t clear in the story (and wouldn’t change the fact that beating Gregory was wrong), but if he didn’t know either of them, then he basically beat up a stranger because another stranger told him to.

Gregory - He may or may not have been wrong to leave Abigail for what she did, but he was wrong to slap her.  There was no excuse for that. Still, he stopped after a single slap, in contrast to what Slug did.

Sinbad - His moral failing is that he took advantage of the flood, instead of using his boat to help people who needed to get across.  He didn’t have to do it for free, but he should have asked for material compensation (money or supplies) instead of sex.  That said, Abigail’s situation did not appear to be life or death, and it was her choice to take the deal or not.

Ivan - I ranked him as the least objectionable character because I don’t think he owned a boat, and I don’t think Abigail was trying to get a ride from him.  Ivan is referred to as a friend, not a “riverboat captain.” If he was a riverboat captain in addition to being a friend, Abigail would have approached him before she approached Sinbad.  Ivan refusing to get involved does not necessarily mean he owned a boat and refused to give her a ride.  Maybe she asked him to do to Sinbad what Slug did to Gregory?  Even if he did own a boat, refusing to get involved in Abigail’s problem is not as immoral as benefiting from it, as Sinbad did.

I do sometimes read into things too much…   but if this sounds like a bunch of paranoid ravings, Nyquil is partly to blame.  I swear.

I’m not going to list Abigail first, because she tried (twice) to solve the problem without cheating on Gregory.

1. Slug - He took advantage of the entire situation. He made himself a hero to Abigail by defending her - but his first reaction was brutal violence. And then he felt it was okay that Abigail laughed at Gregory - who he just beat the shit out of.

2. Gregory - You don’t hit women, asshole. Even one slap is unacceptable. However, getting beaten with a bat could be considered a little over the top in retaliation for one slap.

3. Abigail - she shouldn’t have slept with Sinbad and she really shouldn’t have laughed when Gregory got his beaten with the bat. Makes me wonder about her ...

4. Sinbad - took advantage of Abigail’s situation. But Abigail could have found another riverboat captain, so Sinbad can’t shoulder all the blame.

5. Ivan - wasn’t obligated to help and chose not to do so. That doesn’t make him a bad man or a bad friend, nor does it make him responsible for the outcome - I’m only listing him at all because I have to.

This is an interesting one.

1.  Gregory - you don’t hit women.  Ever.  Nothing that Abigail did possibly deserved that, and by thinking the she somehow brought it upon herself and then slapping her, you are scum of the earth.

2.  Ivan - sitting idle and trying not to get involved is just shitty.  It’s because of people who try to hide things and decide not to get involved that the Nazi party rose to power.

3.  Sinbad - I mean, it’s just capitalism.  Someone wants something, you have something you want in return.  I can’t fault him too much for the laws of supply and demand.  If she didn’t want to do it, she could have just bought her own boat.

4.  Slug - it’s probably better just to make the guy quietly disappear rather than make it loud and bloody.  I guess.  I didn’t really find him reprehensible at all.

5.  Abigail - she was a bit of a bitch for laughing, but the fucker deserved it.

1. Abigail - infidelity is always the worst

2. Gregory - hitting a woman. Nuff said

3. Slug - hitting anyone else

4. Sinbad - looking out for himself, isn’t that what we all do? Although very distasteful

5. Ivan - smart lad, turns out

In “real life” I do not consider it my place to judge others using my own values and morals as a measuring stick.  That being said, I tend to view people in terms of how much pain, suffering, and damage they cause others.  With that in mind, here’s my take…

Gregory’s act of violence and insensitivity to somebody whose actions were dictated by their love for him was returned in more violence. This only goes to prove that violence begets violence, and always does more harm than good.

Slug’s act of violence was equally reprehensible and senseless, putting him in the #2 spot.

The fact that Abigail took joy in violence done on her behalf, and did nothing to halt the pain and suffering of somebody she professed to love, was an act of violence in its own right. The fact that she had so little faith in love prevailing, and decided to whore herself out to Sinbad, is just a bonus. She and Slug deserve each other.

Of course, that Sinbad would take advantage of Abigail knowing that doing so would bring harm to Gregory is almost as bad.

In some ways, Ivan’s unwillingness to assist Abigail is the cause of all the pain and suffering that followed, making him the worst offender of the group. However, it’s difficult to blame him once Abigail revealed her true colors. Perhaps he refused to help her because he knew she was a vindictive whore?? Since I cannot know for certain, I give him the benefit of the doubt, and put the guy at the end of the list.

