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Spiderman's Politically Correct Replacement

jbarr writes "In the latest Marvel Comic series 'Ultimate Fallout,' Miles Morales replaces Peter Parker who has been killed off by the Green Goblin. Morales is a half-black, half-Latino teen, and the creators haven't ruled out that he might be gay. From the article: 'Marvel's editor in chief Axel Alonso denied that having a black Spider Man was a publicity stunt. 'What you have is a Spider-Man for the 21st century who's reflective of our culture and diversity. As someone who grew up on a steady diet of Luke Cage, Hero For Hire and Shang Chi, Master of Kung Fu, I am personally invested,' he said. "

37 of 608 comments (clear)

  1. PC? by ceswiedler · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How is a half-black, half-Latino teenager more politically correct than a white teenager?

    1. Re:PC? by DanTheStone · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're right, they should have made him a girl.

    2. Re:PC? by elrous0 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      For that matter, when did Latino become a race?

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    3. Re:PC? by u17 · · Score: 4, Funny

      ...and disabled.

    4. Re:PC? by alen · · Score: 4, Insightful

      or better yet what is a latino? i'm sure the mexicans and peruvians think of themselves as different

    5. Re:PC? by DanTheStone · · Score: 5, Funny

      And changed his/her name to "Spiderperson".

    6. Re:PC? by a_mari_usque_ad_mare · · Score: 3, Insightful

      'Politically correct' now just means things that angry white men don't like. Often that includes (and I don't know why) people of other races, religions, etc.

      The article is from the Daily Mail, no surpise there.

      --
      The map is not the territory.
    7. Re:PC? by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Wrong direction. Since when are English, German and Russian anything but nationalities? The diversity amongst humans is not nearly large enough to qualify the introduction of biologically solidly defined races. Local varieties, that's all. 'Race' in humans is a pure social construct.

      --
      Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
    8. Re:PC? by elrous0 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Even more, if you sit a white European Mexican next to a full-blooded Mayan Mexican and ask them both if they're "Latino," they would probably both say yes.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    9. Re:PC? by royallthefourth · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Then demand universal access to education instead of whining about a group of people who actually succeeded in pushing forward something that benefits them while doing no harm to you.

    10. Re:PC? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Hi, black male here.

      I'm not the one you responded to, but I'll have you know that I'm sick and tired of people playing the discrimination card just for getting personal gain. I could have entered some programs just for being black, even when I didn't qualify otherwise. I declined.

      Stop discrimination: give everyone the same treatment. That would do more towards equality than anything else.

    11. Re:PC? by rubycodez · · Score: 5, Funny

      SpiderTranny is more catchy.

      SpiderTranny, SpiderTranny,
      butt implants for a woman's fanny,
      wears a bra, any size,
      can't you see, he likes guys,
      look out, here cums the Spider Tranny.

    12. Re:PC? by Anonymous+Psychopath · · Score: 3, Insightful

      (Note: This being the internet, I expect some of you may interpret this as a specific attack toward blacks and Latinos...)

      I didn't read it that way at all. I read it as an attack on anyone who is not a white male. Although I'm betting you don't like some of those, too.

      I agree that preferential treatment sucks. Having a non-white Spiderman doesn't fall into that category. He just isn't white. It also gives the writers some room to create interesting and new stories.

      --

      Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

    13. Re:PC? by SilverHatHacker · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You're missing the point; scholarships should never be awarded based on race or gender, they should be earned for academic or athletic excellence.

      --
      Funny may not give karma, but +5 Informative never made anyone snort coffee out their nose.
    14. Re:PC? by cheekyjohnson · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Precisely. We need to fix this inequality by adding even more inequality and giving certain minorities more benefits than others have! The situation could be worse, so you have no right to complain about anything.

      --
      Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
    15. Re:PC? by lpp · · Score: 3, Funny

      ADDH

      And dyslexic I'm guessing

    16. Re:PC? by Americano · · Score: 4, Funny

      Dear Sir or Madam,

      I'm writing to inform you that your use of the pejorative term, "Spider," is a hurtful and unwarranted attack on our nation's hard-working, industrious population of Arachnid Americans. The term you used (hereafter referred to as the "S-word") has a long and dark history of being used to demean, degrade, and debase select members of the animal kingdom, due to their 8-legged status. We understand that you probably grew up in a conservative household, where songs like "The Itsy Bitsy S-word" were sung freely and without any thought given to the pain and subjugation inherent in that song's subject. Could you imagine singing about a person of Caucasian ancestry climbing up a water spout, only to be frustrated by repeated rain showers washing him down again? I bet you wouldn't find it funny at all, yet you sling hurtful words around, blithely unaware of - or worse, uncaring for - the damage they do.

