[Dancing_Hobbit]

But to say that orcs cannot be taught to stop killing and start knitting is saying that there is no hope of changing them! You are saying that some creatures are doomed to death and hatred and a miserable form of existence simply because they were born a particular species! Have we then no free will? Are our personalities determined and judged by our appearances? Are we all automatons following the dictates of stereotypes? Is there no hope for us at all? Alas alack!

Ok, now that's out of my system I can say that this has been bothering me for a long time and I still haven't been able to come up with a clear position on it. My initial reaction is no, they can't be changed, but then you get the above until I remember that there's no evidence of it being possible, and you would think there would be. I short, I'm running in circles (or spheres, depending on my mood). [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]