Jaffa - Why so loyal?

[archiver]

padders

I have wondered for a while why the Jaffa are so loyal. Yes they think the Goa'uld are Gods but do they all really actually think that? Is it more of a totalitarian regieme so it is more that they are frightened than that they actually believe the mumbo jumbo religious stuff? I am surprised there are not a larger amount of Jaffa that would act as Teal'c, perhaps there are and it would be useful for the SGC to try and find a few more (for the other SG teams if for nothing else).

 

[archiver]

Hammer

Well, from the look of things, I'd say that most of the Jaffa do really believe that the Goa'uld are their gods - and they'll do anything for them. (Just look at the Crusades - another example of what people will do for their religious beliefs.)
I believe there are other Jaffa out there who believe the same as Teal'c and Bra'tac, but it's the whole "totalitarian regime" that probably keeps them in place. They probably fear for their family's lives (as well as their own) and therefore stay with the Goa'uld.

As for the SGC going looking for Jaffa to recruit, it's really a matter of security. It would take a lot to be able to trust these new Jaffa. The only reason Teal'c joined SG-1 was because Jack actually saw how he turned on his own men to save the prisoners - and then Jack had to fight hard to defend Teal'c against the likes of Hammond, Samuels and later Maybourne. Now, for a new "out of the blue" Jaffa to come along - it would be *very* difficult to defend this one to the JCS (not to mention just Hammond) without some proof that they aren't a Goa'uld infiltrator.

 

[archiver]

padders

Yes, I guesss the security thing would be preventitive. In fact a more useful thing might be to have a Jaffa spy but then they would have to be pretty high up to be any use (at least as high as Teal'c) and I guess the Jaffa are kept away from any of the really important information.

 

[archiver]

MythingLink

I agree with Hammer that the Jaffa probably really do believe that the System Lords are gods. These people have been exploited for thousands of years and have been trained to believe this. Those few, like Teal'c and Bratac, are probably very few and far between. Bratac probably started working on Teal'c, and the few others who had joined him in his belief, when they were young. He probably recognized a mind that questions and was able to use it to turn them.
It's one of the reasons I had such a difficult time with Rules of Engagement. I've never heard of anyone who was 'brainwashed' the way those kids were to believe that Apophis was a god, turned as easily as they all were at the end just by the sight of an image. Why didn't they just believe that SG1 was lying to them and had 'created' the image of Apophis scared and dying?

Cheers,

 

[archiver]

Hammer

With Rules of Engagement (RoE), I would have to say that I saw the believability in Apophis's followers turning on him. If we relate it to a similar situation nowadays, just imagine what appears to be proof that the god of our preference was dying. Now, although that wouldn't happen as most modern gods haven't been accurately personified in human form, there's still the possibility that it could happen. Sure, there would be some disbelief *at first*, but then the acceptance of hard evidence would eventually fall into place. Different people would handle this in different ways - whether it be sorrow or denial, there's still the chance of the sorrow and acceptance of the loss of a supreme being, which was portrayed in FoE.

 

[archiver]

MythingLink

I still say the believability in RoE is weak. If the kids acceptance had taken place over time I would have accepted that, but to have it happen in a matter of minutes was a little difficult to take. You have a group of kids here who have been brought up since birth, basically, to believe that Apophis was a god and god's are immortal.
Using something that occurs to day as an example, when people are accepted into a cult and are led to believe that the way of the cult is the only way to behave - to believe that the leader of that cult is some sort of messenger that has the true word, that same person doesn't just accept that all of that was false when they are taken away from that influence. It takes days, even weeks to counter act the influence the cult and it's leaders have had on that person's mind. And those people haven't been told from the day they were born that the leader is a god.

So we disagree again. <G>

Cheers,

 

[archiver]

padders

But is it really believable i wonder that these people can be effectivly brain washed as they have been. Do these "totalitarian" regiemes really lead to high levels of believing the doctrine or just following it through fear. If the later is the case, causing a revolution (perhaps a good military stratedgy) would actually be quite easy. I question whether it is really possible to brain wash a whole race of people through some technological trickery. What else do they have that really results in the false god worship I wonder.?

 

[archiver]

MythingLink

But to these people, they aren't 'false' gods. They are the real thing. Is it really any different than our belief in one God? Or the beliefs of other different religions and philosophies that exist today.
Cheers,

 

[archiver]

Sean3w

I agree with most of these posts. I mean, their culture and relion is based on the same principles as us. If we had someone prove to us that they were 'God' we all would probably do the same as the Jaffa. More than likely.

 

[archiver]

MythingLink

I think you also have to take into consideration that the System Lords took these races before they could reach 'the age of reason' when people started doubting and asking questions about all sorts of things, including religion.
Cheers,

 

[archiver]

Sean3w

No, that wouldn't have anything to do with Jaffa who are only about 2 hundred years old. People who were the first brought are all dead. It's all a matter of listening or in their case, brain wash

 

[archiver]

MythingLink

But you see, that's my point. It doesn't make any difference if the original people are long dead. The System Lords took them when their minds were open to this type of thing and have kept them there. None of the worlds visited that still have System Lords as rulers have advanced much beyond the where they were at when they were first taken. The System Lords can't afford to let them because if they do, they will start to question.
Look at the Crimmerians or the people in Spirits. Instead of coming outright and telling them that the System Lords were parasites and not gods, the Asgard and the 'spirits' took on the personnae of other gods to help them. Thor even made a point of leaving around little objects so that when they (the Crimmerians) began to advance they could contact him and the truth could be told.

Anyway, that's just the way I see it.

Cheers,

 

[Geronimo]

look at some sects on earth !

u only must look onto some sects on earth !

there are much people who killed themselves 'cos a "leader" or so had told them that the earth wil be destroyed and due to the "leader's" speech (or order ?) they killed themselve.

i think if u hit the "weak-point" of a human u can tell him to do everything !!

 

[Texane]

Consider: their "gods" grow within the Jaffa until they are ready to be blended with a guoa'uld adult. Ongoing brainwashing from the inside, so to speak, for many years has to have its effect.