Is Rush a hypocrite?

[jelgate]

One concept we have seen Rush strongly believe in is "the greater good." He on a few occasions has said its okay to sacrifice human lives (among other things) if it benefits the overall group. But in Divided the tracking device was a serious problem for the Destiny in that Rush's presence severly puts danger and risk the Destiny. Does not Rush's concept of the greater good makes his death more benefical for the Destiny then him being alive. While I personally don't blame him for wanting to stay alive does not make Rush a hypocrite of his moral beliefs?

[asdf1239]

they need him alive for his scientific and technical aptitude

[reddevil18]

Oh, no doubt. His "for the greater good" bullcrap is just that. BS. Rush is all about Rush.

[s09119]

Oh, no doubt. His "for the greater good" bullcrap is just that. BS. Rush is all about Rush.

Not entirely. He's Machiavellian to a point, but he sees himself as the Prince in this situation. He can sacrifice all the others for the greater good, but he himself is far too valuable.

[The Mighty 6 platoon]

Not entirely. He's Machiavellian to a point, but he sees himself as the Prince in this situation. He can sacrifice all the others for the greater good, but he himself is far too valuable.

Well that's how he justifies it to himself. When it comes down to it however Rush is all about what's best for him and his mysterious ulterior motives. Though I suppose its possible that those unknown motives might justify his actions...

[jelgate]

they need him alive for his scientific and technical aptitude

I'm not arguing that his scientific skills are valuable just that he betrays his greater good philosphy by only useing it when it doesn't involve him

[AtlantisRules!!!]

Well... I know I'm very Pro-Rush and Jel's probably going to disregard this anyway () But he sorta is too valueable. How many times has he saved their lives in 12 eps? Plus, he's not brave enough to sacrifice himself.

[jelgate]

Well... I know I'm very Pro-Rush and Jel's probably going to disregard this anyway () But he sorta is too valueable. How many times has he saved their lives in 12 eps?

His valuableness its not what is in question. Just how well he follow his so called moral belifs

[Alan Wake]

I'd say his morals and values about... anything... change with the situation.

[asdf1239]

I'm not arguing that his scientific skills are valuable just that he betrays his greater good philosphy by only useing it when it doesn't involve him

yes but it is also for the good of the others whether intentionally or not because they need his expertise

[jelgate]

yes but it is also for the good of the others whether intentionally or not because they need his expertise

His science skills are useless if aliens blow up the Destiny

[Zkyire]

It's not really betraying the Greater Good philosophy.

Without Rush, the crew of the Destiny are royally screwed. He's their best chance to get home.

If he sacrifices himself, sure he would have saved them in the short term, but they'd be stranded, possibly forever (or at least a lot longer than they would have been). And if they ever encountered a big problem with the ship, like say, a eactor overload, again, Rush would need to be there.

[jsonitsac]

I think his concept of the "grater good" would be different than what somebody like Young or Scott would have as military officers. As officers they are trained to be willing to sacrifice themselves first, for the good of the unit. For example, it is common tradition in the US military (in the field) that in the field officers eat only after their subordinates have been served. Furthermore, being in the military they are constantly aware of the fact that they could be called on to sacrifice their lives for their country (or being in the SGC for their planet). Truthfully, I haven't seen any evidence that Rush would be willing to make that deal. Instead he's advocated killing (or allowing others to die) just for what he sees as the greater good, but I have yet to see him go through with it himself.

[Daro]

As most know, I'm a big Rush fan. That said, yes, he absolutely is a hypocrite in "Divided."

What he did is understandable, no one wants to die, and he had good reason to believe that revealing the tracking device inside his chest would lead to him being tossed out the nearest airlock. That said, his plan of "If our shields hold them off, they'll leave us alone and everything will be fine," is by far the worst plan he's come up with so far for the survival of Destiny and the crew. Of course that would never have worked, and had he not been in denial, just coming back from a traumatic near-death event, he'd have realised the logic he was using was flawed.
What he did was soundly reject to subject himself to the cold logic he expects other people on the ship to be subject to. I have rarely found his decisions inaccurate, such as in 'Water,' where only by chance was Young able to pull Scott out of that ravine, but he jumps to them so quickly and does not candy-coat anything he says until after Chloe and Young rebuke him.

Maybe some good will come out of this, and Rush will either be more honest with himself in the future, and/or he will apply that refusal-to-give-up approach to situations where someone else's life hangs in the balance. I think he already did so by saving Chloe.

