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Race and Racism In Video Games
SlappingOysters writes "Racism in video games has been a key topic of discussion in the game industry this year, thanks in large part to the controversy surrounding the Resident Evil 5 launch trailer. In this article, GamePlayer speaks to developers, publishers, activists and journalists about the issue to get various perspectives and insights into how the video game industry is moving forward on the topic of racism. A related piece also has interviews with Sue Clark from the UK's Classification Board and Dr. Griseldis Kirsch, a lecturer in Contemporary Japanese Studies, about how racism in video games is viewed by the BBFC and Japan respectively."
At least Resident Evil 5 doesn't take place in Raccoon Country.
Games that defined my view of the races in my youth:
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out
Street Fighter series
As a side note - my first American television show was Dukes of Hazzard. Followed, I think, by a re-run of Jeopardy. I was confused.
There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
It's ok to celebrate the variation and uniqueness of fictional races, like elves and hobbits and orcs, but you can never think about the differences between real races.
How we know is more important than what we know.
I've been playing Q4 and you find different races in that. All dying for the same cause. Now that's equal.
Shai Schticks:"You don't make peace with friends, you make peace with enemies"
remember http://www.resistance.com/ethniccleansing/ ?
Many current video games start with a selection of skin color...I'm not aware of any that have perks or penalties for racial categories, however. It's not like your jumping ability varies with your skin albedo...what's the big deal?
that one day on the red hills of Silicon Valley, the sons of former Pac-Men and the sons of Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that my four little children will one day play a game where they will not be judged by the color of their avatar, but by the content of their player stats.
How ironic to think that perhaps (just perhaps) a game developer, or movie director, who isn't at all racist, wasn't at even thinking about race, may have created something based in a certain country. And in that country they just saw people as "people".
And then, the players of a game, or viewers of a movie turn out to actually place more of a distinction on "races" than the developer. They see the skin color, or different shaped eyes, and it becomes an issue to "them" where it wasn't to the creators. They start screaming "racist" and "bigot", when in fact they scream it at people more innocent then them.
Perhaps things like this are rare, but I've seen similar things in my own life. People who I know aren't even thinking about distinctions between so called "races" getting yelled at by people who are.
Racism in any form should not be tolerated. But we should be sure that there's a blanket, derogatory emphasis placed on someone simply because of their group, and not the content of their personal character.
Video games? What about racism on slashdot. This is a perfect example. I mean, what sort of racist would mod this down? For shame, slashdot.
I do not really play video games but it does not surprise me that there is racism - and sexism, I am sure - in them. I am glad to know that this important issue is being discussed, especially considering the number of children who play video games and the subliminal messages that are transmitted.
"Nerjyzed's only game to date has been Black College Football: The Xperience, a sports sim based around the American football leagues of HBCUs. When BCFX was first announced, the developer was criticised for attempting to segregate the gaming community and was even accused of racism. Jackson says such arguments are a 'fallacy', stating that Nerjyzed is simply making a product representative of a thriving sports league, which has existed for decades: 'BCFX is not just a football title,' he says. 'It is a cultural lifestyle product that centres around the HBCU football culture.'"
Step 1: Develop "Black College Football: The Xperience"
Step 2: ???
Step 3: Racial Harmony
as advertisers have found out. You can always make fun of white males. If Spike Lee did a film or video game where white males were being shot there would be no mention of racism. Racism itself has gotten very subjective. A number of serious diseases have come out of Africa so it was a logical choice and it's hard to make a game set in Africa with a bunch of blond haired blue eyed Nordic types turning to zombies and getting shot. Set a game in Beverly Hills with a bunch of rich yuppies turning to zombies and getting shot and people would find it funny not offensive.
Someone who...
Honestly, I'm sick to death of the whole racism debate. This is nothing more than a manufactured controversy. Seriously, people, move on - in case you didn't notice, a Black man was elected President and has chosen a woman for his Secretary of State. The debate is over, racism is out. Sure, you can find racists if you look, but the majority of America is not racist, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that there are more Mac users than racists. (Okay, that last part was troll bait, but only in jest...)