      We hope that you will consider your word choices more carefully in the future, to avoid causing unnecessary emotional pain to our long-suffering Arachnid brethren.

      Thank you for your time and consideration.

      Peter Parker
      Director, Arachnid-American National Tolerance Initiative (AANTI)

    17. Re:PC? by Grishnakh · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So some white kid who grew up in a nasty trailer park with a father in jail and mother on welfare, and has no money at all for college and had to be on the free lunch program in high school because they had no money for food, is somehow part of the "privileged class" and deserves nothing, while some black kid from a middle class family deserves free college tuition simply because he's black?

      It truly is a bleak age when people are able to coast simply because of the color of their skin, while others who truly are impoverished are left in the cold because of the color of their skin.

    18. Re:PC? by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Informative

      The Victorian notion of "race" is of course nonsense, as much an artifact of how the Europeans explored the world as anything else. But there's no doubt that there are identifiable biological populations, all closely related (as compared to, say, chimpanzee populations), but still unique in some genetic and/or morphological sense. What the European explorers failed to pick up on was that there are no sharp divides, that populations exist as continuums, one merging into the other, so, if you look at two populations separated by say, several thousand miles of territory, you will find some striking differences, but if you view the intermediates, you find much more commonality.

      For instance, the Victorian notion of race basically had one sub-Saharan African population, the Negro, when in fact genetics and morphology indicates at least four or five distinct groups, and probably more. A bushman and Zulu warrior were tossed together by the European racial theorists, when in fact there are very clear differences. In fact, sub-Saharan Africa has more genetic variation than is present in any other population in the world. There is no "negro" race per se.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    19. Re:PC? by NiteShaed · · Score: 5, Insightful

      they should be earned for academic or athletic excellence.

      Wait, what? Why should "athletic excellence" count for a damn thing? We're talking about education, and furthering ones intellectual pursuits. Why exactly should the fact that someone can throw a ball or run really fast mean they get money for extra education while a smarter (although not brilliant) kid who is a better study does not? If they're good at sports, great, let'em go to football camp or something, but if they want an educational scholarship, perhaps they should display intellectual aptitude. And please don't tell me about how it's because the university can make money off of sports, that doesn't strike me as any better than saying we should have special scholarships for exotic dancers because then the school can open a strip club. Schools are in the education business, not the entertainment industry.

      --
      Some bring out the best in others, some the worst. Some bring out far more.
    20. Re:PC? by elrous0 · · Score: 3, Informative

      What's a white European Mexican?

      A Mexican of pure Spanish descent (no indian or moor in the ole' gene pool).

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    21. Re:PC? by Reverberant · · Score: 3, Informative

      (accidentally posted as AC, posting again under my account)

      He represents the minorities. You know, the same minorities that get offered scholarships based on their race or gender;

      The overwhelming majority of those "minority" scholarships (including the United Negro College Fund) are actually open to all. There are a few scholarships that are limited to various demographics, including those of European ancestry.

      the minorities that get hired in order to fill a quota,

      Sounds just like "welfare queens driving Cadillacs" in that it doesn't exist. Quotas are illegal (in the USA at least), it's been that way since the 1970's.

      with no regard for their actual qualifications;

      Which would explain why minority unemployment in the USA is less than that of white unemployment, amirite? Oh wait.

      the minorities that can say whatever they want and play the discrimination card when someone calls them out, while the rest of us are told to shut up and be tolerant; the minorities that never seem to be at fault for anything, always shifting the blame to the persecution of the majority.

      Remember the time when Al Sharpton picketed the Colleen Pageant? Yeah, neither do I.

      This being the internet, I expect some of you may interpret this as a specific attack toward blacks and Latinos

      This being the internet, I would have expected that you would have backed up your rant with some, what are they called again? Oh yeah, facts.

    22. Re:PC? by omnichad · · Score: 3, Funny

      Why don't you apply for a minority scholarship, not get it, and then sue?

    23. Re:PC? by Dputiger · · Score: 3, Insightful
      I thought this was absolutely hilarious. It doesn't promote violence against anyone who identifies as TG/TS, nor does it suggest that such people are inherently worth less than those who identify as gay, straight, GQ, GF, or bisexual. True, Rubycodez should've said "she likes guys" instead of "he" given that the transexual in question is MtF rather than FtM, but that's a small slip. Using "cum" instead of "come" is again, a bit juvenile, but "juvenile" isn't a synonym for "hateful."

      There's a difference between being sensitive to a certain type of comment and reading attack where no attack exists. The mere act of being silly is not, prima facie, an attack against a group of people.