Oh, and as for him viewing himself as Destiny's greatest asset: I think he is, but that doesn't mean that, in this situation, he was right to keep the implant secret. He placed the lives of everyone around him in danger and would have kept doing it most likely to protect his secret. Though I was disappointed in Eli for most of the episode, I approved of him telling Young what was going on. And Young redeemed himself just a smidge for doing the right thing by turning around and using logic against Rush (but, I noticed, not completely without compassion.)

[FallenAngelII]

In Rush's mind, he is vital to the survival of the crew (and might actually be). Also, Rush has never advocated for the killing of someone for the greater good. He planned to, once he had control, have the beacon removed. He just didn't want Young still in control when it was being done since he feared Young might simply abandon him on another planet again or, worse, kill him outright (and can you blame him after Young punched him out and left him to die of thirst and starvation?).

[pipi]

I'd say Rush is not a hypocrite because he generally does what he says he'll do. He never preaches his beliefs to anyone cause he keeps to himself. And he doesn't give a false representation to anyone with regard to his moral beliefs. He's a straight shooter, you know where he stands. He doesn't go don't eat this, then secretly eats it himself does he? Or don't touch that, and secretly touches it himself.

[Jper]

One concept we have seen Rush strongly believe in is "the greater good." He on a few occasions has said its okay to sacrifice human lives (among other things) if it benefits the overall group. But in Divided the tracking device was a serious problem for the Destiny in that Rush's presence severly puts danger and risk the Destiny. Does not Rush's concept of the greater good makes his death more benefical for the Destiny then him being alive. While I personally don't blame him for wanting to stay alive does not make Rush a hypocrite of his moral beliefs?

If you put it like that it certainly looks like it, and first off, I don't think we have enough evidence to know if Rush is really as ambiguous as he sometimes, as in this situation, appears to be, or if we are indeed getting the wrong picture.

That being said, I think Rush was much much more afraid that if he'd consulted TJ, she'd tell Young. Or if he told too many people of it, that Young would find out. And personally I think if other people hadn't be around when Young walked in the lab, he would have shot Rush, knowing he had a tracking device. I trust Young much less with moral values like this than I trust Rush with them.

Furthermore, there's this

His science skills are useless if aliens blow up the Destiny

I disagree. His skills aren't useless 'cause the usage of those skills clearly prevented the aliens from blowing up Destiny.

And to conclude, Rush may hold up certain values, but he's still a human being after all. And Rush isn't one of the ready-to-use-heroes-right-out-of-the-box. Doesn't make him a hypocrite per se.

[Vapor]

Whether or not Rush is a hypocrite would depend on how you define the word "hypocrite."

Is it about what you preach or what you actually believe?

Personally, I think Rush would like everyone to believe him when he says all he wants is the greater good, but that doesn't mean that's what he really feels on the inside. I think it's far more likely that "the greater good" only works when it means he himself is safe.

As soon as "the greater good" doesn't include his own well-being, then it becomes irrelevant, because he wants to survive, and it's not just because he's the guy that can save everyone else. He's not that selfless. Even if he is trying to do the right thing, he's far too self-interested to let himself lose too much control over any given situation.

[jelgate]

If you put it like that it certainly looks like it, and first off, I don't think we have enough evidence to know if Rush is really as ambiguous as he sometimes, as in this situation, appears to be, or if we are indeed getting the wrong picture.

That being said, I think Rush was much much more afraid that if he'd consulted TJ, she'd tell Young. Or if he told too many people of it, that Young would find out. And personally I think if other people hadn't be around when Young walked in the lab, he would have shot Rush, knowing he had a tracking device. I trust Young much less with moral values like this than I trust Rush with them.

Can we leave the whole Rush vs Young or how much we disagree with Young. Thier are enough threads already for that. Being afraid to tell others about his device is not in question but how well he follows his so called beliefs

Furthermore, there's this

I disagree. His skills aren't useless 'cause the usage of those skills clearly prevented the aliens from blowing up Destiny.

And to conclude, Rush may hold up certain values, but he's still a human being after all. And Rush isn't one of the ready-to-use-heroes-right-out-of-the-box. Doesn't make him a hypocrite per se.

Sure. It was quite a gamble. The Destiny barely made it through. But if I didn't it would have been a complete violation of his greater good stance. We wouldn't have gotten in the Divided scenario if wasn't for Rush and the the tracking device

[jelgate]

I'd say Rush is not a hypocrite because he generally does what he says he'll do. He never preaches his beliefs to anyone cause he keeps to himself. And he doesn't give a false representation to anyone with regard to his moral beliefs. He's a straight shooter, you know where he stands. He doesn't go don't eat this, then secretly eats it himself does he? Or don't touch that, and secretly touches it himself.

He is? You never know what he is up to from one situation to the next