There are bigger, more important issues in the gaming world than whether or not some game is interpreted by some conspiracy-loving-nutjob as racist.
\sarcasm
I mean, just think of the titles passed over by the gaming industry in the name of sensitivity to women and minorities:
And many more!
\sarcasm
But on a more serious note, games are about fantasy, not reality. I'm not interested in a game which represents someone else's politically correct reality. Conflict is part of the fun. But I've yet to see any game where racism represents a major theme. It would be just too close to reality to be fun. Instead, game makers concentrate on the fantasy, escapist themes which take the players away from the daily boredom and unresolved difficulties of normal life.
The society for a thought-free internet welcomes you.
Well, the grievance crowd was sure to come to gaming sooner or later. And you Hentai fans that like your young asian porn, you're probably next on the hit parade of incorrect behavior.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
If you think the games are racist, wait until you hear the rambling smack talk from the troglodytes on XBL (or, I would presume, any other online service).
On the plus side it does make me feel young, as it reminds me of junior high in East Texas. Only stupider.
"I guess the moral of the story is, don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." -- Addison Bain
I have to stop and ask a big WTF here.
WTF?
... thanks in large part to the controversy surrounding the Resident Evil 5 launch trailer.
So not having heard of any racist issues with this new game, nor seen its trailer yet, i simply highlighted "Resident Evil 5 launch trailer" and hit 'google', which the first link back appears to be said trailer at http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41037.html
I see absolutely nothing controversial nor racist there.
Even the article doesn't help.
The trailer sparked angry reactions from black activist groups and saw legions of gamers rush to defend the franchise's reputation
But why?
Is this seriously a problem in todays world? Am I missing something?
I realize the only point of activist groups such as these are to promote racism to keep them selfs in a job, but really now...
take a chill pill. it works.
Read radical news here
I think the article has a fair point, in certain respects(Sure, even in the far future of human colonization, when we're rubbing shoulders with aliens, the black guy will be muscle-bound and jive talking. Good work guys). It certainly wouldn't hurt and it might even help in terms of atmosphere, to say nothing of social objectives, for games to do some slightly subtler thinking on that one. I found Firefly's setting rather interesting for that reason: the visible population actually looked and sounded somewhat like you'd expect the descendants of a grab-bag of human colonists would look and sound like, rather than the brits that happened to be available as extras(plus Lando, yes, I'm talking about Star Wars).
Now, this doesn't mean that all games ought to be triumphal portrayals of racial togetherness. Various sorts of strife on the point have cropped up in human history, and continue to do so, and are in principle legitimate gameplay elements as well. Arguably, in traditional scifi and fantasy settings, a lot of stuff about race is already there, just sublimated into orcs and aliens.
One thing, though, struck me as rather seriously flawed with the thinking of some of those interviewed: they seemed to view the game making as a means to an overtly propagandistic end. Games(as well as films, books, etc.) that labor under a heavy moral frequently suck, no matter how good or bad the moral itself might be. At best, propaganda games tend to be attention getting, good for a few rounds of play; but ultimately mediocre as games(The Japanese Cetacean Research Simulator, Operation PedoPriest, and similar come to mind). It is certainly possible to make a good, or even great, game that also has a moral of some sort; but only if you start with the game and weave the moral in seamlessly. If you start with the moral and try to build a game, or start with a game and tack on the moral, you are screwed.
In particular, if your tactic is to simply take an existing work and hack your moral onto it, the product is likely to be weak and, I would argue, even counterproductive. Take Guitar Praise as an example. Straight guitar hero clone, with "christian" hacked onto it. Whatever you think about christianity, that is weak. It essentially says: "My religion is too sensitive for me to play a game with music that doesn't pander to it; but it also presents no compelling alternative to secular culture, so I'm just going to play a shitty clone with the offensive stuff clipped out." C'mon, either play guitar hero or come up with something that is genuinely inspired by, and an organic product of, your faith. Slapping a decal on somebody else's cultural product just makes you look uncreative and horribly thin skinned.
