Post by trish on Nov 10, 2006 17:37:28 GMT -5
The set was comfortable without being opulent, a simple pair of chairs seperated by a small coffee table. There were glasses of water for each of them, and the backdrop was simple and soothing - a nice blue. It was a much nicer set than the one she'd had to use when interviewing Lars Anderssen, which was to be expected really when considering her guest. Eugene was already set up behind the camera, and Trish checked herself over one last time before the Senator arrived. She was dressed simply - a black skirt and blazer over a simple white blouse, an outfit that was feminine without being revealing, and professional enough that she would hopefully be making the right impression. It was what could be thought of as her uniform, really, and had always been received well enough in the past, but she still felt a moment's hesitation. She always did.
There wasn't time to fret, though, as her guest arrived, and Trish Tilby stood to shake his hand.
"Senator Foster, thank you for coming."
Gesturing to the seat opposite, she smoothed her skirt and took her own seat, giving him a smile.
Isaac shook her hand with a confident smile that was at once warm. He had a tremendous charm and charisma, not unlike many politicians, but somehow his came off without a hint of grease or tinge of corruption. Either he was a fine actor, or he'd managed to make it to the Senate seat without falling to many of the temptations of his line of work.
Sitting, he smoothed his jacket front. He wore a blue herringbone knit wool blazer over a white shirt and a steel gray patterned tie. A subtle difference from politicians twice his age, and enough to make his gray eyes stand out when he smiled at her.
"Thank you for having me, Miss Tilby. I've been looking forward to it."
That he was a smooth talker came as no surprise - even if you managed to do it without being corrupted, getting into the Senate took a certain charisma. He seemed to have it by the bucketload.
"I'd firstly like to wish you luck with your re-election campaign - you've chosen a controversial issue to run with." An important issue, but a controversial one nonetheless. As many votes as he would gain for his stance on mutant rights, it was just as likely that he'd lose plenty, too. It seemed that the world wasn't quite ready to settle into a united front yet, not with groups like the Brotherhood stirring up anti-mutant sentiment.
"While I don't want to repeat the same questions that you've no doubt been asked many times since your NPR interview, do you think that the revelation of your friendship with this 'Jane' is going to effect your campaign?" He'd revealed more than just a friendship, after all, and she'd already seen websites decrying him as a 'mutie-lover'. Unfortunately, after what Trish had been digging up, that was only likely to get worse. She still wasn't sure that she wanted to bring it up, but her duty was to report the truth.
Isaac chuckled. "I was hoping to talk about my recent tour, but you're a straight shooter. I understand." He sat up a bit straighter.
"I don't see any reason why my friendship with Jane should effect my ability to lead the great state of Kentucky towards not only tolerance and harmony between mutants and non-mutants, but economic balance, fiscal responsibility, tax equity... I don't fear being known as... well, what they call me." He grinned.
"Just thought we should get that out of the way." Trish gave him a smile - most of her questions were less likely to follow the exact same pattern as what most reporters would be asking him. She wasn't going to ask about his love life, wasn't going to talk about his family or the fact that he was the youngest Senator ever.
But she wasn't going to get into the meat of the interview just yet. They could come back to Jane. She actually felt a little guilty for what she'd found out, but there was no choice in her mind. Still, he could say his piece first.
"So tell me about the tour. From what I understand, you've visited Alcatraz, and you're planning on seeing Baltimore, Alkali Lake and Liberty Island - all sites of major mutant conflicts. What else is on the agenda?"
"Those are the basic locations, yes." He didn't correct her that he'd started on Liberty Island, and had yet to make it to Alcatraz. Isaac wasn't the sort to put people in awkward positions unless it gained him something. "Really by visiting these locations I hope to display the mutant conflict from a non-mutant perspective. To answer the question for myself and maybe for others, 'what does this mean for our country?' There has been a lot of examination of the events in the mutant rights conflict in the last few years, but much of that has boiled down into an argument over what mutants are and whether or not they deserve the same rights. Well, I think it's time we step aside from that. Mutants are obviously not the same superficially as non-mutants. But fundamentally, they retain the same thoughts, feelings, and experiences as non-mutants, therefore, they are subject to the same rights, and the same laws, as non-mutants."
