The Importance And Cost Of Cultural Autonomy

20260603

Prompt from “pridemonthprompts” 2025 list.

“A-are we really just going to maintain cloaking and watch this happen?”
Chief Extraterrestrial Researcher Yuuv sighed. Ve entirely understood the horror in the junior’s voice. It was something every researcher had to adjust to. Ve still vividly remembered asking vir teacher the same. So ve kept vir voice gentle. “We do not have a right to interfere. Cultural autonomy is a sapient right.”
“But - they’re-”
“I know. But… think how it would feel, for outsiders to swoop in and impose their view of things on your entire planet.”
“I think how I felt about that would depend on whether I was one of the people being rounded up!”
“True. But, even then… you would have simply traded one authority for another. One which has proven itself more powerful. What assurance could you possibly have, that things wouldn’t turn out even worse?”
The junior was silent. Vir expression unconvinced.
“We will observe. We will document. And… we will hope that enough of them stand up and do something. That is all we can do. If we take rights away from every species that we feel is not using them appropriately, nobody has any rights at all.”
That got a reluctant mumble of assent.
“They will act.” Yuuv said, trying to convince vemself as well as the junior. “They must.”

Prompt was “Are you just going to watch?”