Praise hero is merely a dramatic example of this, I'm not singling out christianity specifically. Anybody who says: "We need an alternative to X"; but then turns around and produces a simple copy of X with a few words replaced is guilty of this. If you want to change something, you have to do more than rebrand it. From the tone of the interview, it sounded like some of those interviewed were going down the path of "games are too white, therefore we will make black versions of existing games." That is a weak approach at best(this works the other way as well, the fact that the guys at Resistance Records could only puke out a derivative fourth rate shooter just makes them look pathetic.)
You do realize you're comparing a concept of "race" with roots in mythology and folklore thousands of years old to a modern understanding of race based on scientific discoveries, right? Back then, the various parts of Europe thought of each other as different species. There are next to no actual differences across the "races" in the real world, most of the perceived ones are just stereotypes. That is the difference here.
Sendou Wave Kick!!
I never ran across racism in a video game until Team Fortress 2's Demoman. Some people really seem to have a problem with that character.
Zog's nightmare free download:
http://www.zogsnightmare.com/index!.htm
Racism is a lot like the Bible code: if you look hard enough, you can find it anywhere.
So I should be ashamed for playing Postal 2 as a M-16 toting Gary Coleman shooting a likeness of Osama Bin Laden? I guess if I didn't game on a Mac I might have healthier game choices available. :-)
http://gopostal.com/postal2/screenshots/gary.jpg
... ...
(I'm not sure if I should just play it off and laugh because you're probably kidding, or simply open fire.)
I'm a developer who works *damn* hard at what I do. It wasn't some affirmative-action crap either - I just kick ass.
I didn't/don't do every woman on the block, and I don't have aids.
I didn't grow up in "the hood" - (hell, my graduating class was 36.)
I rake in the bucks.
I own my home.
I spend as much time as I can with my family.
I'm black.
Seems to me, the only downside is having to listen to people like you spew bile because you're too fucking stupid to climb out of the rut you're in.
Japan has been recessed for awhile and has the highest suicide rate in the world - I'm sure work has a lot to do with it.
China, lets not talk about China too much. Maybe the coal-mine near your trailer park is hiring?
This is a country where with just a little opportunity can go a long way. But only for people who don't spend their time doing what you're doing: nothing.
Why can't all fpga/microcontroller manufacturers just release free optimizing compilers???
that's right, nigger.
There's active racism. It's the virulent kind. The asshole with shaved heads attacking people on the street.
There's passive racism. It's just as evil, but not as out in the open. It's the asshole in a suit and tie who prefers to hire certain kinds of people for certain kinds of jobs.
There's latent racism. It's in no way malignant. It's when someone honestly doesn't think about races or and differences between them, but they can accidentally say something stupid or offensive. Like when Tony Snow made his "tar baby" comment.
In video game development, I see latent racism. In many games all of the central characters are white. The game developers probably never even though about racial issues. They just made a game. Being rendered invisible is almost as hurtful as being actively discriminated against. In the first several GTA games the central character is white. In San Andreas, the central characters are almost all black and THAT'S when people notice. I salute Rockstar for making an effort.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
As an escaped convict, I take offense to your generalizations that escaped convicts like to ass rape people.
it is only after a long journey that you know the strength of the horse.
I agree, that is unfunny, and off topic.
http://CryoLANparty.com/ A lan I'm staff on!
For provoking kneejerk anti-PC covertly racist sentiments from the suburban white majority of /. !
Racist Checkers: http://www.adultswim.com/games/game/index.html?game=minoriteam_racistcheckers
Of course, this one's mild compared to their other games. I find it VERY curious that, while GTA and other famous titles are routinely attacked, sites like this are routinely ignored. I wonder why...
I think it's really sort of an unintentional consequence of the fact that the majority of videogame developers are white males, but that doesn't make it less egregious. You take Gears of War 2 for example.
Cole: My psychological dep consist of a exxajuhrated accent. Bitch.
You can read more about that here:
http://slashdot.org/~SockDisclosure/journal/
This is a clone of "ibane".
New Economic Perspectives
Yeah when black racism is now rising:
http://www.webcommentary.com/asp/ShowArticle.asp?id=websterb&date=080627
The only people who would see the Res. Evil 5 trailer as "racist" are those who make a career out of detecting racism and playing a victim, and those who blindly follow their decrees.