"So if we take that as a given, we are forced then to look with new eyes at these events and decide how we are going to deal with these things as a whole and united country."
"Do you really think that a non-mutant can truly understand the conflict? We're not the ones being offered an option to be like them - can we truly understand what they're going through?" People had died, had been involved in the fight, but it never really seemed to be about them. There was no argument that humans should be registered, because they lacked the mutant X gene, after all.
"We can talk about the fundamental sameness between mutants and non-mutants forever, without actually being able to comprehend what they are going through."
"That's a very valid question Mz. Tilby, and one I haven't heard before." He smiled, adjusting his pantleg briefly.
"I think it's important for non-mutants to try and understand the mutant struggle. Just as it is important for whites to understand what it is like to be black, even though they may never truly be able to. Being white was not a reason to ignore the civil rights movement in the fifties and sixties. In fact, it was the strength of non-blacks standing up and telling their fellow non-blacks they would no longer tolerate prejudice and the segregation in our society that lead us where we are today."
"When only mutants speak up for mutants, we are still divided. Many people- the majority, I'm willing to wager- feel the way I do. That we are equal. Does it mean special consideration shouldn't be made for their abilities? No. Does it mean laws may not need to be carefully crafted to work with these new states of being? No. All those things are necessary. But to write laws for a divisionist society, we are going against the fundamental values of our country, our constitution and our bill of rights. It is vital that we cease viewing mutants as a minority and began viewing them as citizens just like ourselves. The things that make them unique liabilities to our society are the same things that make them unique assets. JUST like any non-mutant American."
"What about groups like the Brotherhood of Mutants? I wonder if they'd appreciate non-mutant support."
Trish knew full well that they wouldn't. The Brotherhood had, after all, always said that mutants were superior to humans, and they weren't just protesting about things like the Cure. They wanted it destroyed, saw it as an abomination.
"To put this into perspective, Senator Foster, how would you expect the black population to react if there was an 'option' offered to them to become like the majority? Don't you think that things like the Option make tensions worse?" Particularly since it had been invented by a human.
"Now you asked two questions here, so let's slow down a bit."
He smiled. "The Brotherhood of Mutants is classified by the United States Government, as well as our U.N. allies, as a terrorist organization. If anyone, mutant or otherwise, decides to use violence and fear as a tactic to change, they will be dealt with as criminals. Understand me Mz. Trilby, I am talking about equality. In every sense of the word. This includes holding mutants who choose to break the law accountable in the same manner as we would a non-mutant criminal. To me, that's self evident."
"Now, changing our parallels here a bit Mz. Trilby, the Option is a great deal more like what our gay and lesbian citizens have had to deal with in the past. For many years different organizations have offered and continue to offer so-called "cures" for homosexuality. In another parallel, many young men and woman are forced into these organizations that attempt to cure an individual of their sexual preference. And just like with the Option, there are those who accept the belief that homosexuality is a sickness. There are many who don't, and have had to come to terms with the fact that these people exist, and that they aren't likely to go away."
"Prejudice towards mutants may never go away. There is still prejudice in all society. But that does not mean it isn't our duty to fight it where we find it. And most importantly, to keep the eyes of justice blind; the American government should not and can not afford to consider mutants more or less a danger than non-mutants, they should not and can not afford to consider mutation an illness and just as with blacks and homosexual Americans, they must fight to defend the rights of all citizens regardless of their background."
"Ah, but the jury is still out as to whether homosexuality is genetically determined. The Option offers a way for mutants to alter their genetic makeup to be like the majority - if the American government cannot afford to consider mutation an illness, why is there a way for them to 'get better' on the market? It's hardly the same thing as reprogramming - it is an actual genetic therapy."
She was getting away from the Brotherhood, which was both good and bad in Trish's mind. Still, she'd get back to them - and their importance to Isaac's campaign - later.
