User blog comment:MonkeydashUnderscore/Imperials Or Stormcloaks?/@comment-166.82.245.89-20120509022154/@comment-166.82.245.89-20120511010916

From what I understand about Nord culture, the fight was legitimate, the Thu'um (one-sided though it may be), the consent, and everything, however, I don't think it would have been so easy as to say, "I reject your duel, Sir Ulfric Stormcloak, now I bid thee good day!" If he had done that, then as I heard somebody say, Ulfric could have then called into question his honor, his standing as a true Nord, etc. etc. And could call for a Moot, from what I understand, rejecting that duel was simply not an option in Nordic culture.

And as for the Markarth point you misunderstood me or I worded it wrong, whichever, I was not talking about the Stormcloaks being oppressive towards the Reachmen (though if you believe "The Bear of Markarth, that was the case at one point) I was talking about how traditionally when Nords conquer places they tend to treat the natives like crap. As for the religion part, if the original Reachmen worshipped anything near what the Forsworn worship (Hagravens, Daedra, and other unsavoury things), then want no part in that, I was saying if that's your primary reason why you joined the Stormcloaks is for religious freedom, well sorry, but they just want to worship Talos, they don't care about anybody else's beliefs, Hell, they don't like people who use magick.

I think Riften is an exception, due to the high amount of chaos and crime going on. As for those privileged Elves, don't forget that for all intents and purposes they are a minority, the majority are treated rather poorly, I view this as a rather complicated issue as neither side is truly right. On one hand you have the Nords, who have been fighting Dunmer for thousands of years, so they start to grow a mindset that outsiders are bad, and Nords (familiar countrymen) are good, I understand it perfectly, but I don't like it. And then there are the Elves, I do believe that they are being persecuted simply for their race at least by the majority of Nords. However, it seems they may need to at least swallow a bit of their pride start working, if they want to increase their reputation as that one Dunmer who owns a farm outside of Windhelm, but lets not forget most of the Dunmer living in Skyrim today are probably descendants of refugees who fled from Morrowind, so they as a whole can't simply pack up and leave Skyrim so easily, and Solstheim is more than likely packed with them already. From where I stand, the whole topics really complicated and not so easily solved or excused. IMO there is too much bad blood between the Nords and the Dunmer that they can't make nice so quickly, however, any initiative to make nice on either side is best long term and greatly appreciated in my book, but I don't see Ulfric or any of his followers doing that, the only person I see trying anything at the moment is Brunwulf Free-Winter, and he becomes Jarl at the end of the Empire career. For me that's another reason for me to join the admittedly severely weakened and withering Empire, but I'm but I'm holding on to the possibility you can revitalize it to some extent (oh well, here's to hoping). As for the Argonians and Kahjiit, the only rule that applies to them is the outsiders bad rule, which I think needs to go as soon as possible.