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lol, my apologies. That one just struck a nerve today, I guess.
Why can't all fpga/microcontroller manufacturers just release free optimizing compilers???
In order to be properly realistic, after January 2008 all game "Boss" characters must be black. Otherwise they're being RAAAAAAAAACIST!
God is a comedian, playing to an audience too afraid to laugh.
-- Voltaire
Racism is political issue, using which people are manipulated for certain groups of interest to gain audience, influence and direct or indirect cashflows pertaining to said activity, but not for benefit of said activity.
Quit whining people and lets have a laugh and how discriminating we are and how discriminated we are against and lets move on. Slavery is done for and is a new world, where lines are divided not along race boundaries but cleverness & ability.
Hooting about racism is like talking about differences between horse drawn carriages & current crop of cars.
Get with the program & be productive. And make babies ... if you are smart & intelligent. (lots of babies, please).
The racism in the Bible is hardly coded.
"I guess the moral of the story is, don't paint your airship with rocket fuel." -- Addison Bain
...your PC game must be as PC as possible. It must have a white guy, a black guy, and an asian woman.
Because, if you don't closely look at races, you're a racist.
*shakes head* This does not seem to be so much of a problem here in Europe...
Free PC version of ChipWits at http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/chipwits/
I'm sick and tired of this racism, etc bullshit. It's like they see a "race" being put in a non-flattering light (which is actually relevant to them IRL), but because it's non-flattering, it's racist. Or if certain liberties have been taken, which is ok for *entertainment*, it's racism.
Gee, a slum in Africa. That's racist! Gee, an Asian with slanted eyes. That's racism! Gee, a *cartoon* of a woman with big breasts. That gives an unhealthy body image! etc. etc. etc.
It's all bullshit. Every *culture*/*gender*/etc has good and bad points in general. In fact, most comedy is based on these "stereotypes." But, that doesn't make them untrue. It just makes them unpopular in the eyes of a loud few. But, if history tells us anything, the politicians will bow to the loud few and over time, it'll become taboo to speak of it any more. Even though it's pretty much the truth.
For those that want an example, you just need to think of the term, mentally retarded. It is a very accurate term for the people in which it describes. But, because some people used it in a derogatory way (what wording can't be used that way?), it got "criminalised." And the people that did it were the activists, not even the parents of those in which it described.
It's a sad that this can happen. And all of it through emotional appeal. God forbid that logic and common sense would enter into it.
I really can't understand how someone can call re5 racist. Let's check the facts:
1) RE series is about zombie-outbreaks
2) RE5 takes place in africa
Now, lets try and think: what ever could the race of zombies be in a game that takes place in africa?
Should they have had white-zombies in africa? And get accused of promoting colonialism?
Just how do you make a black character that can't be called either a stereo-type the moment you give him/her anything more then a skin for being black? And if you make him generic, you will be accused of making him white, accused of claiming the only good way to be is to act like a white person.
Like it or not, stereo-types is what we define race by.
In the series frasier, there are no black characters except one. Winston, an upper neighbour. I didn't realize he was supposed to be black until later in the series when his mother is introduced. He has no stereo-typical black features other then a dark skin, talks like a brit, acts snobbish, he is in a way whiter then frasier.
So does he count as black man in a white series OR is he just an actor and his skin color irrelevant as it was to me?
That is the hard part about creating a character. Just putting a bra on a 3d model doesn't make the player character female. She got to do something feminine. Nothing to complex because we got a game to play but something that CLEARLY makes the it a her. Ask yourself this, Lara Croft. Woman or boy with tits? From the start, she really doesn't act female at all. You do not control her as if she was female. She is you with tits and you is a male. There are other games as well where you play a female but it never really chances the way you play the game. Hell my MMORPG characters tend to be female often for little better reason they look better and obscure less of the scenery. I certainly don't play them as if they were women.
For that matter, how would I know how to play a woman? I ain't one. Neither am I black. Either a black character I play or interact with is going to have to do something I associate with being black or it is just going to be a skin color with no relevance.