Isaac chuckled. "My dear, that it is in existence does not make it something the government has a right to use. You are arguing a point I cannot give a counter point to. Why is their racism? Why do people hate? Why do people fear? I can't give those answers. The Option exists and it is controversial. Everyone's individual opinion can be what it is. Some consider it an abomination, some consider it a blessing. So long as we are not forcing it on anyone against their will- and my voting record shows my objection to its use by law enforcement in the past- then we are doing what we can.
"If you are asking me if I believe the Option should be outlawed? I don't believe so. It is obvious some would choose to lose their mutant abilities. That I defend, just as I would defend an individual's right to plastic surgery. The individual has the right to do with themselves what they please so long as it breaks no laws. I believe it's important that we discuss its use on minors, and its use against mutants against their will. Beyond that, it's up to the individual to decide their view."
He really wasn't old enough to be calling her 'my dear', the way Trish saw it, but she didn't bother commenting on that. He also seemed to be contradicting himself - stating that the US government couldn't afford to see mutation as an illness and then advocating a 'cure', but Trish didn't mention that either. Instead, she just nodded politely while he said his piece, waiting until he was done to direct the conversation back the way that her producer wanted it to go.
"Can we discuss its use on mutants against their will? Obviously, the use of cure weapons has been outlawed thanks to the Mutant Rights Act, but do you believe it is moral to use the Option in extreme cases? For example, in cases of mutant terrorism, or repeat criminal offenders?" Trish had been wondering for some time whether any states would adopt the cure as a treatment similar to chemical castration - particularly with the reports that it was not quite as permanent as Worthington Labs had believed.
Isaac took on a look of quiet thought for a moment, folding his hands in his lap before looking at Trish to answer.
"It's expected that public figures take hard line views on topics like capital punishment. I've been known in the past to state my belief that such a practice is dangerous; life is not black or white, and so we cannot always treat every circumstance the same. As far as the government's use of the Option. My record shows I am in support of the death penalty. And as I've said, mutants deserve all the rights non-mutants enjoy. But they also should expect equal responsibility. So by that logic I could say that mutants should be subject to the death penalty IF their crimes warrant it; wiht mutations that would render our forms of delivering a death sentence null, then perhaps the senate and house, as well as the court system should consider using the Option in those cases. But I don't believe the discussion is over in that regard."
"So a mutant terrorist responsible for the deaths of many of the citizens and police officers of Baltimore city, not to mention innocent mutants who simply wanted to exercise their right to choose the Option...?"
A series of pictures flashed up onto the screen behind them, a green woman running away from immense destruction before being picked up by another woman - moving so fast that she wasn't quite crisp in the shot. That same dark-haired woman fighting the X-Man known as Angel in the sky, and shots of the aftermath of the attack on NovaTex Baltimore, the streets littered with dead and dying people, body parts chewed off by giant plants, the remains of those plants.
"Like your Jane Martin." The screen settled on a picture of the green woman and zoomed in until her face was all that could be seen. Trish Tilby still felt more than a little guilty about bringing this information to the public, but that was her job. The Senator should have been a bit more careful about just what he'd revealed about his mutant childhood crush.
Isaac watched the screen for a long moment, his expression carefully guarded. The sigh he let go was so slow it was barely noticeable and wouldn't come across on tape unless someone were watching very closely.
"Trish, I understand the point you are trying to make," He said slowly, not looking at her at first. "Though you make a weak pundit when you have no side on which you stand other than the one that will garner you the most notoriety. A Senator's responsibility is to make law dependent on the will of his constituents- not to act as a judge for those laws."
He finally turned his eyes to her, and she could see in his expression the hurt he held as one person torn down by another- carefully contained behind a veil of what he felt deeply was his duty as a Senator. Same was the ring of sincerity in his voice as he continued to speak in measured, even tones.
"It is my belief, that no matter your nature- mutant, or non-mutant- you are responsible for your crimes under the laws of our United States. I take no shame in having known Jane Martin as I knew her then."