    24. Re:PC? by salmacis · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Maybe I'm sensitive, but it's because I've been ridiculed, dismissed and attacked.

      I transitioned in my twenties, and have lived and worked full time as a woman for over a decade in some very conservative work environments. The hormones did wonders, because even without any cosmetic surgery I don't think anyone here at work "knows" about my past, because if they did, it would get around pretty fast.

      So, because I'm "stealth" I get to hear the nasty things that cis gendered people say about trans people. The gay jokes are pretty much unacceptable these days, but the jokes about trans... those still seem to be okay in a lot of people's minds. And that won't change until people speak up.

      So I'm speaking up

    25. Re:PC? by GNUALMAFUERTE · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I live in Argentina. I was born and raised here. Contrary to what most people in the US believes, most countries in South America have a wide racial diversity, with original inhabitants (aborigenes) being a minority in many of those countries. Regardless, we don't have racial issues (at least in most countries, certainly not in Argentina), and no PC bullshit (You can call someone "negro" or "negrito", it's usually a kind word, and can be used regardless of your actual skin color, that is, people usually call you negro or negrito even if you are white, and it's seen as a sign of affection, a kind word). We see ourselves as Americans, since America is the name of the entire continent (regardless of how US citizens use the word), and you'll hear people in South America talk about American history (refering to the history of the entire continent, from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego), American people, American cultures, etc, etc. We use "America" and "Americano" in our songs, to refer to people from anywhere in either North, South or Central America.

      Latino is a fucking stupid word, since technically it defines anyone that speaks a Romance language, so, by definition, "Latino" includes lots of European countries (France, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Italia, etc). By this definition, the fucking stupid pope is "Latino", and so where the Romans.

      Since it's about language and not race, it also includes, for example, all Brazilians, Including a big part of their population who is black (descendants from former slaves bought from Africa). By the stupid PC standard used in the US, those should be called African-American too ;)

      So, No, nobody that is from South America will identify as a "Latino", except for the stupid soldouts (either those that didn't have the balls to stay and emigrated to the US, or those that drank all the cool aid and actually identify with so called 'urban' culture, such as most Puerto Rican youth.

      --
      WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
  2. But NO IRISH promised Marvel by elrous0 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Next up, Wolverine's special two-part Bar Mitzvah issue! L'chaim!

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:But NO IRISH promised Marvel by demonbug · · Score: 4, Funny

      Next up, Wolverine's special two-part Bar Mitzvah issue! L'chaim!

      If you think that will be fun, you should have seen the Bris edition!

      I give up; how did they counter his mutant healing factor?

  3. How is that "politically correct"? by eepok · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Political correctness is daintily tip-toeing around words and phrases because those words or phrases may or may not be taboo relative to modern cultural, racial, religious, sexual, etc. constructs.

    A Spiderman with non-white ethnic background is just diverse. Anyone can get bitten by a radioactive spider.

    1. Re:How is that "politically correct"? by Sprouticus · · Score: 4, Funny

      A Spiderman with non-white ethnic background is just diverse. Anyone can get bitten by a radioactive spider.

      Wouldn't a Japanese Spiderman have been more likely.

  4. "politically correct?" by Fanolex · · Score: 5, Insightful

    terrible, antagonizing post title. having minority characters isn't inherently politically correct. sometimes it's just real.

  5. Why is being black/latino "politically correct"? by guanxi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    All those blacks, latinos, and gays walking around -- who knew that their very existence is a challenge to samzenpus and jbarr's political beliefs?

    Certainly comics should only depict people who look like the vast majority in the United States as of 1950. They should only be marketed toward those people, who rightfully define our country in their own image. Anything else would be politically ... umm .... incorrect.

  6. Leave him the fuck alone by Infiniti2000 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    From TFA:

    Italian artist Sara Pichelli, who designed Spider-Man's new look, added: 'Maybe sooner or later a black or gay - or both - hero will be considered something absolutely normal.’

    How about you make a NEW superhero that is black or gay, or whatever, and for the superheroes that I grew up with just leave them the fuck alone! Where's your goddamn originality? Of course this is a fucking gimmick to make money, you stupid asshole!

  7. Re:Don't you know what political correctness is? by jimbolauski · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am a conservative and this is how I and many conservatives like me think.

    Making a deal about race is what got the US into the mess in the first place and to fix it we are going to focus on race? Race plays too big of a role in the American conscience and in order to fix our problem we need to make this a "nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character".

    --
    Knowledge = Power
    P= W/t
    t=Money
    Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
  8. Re:Don't you know what political correctness is? by Mr.+Slippery · · Score: 3, Insightful
    .