Skin color having no relevance might be what Martin Luther King dreamed about, it ain't what the PC crowd dreams about. They want minorities to be seen in a positive light. Winston from Frasier ain't a positive minority to me because I never realized he was part of a minority. But how do you accentuate that someone is a minority without adding some stereo-types to show this person is a minority?
You can't. Lara Croft is not a positive role-model for women because she ain't a woman. She is whoever the player is because her sex never enters into the gameplay. Leisure Suit Larry did that, it changed your character at one point to a female and you played a woman because it stereo-typed you as a slut who used sex to gain access to new areas. You had to think as a "woman" (how many of men can get a doorwoman to allow us in by giving cunninglus?) but not in a way that is exactly positive.
In GTA, you are a very stereo-typical character, but if you weren't a blacker black then any black person has ever been, how do you get white guys whose closest connection to the hood is that they seen it on tv to play a "black" character? Lets not forget that an awful lot of games allow you to choose your own skin color without it ever making a difference. So either you play a stereo-typical character or a generic "white" avatar with no background.
Don't mistake basic story telling with a racist agenda. Do people complain that Puss In Boots in Shrek was a speciest slur against dogs? Why can't dogs be shown to be cute and cuddly and capable of wearing boots?
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
... let's not forget that.
People think that what their minds perceive and read into events is 'the truth', most people are not aware or sophisticated enough to distrust and question their own perceptions. It's something learned through introspection, much reading, and experience... that one cannot trust how one feels/reads or perceives the world all the time, and that much of what we perceive or think we perceive, is riddled with errors throughout. Most people never question their first 'impressions' when they 'perceive' racism.
As always - people see what they want to see. Think of popular movies or novels, if you asked what was the message of a the movie or novel, you'd get a tonne of different responses, each person reading things into and out of the entertainment experience based on their own psyche and past history.
>> We must secure the existence of our people and a future for our children.
Thanks to political correctness, I don't think you or your associates can be classified as people...
What constitutes being "black" or "white" beyond skin colour? Does a black character have to dress in a certain way, walk in a certain way, or speak in a certain way to be truly "black"? Also, how do you make a protagonist in an action game "feminine"? Do women jump over ravines in a different way from men?
If President-elect Obama was a fictional character, would people be accusing him of being essentially a white character hastily written into being tokenistically black because he doesn't dress funky or say "fo'sheezy"?
I think in all of us who have read history, there is a desire to find again a sacred order of life as existed in ancient times.
Part of that is knowing who your tribe are and living among them, people like you, and not others. That tribal definition comprises values, language, customs, and -- uh oh -- heritage.
To a modern people, told that the only morally correct(tm) society is a pluralistic, multicultural, "freedom"-based one, that is blasphemy. Heresy. Ultimate evil.
However, many of us -- especially those who read history, and know science and philosophy -- it's clear that our modern civilization is moribund and even more, isn't a pleasant place to live. It rewards the idiotic and subjects us all to it in the name of equality.
I think it's possible to want a traditional order, including ethnic nationalism, without hating others. It isn't "we're excluding you because you're inferior." It's that we want to live among our own, and that requires we exclude everyone, whether they claim to be superior or inferior.
That's only one part of the social order we'd desire. One of the neat things about feudal societies like those in The Hobbit is that everyone has a place, and there's a clear social order. You don't just plop down a McDonald's anywhere you feel like it, or ignore reality. Society is an organic framework that works together.
I think we all avoid talking about differences between people to keep the peace. We extend that to ethnicity, and endorse multicuturalism, as a result. We think that supporting pluralism, or the coexistence of many different viewpoints at once, is healthy and not chaotic.
My readings of history suggest exactly the opposite: these things are an absence of order and a desacralization of life, and all societies that have adopted them are heading downward into disorder and eventually, third-world status. (This third world status is not related to ethnicity, but the kind of corruption, disorganization, apathy, etc. you find in failed states, always accompanied by third-world poverty and development levels.)
I know my views on this are taboo, but it's important to tell the truth at all times, because otherwise we can easily lie to each other and end up in failure.
Futurist Traditionalism
He's not kidding. "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for our children" are the infamous 14 words of David Lane, and are used as a neo-Nazi shibboleth.
