Dystopian Back History

[Leo]

I keep changing the back history to my story because I am just not please with it. I recently came up with this outrageous idea that involved a civil war starting because of racism and immigrants in the country which would involve a lot of issues going on in the United States today. Though that is what I was looking for at the time I now realize how crazy and extreme the idea is to write about, especially for a teen fiction novel.

I had another idea before that crazy one. That the country is over populated and the government issued a secret plan to lower the population, an act of genocide. My question for you guys is would you think this would be a better plan verses the race and immagrational issues? I honestly think so, though I had a few problems on how the government would pick their subjects. I thought they'd get rid or the old, sick, mentally ill and criminals first. But that is the main reason why I dropped this original plot idea in the first place I just couldn't think of people to kill off.

I have a weapon, I have antagonists, I know how the victims will be affected, I just don't know how to /pick/ the victims.

Can anyone help me with this please?

[Tisa]

Take out the middle class...they vote, they are educated, and have resources. The goal, then would be to create a feudal society...haves ruling nave-nots.

[Leo]

Tisa wrote: "Take out the middle class...they vote, they are educated, and have resources. The goal, then would be to create a feudal society...haves ruling nave-nots."

That is a BRILLIANT idea! I don't know why I didn't think of it myself. It is taking the complete opposite root to where I was going and I love it. Thank you so much. I will see how this goes with my story! :)

[Alyson]

I love the second idea.

[Leo]

I think I am definitely going with the second idea. Thank you for your imput!

[Tisa]

I have a few thoughts on how to get them, but you already have a weapon in mind...still: tisagarrison@gmail.com

[Len]

Not to rain on the parade but ISIS is a product of dystopian theories. The ISIS fellowship earnestly believes that we live in the "End Times"and that only they will be saved. It's not so different from the beliefs of many of the Evangelical Christians with but one exception, they practice what they preach. Everyone not exactly like them is doomed to Hell so it doesn't matter if they slaughter innocents. From their point of view, all they're really doing is hastening the death of the already doomed. Why haven't Evangelical Christians taken that extra ISIS step? They would all go to jail in a minute. ISIS serves as a bloody reminder that dystopias in practice mean world wide genocide..

Copernican Journey, my novel that takes place forty years from now is Turnerian rather than dystopian or utopian. If interested, I'm beginning a new thread focused on Turnerian literature which is 90 degrees from Utopian and Dystopian writings.

[Tisa]

Arab Islamist religious zealot posers have been done. Do you, Len, consider Utopian and Dystopian to be polar opposites, therefore Turneries (?) bisects theem, thus 90 degrees?

[Tisa]

I just returned from touring the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. A British attorney and Norther Ireland IT exec (in Northern Ireland) were opining that "the troubles" were, for the past 30 years at least, more about groups of thugs and hoodlums using open violence to extort "protection" money from businesses than about actual religious differences. Mafia-type organizations are still trying to stir up "the troubles" because there is nots of money in it. Just last week I was hearing, on BookTV, the same opinion os ISIS et al...espoused by an esteemed Middle East expert, scholar and author, to wit: it's more about money than Mohammed. Bu this is nothing new. Corruption and theocracies or religious conflicts (which are actually territorial and power disputes) are nothing new...they have always gone on. Secular governments, like Leo is writing about, are even scarier because the naked aggression is couched in leftist philanthropic rhetoric. (in my never-to-be-humble opinion)

[Leo]

I don't really want to add religion as a major context into my story, especially something that extreme. I do know there are plenty of other religions who may not be accounted as 'extreme' who feel the same way such as Jehovah Wittness. My originally plans for this story was to have most of the citizens non-religious. It would make more sense for the person behind the genocide to have no faith if you knew their relation to my main character. But thank you for your suggestion.

[Leo]

Your suggestion is similar to the way I was going to take the sequel to this story. In the end the secret government organization would fail in their plans and would secretly be taken over a group who is affiliated with a gang. Though their intentions are good, the gang will sometimes go to extreme measures to get there. While the group is is taking over the organization they also plan to shut it down and make changes to society.

[Len]

Utopian and Dystopian are two sides to the same romantic coin. Neither confront the brutal realities attached to them. The Soviet Union was a utopia that ran wildly and murderously off the rails. ISIS is a dystopia that matches the early Soviet Union's brutality only on a smaller scale.

As an example of how horrible the Soviet Union was, in 1910, Russia and China had about the same 200 millions. Between 1910 and today, Russia's population went backwards because of WW1, the Russian Revolution, the starving times of the early 30's, a string of purges, WW2, and post war purges. No one ever tried harder to establish a workers paradise and no one ever failed so spectacularly.

[Tisa]

Leo, I concur with you. Of course for some people their partisan political views can become just as strident as religion...LOL

[Leo]

I understand where you are both coming from I just have to see where my story leads me.