I like having the solomani be speciesist, but quite non-racist amongst terran-descents. I never saw them as the fascists some of you have, though. Politcal police are a reality in many forms of government, including (for a period in the 1950's) our own. Can we say House Un American Affairs Committee (and the Senator who seemed to think he was a member of a house comittee... Tailgunner Joe..)?
I see the Solomani, as portrayed in the 1050-1120 period covered in AM Solomani and in Solomani and Aslan reacting to a severance related to a war of independance based upon a strongly held pseudo religious "We are the True Humans" ideology. Much like my deluded grandmother still thinks african-americans aren't capable of being mentally adult. I see the Confederation as sort of a "White Man's Burden" situation instead of the "Jim Crow" y'all are implying.
As for monitors, political police, the one party confederation... all reminants of the SRW. They're not out to lock you up, just take away your vote and genuinely believe the confederation NEEDS their services.
They use the astronicical/astrological symbol for earth as their symbol: it represents their conquered capitol, the seat of the solomani sphere's government before the war.
IMHO, they split because they were forced to accept "minor" races as equal members, at least until they split in the SRW. They had to have their democracy answer to a hereditary nobility; another bad idea. And, like so many revolutionairies, they went well overboard. They honestly feel that the uplifts aren't truly citizen material. They feel the local minor racces are justifiably in need of protection. And, as for human minors, well, marry into a terran line, and your children can be citizens (much like the US did with chinese in the late 1800's, and the Japanese in the late 1930's and 40's.)
We don't know with current science if chimp-human hybrids are possible, but in most states of the US, even trying to find out is a crime. And DOE has slammed the door on cold fusion research... to the point of siezing labs in the 90's. Terror comes in many forms... and we are not immune. So the grander issues of the Confederation are "Terrans First, Humans Second, ad others waaayyy down the line, and finally the 3I" minded.
As for the actions during the 2d ICW aka the Rebellion, they want their capital and all their lost worlds. The party influence makes for a wonderfully rich set of roleplaying experiences prior to the war, some of which are consciousness boosters for the players. And after, well whom do you trust?
And since Vilani and Terrans have different numbers of teeth... they're distinguishable. As for Syleans, well, canon doesn't tell. But the Geonee aren't passable for terrans on the norm, and other human minors have visible (or at least testable) distinctiveness. Like Zhodani having Blood types O, M and N...
Such distinctiveness fuels raciscm. But not of need the overt "Slave Mentality" of the American South theough the 1940's. Little things, like always talking to obviously vilani individuals as if they were children. Or the pre WWI german Jews... they lived apart, both by custom and law. They weren't part of the establishment in many cases. And they were able to get exemptions from certain requirements. But that made them targets.
Also of note: Since Cymbelline is in the Confed... no self respecting confed citizen would acknowledge that a chip could be sentient. A computer, maybe. but a single abulatory silicon life form? And it also means that the Shudasham question doesn't matter to the Confed: They're not terrans, so can't join the Party, and can't take over as long as the party is vigilant.
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-aramis
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