Most people have no idea what race is or how to talk about it. Here's a sampling of common sense:
The Race FAQ
In any topic, it's best to listen to those who have studied it in a disciplined way, and ignore the wailing of the Crowd.
Futurist Traditionalism
Things have multiple traits.
You can be members of the following groups:
* Genders
* Races
* Ethnicities
* Classes
* Sexual Orientations
and many more! Even better, you can be members of multiple groups at the same time.
I thought they taught this stuff in introductory science classes.
Futurist Traditionalism
Agreed. I used to not believe in race wars until I saw ALL of the black people in this country vote for Obama based only on the color of his skin. Black people have spoken: it really is them versus us, and the white people they can guilt and corrupt into helping them destroy our culture.
I respect any person no matter what race when they make something of themselves. Unfortunately for every good example there are at least 10 bad ones. If you were to interview for my company I would hire you very quickly. However most people in my area who are African American fit the atypical stereotype of car with big stereo/big rims, blaring rap music, dressing like a punk, lazy, and usually having no common sense. I will hire someone of African decent and usually have to fire them 2 weeks later because they either don't come to work, are late to work, don't do their work, break work rules, or harass someone (either a co-worker or customer). I wish I had someone like you working for me to show that with some hard work and effort you can make something of yourself.
Sometimes we prefer sheep
around usually fall into the falling categories
1. They need to feel the victim, never wanting to believe anything that goes wrong in their life is the fault of their choices
2. They usually exhibit the worst stereotypes attributed to their race
3. They are so full of hatred (both self and towards others) there is no other reaction they can have
4. They just seek attention or favors by making public scenes knowing that it is far easier to embarrass people than prove an occurrence.
The problem today is that the term is applied to too many instances when bigotry is the real term that needs to be applied if at all. Any slight can be perceived in any manner and the press has this tendency to blow things out of proportion because too many in the press think they are societies protectors and it is up to them to identify what is wrong.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
I play MMORPGs a lot, and generally like to try to make either Native American or African-looking avitars. I have a nice stable of Osage and Carribean/African names I like to use.
You'd be really suprised how difficult this is in pretty much every game. I certianly was. It is not difficult at all to make a European-looking avatar. In fact, it is really difficult *not* make one. If you don't believe me, give it a try yourself. For example, in WoW it is possible to make a human look a bit like Hally Berry (light skinned, unnaturally skinny, straight black hair), but that's as far as you can go. There is no way to make the males look anything like even an African-American. I couldn't find a way to make a good Osage or Asian looking person at all. If you want someone with a non-pale skin, you have to go with a non-human. Does that sound as bad to you as it does to me?
I'm not just picking on WoW, it's just the most popular. I've had pretty much the same experience in *every* one of the 12 or so MMORPGs I've tried. The only real exception was City of Heroes/Villans (which has the best character editor in the business by a long shot).
The really insane thing about this is that a lot of these games sell as much or more in Asia as in Europe and North America. You'd think they'd at least have several good options for making Asian-looking avitars! You really have to wonder what the message non-Europian looking kids are taking away from this is, when they have to make their character from the Cow, Troll, or Demon looking races to get skin color, body shape, and/or cultural equivalents to theselves, and "normal humans" are all white.
There hasn't been real racism on this planet for a least 30,000 years. There is only one recognized race on this planet, Homo sapien sapien. What many of you refer to as race is actually ethnicity. The "racial tensions" of the 1950s - 1970s were in fact ethnic tensions.
YHBT
Zul'farrak, Zul'Gurub, Zul'Aman
I haven't kept up with WOTLC but I bet there is a damn troll killing zone there. Way to much troll killing in my opinion. /troll rogue
superman runs linux
I mean, there are no African nor Asian stalkers in this game. It's clearly racist ;-P
I am a white guy who voted for Obama. Doesn't that mean that racism is over?
Kidding aside, racism does still exist, but it is blown out of proportion. If we can't have an intellectually honest conversation about what is and isn't racism, it isn't a discussion worth having since all it does is piss people off.