    Making a deal about race is what got the US into the mess in the first place and to fix it we are going to focus on race?

    No. Racism got the U.S. into the mess in the first place, and to fix it we need to acknowledge the role that racism played in our history, that the effects of racist policies linger on for generations after the policies were removed, and that racism is still with us today as a socioeconomic force.

    Instead, we still have people glorifying the Confederacy, an anti-American organization dedicated to race-based slavery. We have the acceptance of racism that allows Americans to question the birthplace of the first African-American president and not be expelled from the political dialog. (I'm not saying opposing Obama implies racism; I'm saying birtherism and death-panelerism have racist roots, and anyone on the right not standing up to these wackos is aiding and abetting racism. There's still plenty of room to disagree or oppose Obama on substantive issues.) We have the racism of the War on Drugs. We have the unwillingness too consider how the legacy of segregation affects African-Americans today.

    The conservative "let's just ignore color from now on" neglects our responsibility to address the problems created by all the years when we didn't ignore color. Maybe it's a genuinely accidental neglect, but it has the convenient effect of keeping power where it is.

    --
    Tom Swiss | the infamous tms | my blog
    You cannot wash away blood with blood
  9. Why Affirmative Action is necessary by KingSkippus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I see this whole "preferential treatment" BS a lot. Before you go spouting off again, here are a few things to keep in mind. Let's take African-Americans as an easy example, since that is where Affirmative Action is almost always applied.

    For hundreds of years, African-Americans were brutally oppressed. All of a sudden, in 1964, it became illegal to discriminate against them in many places, such as housing, jobs, etc. However, it's not like on midnight July 2, all of a sudden, African-Americans, who had been systematically denied access to things like education, job opportunities, social infrastructure, etc. were equipped with all of the tools, knowledge, and contacts to really be equal. And it's not like all of a sudden, the vast white infrastructure steeped in bigotry and racism suddenly said, "You know, let's give these folks a fair chance."

    Unfortunately, what happened is that racism continued in various forms, just as it continues today. You have two candidates, one African-American and one majority white, applying for a job, each with equal qualifications? The theory behind giving the job to the African-American is two-fold. First of all, it is an effort to try to right the wrongs of centuries past. That African-American person who gets the job will now be able to send their kids to college, to integrate themselves in a more equal social structure, to provide much-needed diversity that will make opportunities truly equal, not just equal "on paper." Secondly, as for the white candidate that got turned down? Don't feel too sorry for him or her. Statistically speaking, that person has a much better chance at finding another job, and getting paid more for it, than his African-American counterpart would were the situation reversed.

    People kill me, acting like those poor white people are so disadvantaged because of Affirmative Action. The stats just don't bear that out. I don't know a single white person who has ever said, "Wow, I wish that I were African-American!" because their job prospects would be better. They're not. I don't know a single white person who has ever said, "Wow, I wish that I were African-American!" because they wanted better pay. Why do you think that the recent recession has hammered minority communities a lot harder than white communities? Because even today, almost 50 years after the Civil Rights Act was passed, there are huge disparities in minority employment and minority pay as compared to their white counterparts. So yeah, poor white people, being all discriminated against with Affirmative Action. What's your idea for providing equal opportunity and upholding the Civil Rights Act?

    Also, one thing that I think is lost on a lot of people is that it's not like if you have a large company, you have to have a 50/50 split of minority/majority employees. Affirmative Action only kicks when when there is such a significant statistical deviation from the norm that you are obviously discriminating in your hiring practices. If you have 2,000 employees in an area where minority population is, say, 20%, but only 3% of your employees are minorities, something's wrong, and you're going to get bitten. If 19% or 18% of your employees are minorities, you're not going to have a problem.

    So when people gripe about Affirmative Action, I have to ask, okay, so what exactly do you think should be the result of flagrantly disregarding the 1964 Civil Rights Act? Let's say I'm a company with 2000 employees, and I have an implicit hiring policy not to hire any minorities, which is against the law. If there's no Affirmative Action, what's the punishment? I get to just keep right on discriminating and hiring white people exclusively because I hand-wave the law off saying, "they make better candidates"? I'm not asking at what point you draw the line between someone discriminating and someone not, but if you're against Affirmative Action, you're basically saying there should be no line, and without some sort of

  10. Re:Obiigatory Big Bang Theory, re: Miles Morales by pluther · · Score: 3, Funny

    This was referenced once in a "Batman Beyond" episode, too, where the elderly Bruce Wayne is discussing one of his old foes with the newest Batman. He asks "Who came up with the name 'Ma Mayhem?" Bruce looks embarrassed and replies, "It was the golden age of alliteration."

    --
    If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.