If You Had Servants Would You Beat Them?

[sumethinz new]

Elizabeth Bathory would be a wet noodle compared to me

[KSM]

Elizabeth Bathory would be a wet noodle compared to me

@sumethinz new +1 That's a good answer. I happened to be listening to a podcast about her the Blood Countess when I authored this spectacular thread. You win the internet and I now proclaim you, no longer goofus!

Elizi was good people, a little crass at times but aren't we all.

[TigerLily]

If I were the Lady of the Manor I would only hire servants who had been abused by their previous employers. I would invite a select group of elites to the Manor for a fabulous feast. The wine would flow. Then we would retire to the lounge for double brandies. When the guests were well fed, overserved and nearly comatose I would have the servants come in and beat the guests until they snivelled and crawled out the front door on all fours never to return. After which the servants and I would sit down to a rousing game of Canasta

[sumethinz new]

If I were the Lady of the Manor I would only hire servants who had been abused by their previous employers. I would invite a select group of elites to the Manor for a fabulous feast. The wine would flow. Then we would retire to the lounge for double brandies. When the guests were well fed, overserved and nearly comatose I would have the servants come in and beat the guests until they snivelled and crawled out the front door on all fours never to return. After which the servants and I would sit down to a rousing game of Canasta

You really should do something about those nasty purple boxes. Yeah, I read where you gamed Bart into giving you a change in color, claiming to be jealous of spook's box color. "Oh, Bart I wish muh box was more like Spookcat's; I love you, Bart; please make muh box more like Spookcat's; Spook's box is SO loverly". Kudos to you for a well-played game. KUDOS.

But, now let's get down to cases. It is indeed amusing that one woman is envious of another woman's BOX. But now you have to go around with that sickening purple color that makes me think of the blue-waffle meme from a few years ago. On the rare occasion I see you around it makes me nauseous.

Btw, I like your idea about the rousing game of canasta. I bet you would win. Beautiful avatar too!

[sumethinz new]

@sumethinz new +1 That's a good answer. I happened to be listening to a podcast about her the Blood Countess when I authored this spectacular thread. You win the internet and I now proclaim you, no longer goofus!

Elizi was good people, a little crass at times but aren't we all.

I was proud that you called me goofus, though I still prefer fuckface.

I've read a few things on EB and she was definitely something else...she probably could have gotten away with her shenanigans had she not started killing the nobility. Torturing and murdering servants was just in bad form...but killing land owners was a line not to cross

[KSM]

If I were the Lady of the Manor I would only hire servants who had been abused by their previous employers. I would invite a select group of elites to the Manor for a fabulous feast. The wine would flow. Then we would retire to the lounge for double brandies. When the guests were well fed, overserved and nearly comatose I would have the servants come in and beat the guests until they snivelled and crawled out the front door on all fours never to return. After which the servants and I would sit down to a rousing game of Canasta

Wow! you're very nice. I didn't say anything about hiring/paying them, I'm talking about complete ownership! Playing games with them? 

[TigerLily]

Wow! you're very nice. I didn't say anything about hiring/paying them, I'm talking about complete ownership! Playing games with them? 

That's slaves, not servants. Sick bastard

[Dyna-X]

No, Beatings are the easy way out. To fully keep control and discipline of the servants you need to lodge clever but subtle insults and events of humiliation deep into their psyche. At the same time this needs to be tempered with rewards. Not too many rewards, but not so few as they begin to lose all hope and self-efficacy. You will also want to make sure the top 2 or 3 servants in the bunch get extra offerings and privileges. This is an automatic way of creating a hierarchy that is somewhat self-managing. In the extreme case you may need to fire your worst servant. But before doing so make it look as if you are actually promoting him or her such that their name is well known among the servants. Then quietly fire them into at night. (Since KSM is talking ownership they could be traded for something with a neighboring manor owner)  Immediately promote someone new straight away in the morning. Act baffled as to what happened or why they were fired? Who? A little bit of shock and chaos in the ranks does wonders to efficiency. Plus by not beating them you will actually be able to boast that you do not beat them during pep talks and they will actually find this reassuring.