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
I noticed you didn't have any problem with the burning his house down around him part, then I looked at your username. *nods and grins* it might not be irony by definition, but it's still damn funny.
The Bible does describe racists incidents yet it itself is not racist. Even Jesus used a story of a Samaritan helping an injured Jew when people from his own country didn't to show how it doesn't matter which country your own. Remember that the Apostles didn't only preach to Jews but also to people from neighbouring countries like Greece and Rome(now it is Italy).
No ascii art.
... ...
(I'm not sure if I should just play it off and laugh because you're probably kidding, or simply open fire.)
Don't feed the trolls...
Several installments in that series, including the most recent one, have a white main character who engages in exactly the same behavior.
Games like World of Warcraft take racism to their very core with PVP. The level of tension between the alliance and horde is shocking, considering there are human being playing both sides. It is the part I truly dislike about the game. Why can't we just get along?
You are describing two different things in your post.
These are some examples of (a particularly widespread) black American culture:
car with big stereo/big rims, blaring rap music, dressing like a punk
These are some examples of the lack of personal development found in poor areas of the country:
lazy, and usually having no common sense.
don't come to work, are late to work, don't do their work, break work rules, or harass someone
I separate these where you have them intertwined to illustrate the point that one has very little to do with the other. You'll see the second set in the trailer park as much as you will in the hood. The negative work behavior stems from growing up in a poor (in the sense of experience as well as money) environment. It just happens to be that many of our poor areas are also black areas for historical reasons that should be obvious.
The problem arises when people see one behavior (rims'n'rap) and assume the other. There is a disproportionate poor black American population that exhibits that behavior, so such an assumption might turn out to be correct fairly often. But making such an assumption is merely judging someone based on a minuscule bit of information--the very definition of prejudice.
(I am not accusing you of this just because you talked about both sets of behavior simultaneously--it just jumped out at me and happens often enough to warrant attention. In fact, your problem with often having to fire people after two weeks shows the opposite: you are willing to give people a chance to prove themselves individually in spite of having poor performance from previous people who are culturally similar.)
Your brain is not a computer.
"Racism is a lot like the Bible code: if you look hard enough, you can find it anywhere."
Best... quote... ever.
I had to google "Resident Evil 5 controversy" to find what all the drama was about. I watched the trailers, didn't see anything racist so I kept looking.
One of the links was a interview with a Newsweek journalist:
"There was a lot of imagery in that trailer that dovetailed with classic racist imagery. What was not funny, but sort of interesting, was that there were so many gamers who could not at all see it. Like literally couldn't see it. So how could you have a conversation with people who don't understand what you're talking about and think that you're sort of seeing race where nothing exists?"
Simple: because none exists. If you have a black man and a white man on a video game, someone somewhere playing the game will somehow see racism. The video is a bunch of zombies being killed. That's it. No racism, unless you want it to be there.
No one is going to play the game and go "OMG that white man just killed a black man!" unless all you see is skin color and, if you do, then you are the racist.
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
Japan has been recessed for awhile and has the highest suicide rate in the world - I'm sure work has a lot to do with it.
Actually, Japan's high suicide rate is largely due to the incredible pressure that is placed on young students to excel. High school entrance exams in Japan (yes, you have to pass an exam just to get accepted into a high school) are incredibly tough, and many students are told (sometimes correctly so) that if they don't ace the exams, they will fail at life and never have another chance to succeed.
The end result is that a lot of kids can't handle the pressure and kill themselves.
The ironic thing is that as long as you can work as part of the group, that's basically the hardest part of your career in Japan. College entrance exams are a joke in comparison, and once you've gotten settled into a decent job, you're set. The worst thing that can happen to a high-ranking businessman is that he'll be "promoted" into a position where he has no real responsibilities or power and he'll get to stay there until he retires.
The Bible does describe racists incidents yet it itself is not racist.
Unfortunately, most people don't realize that depict != condone
I know they are two separate items. But around here they are definitely intertwined a majority of the time...if anything I think being poor should be a 3rd item separate from the culture (rims'n'rap as you put it) and work ethics/no common sense.