But the look on his face told another story. Trish knew as well as Isaac that the tape would be played on every station in every town throughout the country and beyond. Not only would Jane Martin's life be pulled into the public forum; but Isaac's opponents would use her every personal failing as a trowel by which to scrape the young Senator over the coals prior to the election.
"This interview is over. Thank you Mz. Tilby." Standing, he removed his microphone and walked off camera.
There wasn't time to fret, though, as her guest arrived, and Trish Tilby stood to shake his hand.
"Senator Foster, thank you for coming."
Gesturing to the seat opposite, she smoothed her skirt and took her own seat, giving him a smile.
Isaac shook her hand with a confident smile that was at once warm. He had a tremendous charm and charisma, not unlike many politicians, but somehow his came off without a hint of grease or tinge of corruption. Either he was a fine actor, or he'd managed to make it to the Senate seat without falling to many of the temptations of his line of work.
Sitting, he smoothed his jacket front. He wore a blue herringbone knit wool blazer over a white shirt and a steel gray patterned tie. A subtle difference from politicians twice his age, and enough to make his gray eyes stand out when he smiled at her.
"Thank you for having me, Miss Tilby. I've been looking forward to it."
That he was a smooth talker came as no surprise - even if you managed to do it without being corrupted, getting into the Senate took a certain charisma. He seemed to have it by the bucketload.
"I'd firstly like to wish you luck with your re-election campaign - you've chosen a controversial issue to run with." An important issue, but a controversial one nonetheless. As many votes as he would gain for his stance on mutant rights, it was just as likely that he'd lose plenty, too. It seemed that the world wasn't quite ready to settle into a united front yet, not with groups like the Brotherhood stirring up anti-mutant sentiment.
"While I don't want to repeat the same questions that you've no doubt been asked many times since your NPR interview, do you think that the revelation of your friendship with this 'Jane' is going to effect your campaign?" He'd revealed more than just a friendship, after all, and she'd already seen websites decrying him as a 'mutie-lover'. Unfortunately, after what Trish had been digging up, that was only likely to get worse. She still wasn't sure that she wanted to bring it up, but her duty was to report the truth.
Isaac chuckled. "I was hoping to talk about my recent tour, but you're a straight shooter. I understand." He sat up a bit straighter.
"I don't see any reason why my friendship with Jane should effect my ability to lead the great state of Kentucky towards not only tolerance and harmony between mutants and non-mutants, but economic balance, fiscal responsibility, tax equity... I don't fear being known as... well, what they call me." He grinned.
"Just thought we should get that out of the way." Trish gave him a smile - most of her questions were less likely to follow the exact same pattern as what most reporters would be asking him. She wasn't going to ask about his love life, wasn't going to talk about his family or the fact that he was the youngest Senator ever.
But she wasn't going to get into the meat of the interview just yet. They could come back to Jane. She actually felt a little guilty for what she'd found out, but there was no choice in her mind. Still, he could say his piece first.
"So tell me about the tour. From what I understand, you've visited Alcatraz, and you're planning on seeing Baltimore, Alkali Lake and Liberty Island - all sites of major mutant conflicts. What else is on the agenda?"
"Those are the basic locations, yes." He didn't correct her that he'd started on Liberty Island, and had yet to make it to Alcatraz. Isaac wasn't the sort to put people in awkward positions unless it gained him something. "Really by visiting these locations I hope to display the mutant conflict from a non-mutant perspective. To answer the question for myself and maybe for others, 'what does this mean for our country?' There has been a lot of examination of the events in the mutant rights conflict in the last few years, but much of that has boiled down into an argument over what mutants are and whether or not they deserve the same rights. Well, I think it's time we step aside from that. Mutants are obviously not the same superficially as non-mutants. But fundamentally, they retain the same thoughts, feelings, and experiences as non-mutants, therefore, they are subject to the same rights, and the same laws, as non-mutants."
"So if we take that as a given, we are forced then to look with new eyes at these events and decide how we are going to deal with these things as a whole and united country."
