I've recently read one of Kkat's blogs called http://www.fimfiction.net/blog/276451/on-raiders where she talked about the raiders in both the main Fallout series and in Fallout: Equestria... And it sparked me to wonder what you guys think...

So in your opinion... What is a raider? How is a raider specifically created? Also, is it possible to redeem a raider? If so, how likely is it?

As for myself... I agree with the blog. That a raider is someone who has been pushed to the point of having no virtues at all... Just a psycho mess who wants to torture, [censored], kill, and many other similar stuff... I also agree that raiders aren't born but created by living in the wasteland. Lastly, it is possible to redeem a raider but very unlikely because the lack of help you can get in the wasteland. Plus the only way to redeem a raider is by forcing it on them (they will not want it on their own)... And forcing it means you would need special help or need to get that specific raider to learn that they want something which they cannot get without becoming a better person... Both cases are extremely rare and even rarer for the hero to care enough to do it...

So, in the end... Are the risks worth taking to redeem a raider? To use the same quote she used at the end of this blog... "I know it makes little sense to try and deter violence with more violence, but deterrence is not why I believe in the death penalty. There are some people that are so violent, so evil, that society has no choice but to be done with them. Vengeance is something that society needs from time to time if for no other purpose then to keep the rest of us sane." (The quote is from the show "Criminal Minds").

I would only half agree with "raiders aren't born but created" there has been psychological studies identifying the psycho killers have both a genetic pre-disposition and an upbringing. So given a genetic disposition but raised in a loving caring atmosphere they might grow up into a ruthless businessman etc. Or if they didn't have the pre-disposition but raised in a horrible surrounding and just become a victim of it.

In the wasteland their would be plenty of opportunities for the second type of person (raider) to escape their group meaning that the ones you see as raiders enjoy being what they are and won't be changed.....put a bullet in their heads and be done with them.

I think raiders are a futuristic interpretation of the gang mentality that we are subjected to in the present day.