I give everyone a chance. But I was giving my observation from my experience. Sadly the items tend to be intertwined in my case. I was always taught in school to dress for success...coming to work or an interview with your pants hanging off off your #$! does not cut it (that goes for anyone as I see this everywhere these days). But also coming to an interview and expecting that I won't ask you to work hard doesn't cut it either. You are here to work at the company's schedule...not yours. If two people come interview with one dressed liked he just got off a set at BET or MTV or VH1 for the latest puff daddy music video who asks me how much time I get off and a guy in a suit who asks how many hours a week do I get....I'm gonna go with the guy in the suit. For one...dressing for success (no matter who the interview is for...I wore a suit to my McDonalds interview in highschool...instead of cook which I applied for I got a manager position)and also because I have learned that when someone asks how much time they get off they tend to just want the paycheck or won't give 100% while the person who asks how many hours they get is gonna work their ass off because they need/want the job.
On the another issue...most minorities around here live in quite nice neighborhoods...and their parents are usually hard workers...its usually their kids who act like punks and are fitting the stereotype. For example I had one guy (african american) who worked for the company 20 years (under me 3 years)...only was ever gone sick or on his vacation time....called in every time...followed the rules to a T...he decided to retire...and asked if his son could take over his job (he was our on-site electrician and his son apprenticed for him on site). I figured sure...since his dad trained him he'll know how to do everything already. Right? WRONG! Now they were a pretty well off family...but his son...phew...he gave stupid a new name...first day on the job asks two questions: how much vacation time do I get and can I have fridays off. Answer I had was none until 90 days and you get 2 sick days every 30 days unless hospitalized...fridays are workdays for everyone except weekender skeleton crew. Usually normal questions. Well during that month he never came into work on fridays (come to find out from his dad he was out at the bar drinking...he still lived at home and his dad and I are good friends). Now normally I would let that slide...but there were other things...when he did electrical work he NEVER turned off the power to what he was working on (and we work with machines running 220v and higher at 20-100amps), he would leave live wires exposed when he went on break with no warning signs, he never did lock-outs on the machinery that was being worked on, usually didn't do the job right requiring us to call in outside help to fix it, and last but certainly not least he would take a week to do what his dad could do in a half hour. This was during the course of about two months. Our machines were almost in shambles by the time we found someone new.
Personally I think it is a combination of the stereotypes and this upcoming generation. But being lazy, having no common sense, etc cannot be blamed on being poor. Being poor is a problem that can be helped with hard work and determination. I've seen people poor as dirt work hard and become managers, engineers, teachers, etc because they made the effort to get themselves out. A good example of that was I hired a man who was homeless (yes...homeless...) who was trained in HVAC and did janitorial work. After his first paycheck he got an apt and got off the street. After 2 years he went to the community college and got training as a plumber and electrician as well as welding. Now he is our top maintenance guy and manager of the maintenance crew and replaced the one guys son. If someone who's homeless (and he was african american as well) can do it then anyone can. As I said...I give anyone a chance...you work hard you keep your job.
Being poor does not mean you have to be an asshole. Look at China and India.
oh, it isn't irony
What do these guys mean "racist"? A white guy running around killing blacks in Africa...sounds historical to me.
admittedly, you could go really extreme and make the protagonist an African Female, but as far as I know that'd be breaking new ground in protagonists so I don't see it happening here
The main protagonist of "Last King of Africa" (a.k.a. "Paradise" in the original French version) by white bird production *is* an African Female.
But, on the other hand, it's a point'n'click adventure game. Those have always been light years ahead, whereas FPS are very strongly attached to traditions of testosterone-filled muscular white macho man.
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Just like Resident Evil 1-3 was anti-American and how 4 was racist against Spaniards. That's why there's no Resident Evil taking place in Japan - it's made by greasy-nerdy-short-foureyed-inconsiderate-godless-racist Nips. Has anyone considered that, from the developer's perspective, all the zombies are not only foreigners, but of a race other than their own? Any controversy about RE5's trailers just shows how ignorant and self-absorbed Americans are. We assume that our taboos - such as shooting up hordes of black people, but not including hordes of Asians or white people - have some universal application as if our culture is the world culture.
"From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."