"Do you really think that a non-mutant can truly understand the conflict? We're not the ones being offered an option to be like them - can we truly understand what they're going through?" People had died, had been involved in the fight, but it never really seemed to be about them. There was no argument that humans should be registered, because they lacked the mutant X gene, after all.
"We can talk about the fundamental sameness between mutants and non-mutants forever, without actually being able to comprehend what they are going through."
"That's a very valid question Mz. Tilby, and one I haven't heard before." He smiled, adjusting his pantleg briefly.
"I think it's important for non-mutants to try and understand the mutant struggle. Just as it is important for whites to understand what it is like to be black, even though they may never truly be able to. Being white was not a reason to ignore the civil rights movement in the fifties and sixties. In fact, it was the strength of non-blacks standing up and telling their fellow non-blacks they would no longer tolerate prejudice and the segregation in our society that lead us where we are today."
"When only mutants speak up for mutants, we are still divided. Many people- the majority, I'm willing to wager- feel the way I do. That we are equal. Does it mean special consideration shouldn't be made for their abilities? No. Does it mean laws may not need to be carefully crafted to work with these new states of being? No. All those things are necessary. But to write laws for a divisionist society, we are going against the fundamental values of our country, our constitution and our bill of rights. It is vital that we cease viewing mutants as a minority and began viewing them as citizens just like ourselves. The things that make them unique liabilities to our society are the same things that make them unique assets. JUST like any non-mutant American."
"What about groups like the Brotherhood of Mutants? I wonder if they'd appreciate non-mutant support."
Trish knew full well that they wouldn't. The Brotherhood had, after all, always said that mutants were superior to humans, and they weren't just protesting about things like the Cure. They wanted it destroyed, saw it as an abomination.
"To put this into perspective, Senator Foster, how would you expect the black population to react if there was an 'option' offered to them to become like the majority? Don't you think that things like the Option make tensions worse?" Particularly since it had been invented by a human.
"Now you asked two questions here, so let's slow down a bit."
He smiled. "The Brotherhood of Mutants is classified by the United States Government, as well as our U.N. allies, as a terrorist organization. If anyone, mutant or otherwise, decides to use violence and fear as a tactic to change, they will be dealt with as criminals. Understand me Mz. Trilby, I am talking about equality. In every sense of the word. This includes holding mutants who choose to break the law accountable in the same manner as we would a non-mutant criminal. To me, that's self evident."
"Now, changing our parallels here a bit Mz. Trilby, the Option is a great deal more like what our gay and lesbian citizens have had to deal with in the past. For many years different organizations have offered and continue to offer so-called "cures" for homosexuality. In another parallel, many young men and woman are forced into these organizations that attempt to cure an individual of their sexual preference. And just like with the Option, there are those who accept the belief that homosexuality is a sickness. There are many who don't, and have had to come to terms with the fact that these people exist, and that they aren't likely to go away."
"Prejudice towards mutants may never go away. There is still prejudice in all society. But that does not mean it isn't our duty to fight it where we find it. And most importantly, to keep the eyes of justice blind; the American government should not and can not afford to consider mutants more or less a danger than non-mutants, they should not and can not afford to consider mutation an illness and just as with blacks and homosexual Americans, they must fight to defend the rights of all citizens regardless of their background."
"Ah, but the jury is still out as to whether homosexuality is genetically determined. The Option offers a way for mutants to alter their genetic makeup to be like the majority - if the American government cannot afford to consider mutation an illness, why is there a way for them to 'get better' on the market? It's hardly the same thing as reprogramming - it is an actual genetic therapy."
She was getting away from the Brotherhood, which was both good and bad in Trish's mind. Still, she'd get back to them - and their importance to Isaac's campaign - later.
Isaac chuckled. "My dear, that it is in existence does not make it something the government has a right to use. You are arguing a point I cannot give a counter point to. Why is their racism? Why do people hate? Why do people fear? I can't give those answers. The Option exists and it is controversial. Everyone's individual opinion can be what it is. Some consider it an abomination, some consider it a blessing. So long as we are not forcing it on anyone against their will- and my voting record shows my objection to its use by law enforcement in the past- then we are doing what we can.
