Author Topic: EP062: Union Dues - The Baby and the Bathwater  (Read 3790 times)

Swamp

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on: October 17, 2009, 05:22:30 AM
EP062: Union Dues - The Baby and the Bathwater

By Jeffrey R. DeRego.
Read by Mur Lafferty.

It’s never really dawned on me that the brochures manage to beautifully portray events and activities I’ve never seen as long as I’ve worn the tights and mask. The brochures don’t show the InterCity cops taking pot-shots at our Jump Jets, they don’t show the protestors outside a school when Landaar makes and appearance, or the new recruits worked to the physical breaking point for a year before they are even allowed third string uniform status, they don’t show how we didn’t put out the fire or didn’t rescue the family.
But since when has a marketing campaign ever focused on truth and reality?


Rated R. Contains profanity and… Well, profanity.


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Reply #1 on: February 04, 2010, 06:01:08 PM
Another quality Union Dues story where there is much philosophical discussion without any crash-bang action.  I do miss having some crash-bang action though, like in Off White Lies, which is definitely my favorite of the Union Dues I've heard so far.  The moral conundrum of stealing children for the safety of humanity is a tough one.  I like how each story has a protagonist with a different superpower to let us get a feel for the variety in this world.

In the title, why "and the bath water"?  I kept expecting the parents to give the kids a bath and end up electrocuting themselves.



Swamp

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Reply #2 on: February 04, 2010, 06:32:11 PM
In the title, why "and the bath water"?  I kept expecting the parents to give the kids a bath and end up electrocuting themselves.

You probably already know this, but it plays on an old saying "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater".  The saying supposedly comes from the practice of the whole family using the same bath water for a given cleaning, with the baby being the last.  The bath water would be quite dirty you see and one wouldn’t want to mistakenly discard the baby with the dirty water.  Thus a metaphor for not throwing out a good idea along with a bad application of that idea.

Now more to the root of your question, how does that apply to the story itself?  I'm not sure.  Maybe the act of taking the child super away from its family of normals came with a lot of filthy, negative baggage?

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Reply #3 on: February 05, 2010, 04:02:35 PM
You probably already know this, but it plays on an old saying "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater".  The saying supposedly comes from the practice of the whole family using the same bath water for a given cleaning, with the baby being the last.  The bath water would be quite dirty you see and one wouldn’t want to mistakenly discard the baby with the dirty water.  Thus a metaphor for not throwing out a good idea along with a bad application of that idea.

Now more to the root of your question, how does that apply to the story itself?  I'm not sure.  Maybe the act of taking the child super away from its family of normals came with a lot of filthy, negative baggage?

Actually, I don't recall hearing that expression.  Thanks for the answer!  I like to use outdated colloquial expressions and watch the ensuing reactions (usually eye-rolls from my wife until I use it enough that she starts picking it up).  This one's going on that list!

Even if the application to the story isn't immediately clear, at least I understand the root expression now.