"Means of Political Change": Zarek's backstory

[selenak]

Another Zarek-related post (I'm making likeadeuce happy these days, which is important as a bribe), and query/thought:

In Bastille Day, we hear Laura Roslin give us the following bit of backstory about him:

"I watched Adar offer to give him a full pardon if he'd apologize and give up violence as a means of political change, and he refused."

Most people when hearing Dee argue with Billy about whether Zarek is/was a terrorist or not focus on her statement that he blew up a building. Which probably associates Timothy McVeigh and Oklahoma for Americans, and for Europeans sounds more like "terrorist" as well. However: what kind of terrorist gets offered a full pardon if he says he's really sorry and promises not to do it again? Especially if pre-war society in the Colonies is meant to strongly parallel Western or specifically American one?

Of course later events in s2 and so far s3 show Zarek to be both a ruthless customer with a taste for power and have some principles, but I'm wondering about the backstory now, and the implication for Colonial society. Especially as Adar, given the glimpse we get of him in Epiphanies and the various tidbits revealed in dialogue, doesn't seem to have been the naive type - anything but. Or the type to do something which would have made him look really bad in front of his electorate, which pardoning a universally despised terrorist certainly would have.

So either the reason/cause Zarek blew up that building for must have been rather popular in the Colonies as well, and/or something was rather rotten in the state of Caprica even before the Cylons attacked. Thoughts?

Comments

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

I remember some discussion at the time on why this didn't make any sense -- the best fanwank I've been able to come up with is that (since he's frequently referred to as having blown up a building, and only occasionally referred to as a murderer) is that the plan was destroy the building w/o kililng any people (or civilians, anyway) and that something went wrong. The best analogy I was able to find (when trying to write the essay that I abandoned out of confusion) was to the American Indian Movement and Leonard Peltier who was imprisoned for (and I'm not looking it up right now, so this is very oversimplified and possibly wrong) acts of actual/alleged violence at a point where hostilities between AIM and the authorities had escalated to a point of (in the views of some) de facto war -- however, when the government acted violently, it was under cover of law; when the rebels fought back they were labeled "terrorists" -- so that's sort of what I imagined was going on in the Zarek situation --

Interestingly, one of the reasons that it's hard to figure out Zarek's backstory is that he rarely or never speaks of it himself. One of the things that made me think of Shakespeare's Richard III (in very different circumstances, granted):

"Plead what I will be, not what I have been;
Not my deserts, but what I will deserve:
Urge the necessity and state of times,
And be not peevish-fond in great designs."

[hijinx400.livejournal.com]

I am intrigued by Zarek's backstory as well. I know they are not usually considered "canon" but there is a new BSG novel that is supposed to tell a part of Zarek's history. The book is called "The Cylon's Secret" -- click here (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780765315786&itm=2) for a link to the Barnes & Noble book description.

[paratti.livejournal.com]

His backstory gives me early Nelson Mandela vibes. I figure he refused to give up any option in the struggle.

[yahtzee63.livejournal.com]

Like likeadeuce, I've surmised that whatever Zarek did has to have been primarily nonviolent in nature; it would have to be for him to be offered a pardon and for the government to think that Zarek might be a persusive force in arguing for nonviolence. I think "Nelson Mandela" is way too far on one side, but I think "Yasir Arafat" would be way too far on the other.

And I strongly had the idea that the movement Zarek represented had considerable backing and some moral merit to it. The very fact that straight-arrow Lee had some admiration for the guy tells us that much. It's also possible that Zarek was fairly opportunistic in his embrace of the cause --certainly he can't be assumed to share in its highest ideals.

[elismor.livejournal.com]

I suppose that it's possible we're trying to piece together the back-story out of order.

For example: There is a movie coming out soon (forget the name) wherein the plot appears to be about a man who is falsely accused of an illegal act. His wife and family are punished for it, but he is not. The tagline is something like "Let them punish me for something I actually did wrong"--meaning he has taken to drastic measures as a means of revenge for what was done to his family.

Suppose Zarek's story is somewhat similar to that? Maybe the offer of the pardon [which he refused on a matter of principle] came before he blew up that building and something happened afterwards that pushed him to violence [in retaliation?].

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I'll probably look it up, though I wish they'd have gotten another author. I've read other tie-ins by that one, and they're not exactly sparkling...

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Hm, must check out the American Indian Movement story, but the way you sum it up I can see parallels. There is also the whole question of how equal the twelve colonies were; maybe there was a third world situation with some of them.

And now I'm imagining Mal and Tom Zarek meeting and my brain hurts. Because for some reason, I can't imagine them getting along at all. If only because Mal would take a look at Tom and think "that's how I'll end up if I ever make my peace with the Alliance!" and T.Z. would think "and the point of flying around in your boat would be...?"

[selenak.livejournal.com]

No, though one has to consider that a) he was much younger then and opportunism usually grows with time and b) if he refused a pardon and remained in prison instead, he was willing to make quite a sacrifice to either the cause (whatever the cause was) or colossal vanity and the idea of himself as a martyr. Because without the Cylon attack, he'd have spent the rest of his life in jail. (Unless he was working on organizing the mutiny even before the Cylons attacked, and planned on a life underground after a successful breakout.) Lee in Bastille Day comes to the conclusion Zarek is enamored with the martyr image, and to a degree that was certainly true, but not as much as with a new shot at life and actually being in a position to affect/lead people, as it turned out. His newest prison stint is again something which might have been for the cause (no collaboration with the Cylons) or in a complicated long-term game (no one will ever forgive any politician who collaborated with the Cylons if the human race makes it out of New Caprica) or both.

Another reason why Zarek might have been offered a pardon: he seems to be good at organizing people and keeping them organized. The prisoners who after becoming ex-prisoners don't appear to go rampaging around in the fleet (and presumably the majority was not in jail because of a miscarriage of justice), the Quorum (he instigated the Vice President election, and later was basically the spokesman for the others when they dealt with Tigh), the black market post-Dreadful Episode Of That Name - if he has evidenced similar talents as a young man, Adar & Co. might have counted on him being able to convince the entire movement, whatever it was, to follow suit for good.

BTW, fab icon.*g*