[JUAN]

No, Beatings are the easy way out. To fully keep control and discipline of the servants you need to lodge clever but subtle insults and events of humiliation deep into their psyche. At the same time this needs to be tempered with rewards. Not too many rewards, but not so few as they begin to lose all hope and self-efficacy. You will also want to make sure the top 2 or 3 servants in the bunch get extra offerings and privileges. This is an automatic way of creating a hierarchy that is somewhat self-managing. In the extreme case you may need to fire your worst servant. But before doing so make it look as if you are actually promoting him or her such that their name is well known among the servants. Then quietly fire them into at night. (Since KSM is talking ownership they could be traded for something with a neighboring manor owner)  Immediately promote someone new straight away in the morning. Act baffled as to what happened or why they were fired? Who? A little bit of shock and chaos in the ranks does wonders to efficiency. Plus by not beating them you will actually be able to boast that you do not beat them during pep talks and they will actually find this reassuring.

I worked for a couple of those companies.

[sean92008]

The name of my next sex tape...

[albrecht]

No, Beatings are the easy way out. To fully keep control and discipline of the servants you need to lodge clever but subtle insults and events of humiliation deep into their psyche. At the same time this needs to be tempered with rewards. Not too many rewards, but not so few as they begin to lose all hope and self-efficacy. You will also want to make sure the top 2 or 3 servants in the bunch get extra offerings and privileges. This is an automatic way of creating a hierarchy that is somewhat self-managing. In the extreme case you may need to fire your worst servant. But before doing so make it look as if you are actually promoting him or her such that their name is well known among the servants. Then quietly fire them into at night. (Since KSM is talking ownership they could be traded for something with a neighboring manor owner)  Immediately promote someone new straight away in the morning. Act baffled as to what happened or why they were fired? Who? A little bit of shock and chaos in the ranks does wonders to efficiency. Plus by not beating them you will actually be able to boast that you do not beat them during pep talks and they will actually find this reassuring.

Yes, ideally what you are trying to create is a "learned helplessness" and blind loyalty to you, and to a limited extent, the Manor, and each other, etc.  Another good method is after the reward- a surprise punishment. The idea being you even break the link/definition of reward and pleasure and the chaos of not knowing how/when/if a punishment, or a reward, is coming, this will further help you break them down and then you can remold them.  Note: this can also be done in a "good cop, bad cop" type of way if concerned about any of the  negativity being associated with you only.

[albrecht]

I worked for a couple of those companies.

Haha.  Yep. 

Changing goals, "who is my boss" confusion, random RIFs, quotas manipulation, "good leads" being given only to certain people, misinformation about going to salary actually means less $ take-home (because no overtime,) awful (faked) "team building" events, and many things businesses and managers can play with....

[KSM]

That's slaves, not servants. Sick bastard

Now that we're all cleared up, would you beat your slave-servants? Pretend they don't like cats! Oooohhh boy they're gonna get it now..

[sumethinz new]

That's slaves, not servants. Sick bastard

Certainly some peasants were treated much worse than the best house-slave (not that slavery is to be minimized in any way) because both peasants and slaves sometimes lived relatively well (as sickening as that sounds) when they managed to curry favor with their superiors...as it was most certainly the situation with Elizabeth Bathory, or in the case of the mistresses and master slave owners; BOTH of whom who were so-totally in control that their disenfranchised chattel often snitched out their fellow "others". Often, rape, disfigurement (a favorite of Bathory was to have the nubile breasts lopped off of young girls) or the more popular sacrifices in times of winter of being frozen in cold water just to see how long they could survive outside in the bitter night...or to even be set upon by the ever-waiting wolves (most certainly a quicker exit from a horrible death i should think) Yeah, those halcyon days of Elizabeth Bathory were to be envied by those, who in reality, had no other choice but to survive their utter deprivation by any means necessary. How lucky! Of course, this often meant working under her whimsical and inhuman "employment" by selling out their fellow human beings in more provocative ways than by just being a simple toadie or sniveling sycophant...all in the name of survival.

If you're still with me, what I'm saying is it ain't a contest. No one is saying slavery was cool. Slaves endured and even did the same shit too! Both of these existed and these types of lives existed for different people for different reasons for most of existence. Mainly, it was by whatever means available to the individual that some managed to make it work for them...depending often upon whatever the whims of their mistress or master may have been. Shitty? Certainly, that's quite an understatement and it could be hell on earth either way, but that should have been obvious. ksm is not wrong for pointing that out because you come across as a bit sanctimonious.

p.s. the purple is growing on me