None of this would have happened at all if it were not for Abigail.  I just needed to say that.

I was thinking the same thing, Poppy.

Actually, none of this would have happened if it wasn’t for Ivan, and Sinbad, and Gregory’s willingness to use violence, and Slug’s willingness to use violence.  Abigail being a catalyst doesn’t make her the cause.  That’s like saying that if it wasn’t for the Jews, the Holocaust wouldn’t have happened.

See if Gregory would’ve simply come to see her, this would be much simpler. Unless of course Sinbad took advantage of him too. That would be Jerry Springer material!

I disagree somewhat with Poppy, Miss Ann, and Avitable.  I find Abigail’s decision to sleep with Sinbad objectionable, as I do her other actions, but I don’t think that she’s the cause of all the ensuing problems either, because everyone is ultimately responsible for their own actions.  They weren’t all helpless passengers on a train that she decided to derail.  EVERY character in this story had an opportunity to put an end to the chain reaction, but instead, they all contributed to it.  Ivan I’m not so sure about though, for the reasons I stated in my first post.

Avi, that’s rtarded.  This has no comparison to the Holocaust.  Abigail chose to try to get these guys to fix her problems for her. 

Girl, I’m saying that this situation completely revolves around her.  Take her out of the story and there is no story.

I agree with Poppy.  When GD says, “everyone is ultimately responsible for their own actions” I think that starts and ends with Abigail.

And here’s the thing, some people do bring shit down on they’re own heads and sometimes get a little karma back at them.

Hitting is destructive and serves no purpose.  It’s a knee jerk reaction to an overwhelming emotion.  A person doesn’t know what to do that emotion and will sometimes do the wrong thing.

There is no excuse for that.  We actively choose what we do and sometimes we choose to behave poorly.  And many a person has been murdered or maimed due to an unexpectedly intense emotional reaction.

Abigail started this snowball rolling down the hill.  Ultimately the responsibility lies with her.  She had a reasonable option:  wait until the bridge is repaired.  She chose not to.

While every other person in this scenario has their own issues, none of it would have happened had Abigail just waited.  From the sound of it, Gregory wasn’t going anywhere.

You.  It’s all your damned fault Abigail and Gregory are getting smacked around.  I’m pretty sure Sinbad and Slug don’t blame you seeing as how they’re both getting a lil sumthin’ sumthin’.

Ha, I was suddenly going to say you as well, but because you’re the one telling us the story.

So, it’s the alligators’ fault for keeping Abigail from going across the river?  I don’t agree with that either.

(Are we supposed to say “God”?  The bridge builder?  Neither of them is to blame for Abigail’s choices.)

wait, let me guess...it’s the alligator river Mayor’s fault.  If the government was keeping an eye on things, none of it would have happened.

It’s always politics.

There is no right answer.  It’s about ethics, morals and beliefs.

While any and all of those can be wrong in any situation, this situation has been laid out plainly so it’s a matter of personal standards.  There is no right answer...except to each of us with an opinion.

Cuz in the end, all of our opinions count for shit anyway. 

And ya know, I am stunned that nobody pulled the “you shouldn’t judge people” card.  There’s almost always one person bitching about judgement calls.

Miss Ann, I agree with you that she got the whole thing started by sleeping with Sinbad, but I can’t see her as being directly to blame for everything, even though none of the rest would have happened without that initial mistake on her part.  I’m totally aware of the fact that I’m splitting hairs here. Sorry, can’t help it

The story was told in an omniscient point of view, so I can’t blame the people who watched Abigail and Slug walk off into the sunset for getting us into this discussion.

I am so late, but I am posting this before I finish the Monday thing. Also, I am Sybil.
1) Abigail - she is just a selfish, manipulative bitch.
2) Slug - he acts without thinking and he judges on someone else’s opinion/ story.
3) Sinbad is just a douchebag, but really, still Abigail is the one who gave it up.
4) Gregory - no balls whatsoever. Why did she have to go see him?! Why couldn’t he have gone to cross for her? Useless man.
5) Ivan - I think he made the best decision not to get involved. I guess I theorize that he knows that it’s all trouble. Probably knows Sinbad is a slime and Abigail is a conniving bitch.

Everybody is culpable. Only grace is absolute.