"If you are asking me if I believe the Option should be outlawed? I don't believe so. It is obvious some would choose to lose their mutant abilities. That I defend, just as I would defend an individual's right to plastic surgery. The individual has the right to do with themselves what they please so long as it breaks no laws. I believe it's important that we discuss its use on minors, and its use against mutants against their will. Beyond that, it's up to the individual to decide their view."
He really wasn't old enough to be calling her 'my dear', the way Trish saw it, but she didn't bother commenting on that. He also seemed to be contradicting himself - stating that the US government couldn't afford to see mutation as an illness and then advocating a 'cure', but Trish didn't mention that either. Instead, she just nodded politely while he said his piece, waiting until he was done to direct the conversation back the way that her producer wanted it to go.
"Can we discuss its use on mutants against their will? Obviously, the use of cure weapons has been outlawed thanks to the Mutant Rights Act, but do you believe it is moral to use the Option in extreme cases? For example, in cases of mutant terrorism, or repeat criminal offenders?" Trish had been wondering for some time whether any states would adopt the cure as a treatment similar to chemical castration - particularly with the reports that it was not quite as permanent as Worthington Labs had believed.
Isaac took on a look of quiet thought for a moment, folding his hands in his lap before looking at Trish to answer.
"It's expected that public figures take hard line views on topics like capital punishment. I've been known in the past to state my belief that such a practice is dangerous; life is not black or white, and so we cannot always treat every circumstance the same. As far as the government's use of the Option. My record shows I am in support of the death penalty. And as I've said, mutants deserve all the rights non-mutants enjoy. But they also should expect equal responsibility. So by that logic I could say that mutants should be subject to the death penalty IF their crimes warrant it; wiht mutations that would render our forms of delivering a death sentence null, then perhaps the senate and house, as well as the court system should consider using the Option in those cases. But I don't believe the discussion is over in that regard."
"So a mutant terrorist responsible for the deaths of many of the citizens and police officers of Baltimore city, not to mention innocent mutants who simply wanted to exercise their right to choose the Option...?"
A series of pictures flashed up onto the screen behind them, a green woman running away from immense destruction before being picked up by another woman - moving so fast that she wasn't quite crisp in the shot. That same dark-haired woman fighting the X-Man known as Angel in the sky, and shots of the aftermath of the attack on NovaTex Baltimore, the streets littered with dead and dying people, body parts chewed off by giant plants, the remains of those plants.
"Like your Jane Martin." The screen settled on a picture of the green woman and zoomed in until her face was all that could be seen. Trish Tilby still felt more than a little guilty about bringing this information to the public, but that was her job. The Senator should have been a bit more careful about just what he'd revealed about his mutant childhood crush.
Isaac watched the screen for a long moment, his expression carefully guarded. The sigh he let go was so slow it was barely noticeable and wouldn't come across on tape unless someone were watching very closely.
"Trish, I understand the point you are trying to make," He said slowly, not looking at her at first. "Though you make a weak pundit when you have no side on which you stand other than the one that will garner you the most notoriety. A Senator's responsibility is to make law dependent on the will of his constituents- not to act as a judge for those laws."
He finally turned his eyes to her, and she could see in his expression the hurt he held as one person torn down by another- carefully contained behind a veil of what he felt deeply was his duty as a Senator. Same was the ring of sincerity in his voice as he continued to speak in measured, even tones.
"It is my belief, that no matter your nature- mutant, or non-mutant- you are responsible for your crimes under the laws of our United States. I take no shame in having known Jane Martin as I knew her then."
But the look on his face told another story. Trish knew as well as Isaac that the tape would be played on every station in every town throughout the country and beyond. Not only would Jane Martin's life be pulled into the public forum; but Isaac's opponents would use her every personal failing as a trowel by which to scrape the young Senator over the coals prior to the election.
"This interview is over. Thank you Mz. Tilby." Standing, he removed his microphone and walked off camera.