Red Dead Redemption Upsets the Irish

[D-Mc-G]

I'm Irish, I have seen this sort of stereotyping in all forms of media and you're always going to have some group complain about any sort of racial/national stereotyping.

I'd like to think that this article has exaggerated what the general Irish population think, I for one couldn't care less. Only idiots would base their real views on a race of people on a stereotype.

 

[GothmogII]

Kinda weird that this dude is getting all upset about an irish person being depicted as a drunk. I mean I kinda thought at this point it was pretty common knowledge that drinking and being irish Is a common circumstance (and from reading the history of irish people I honestly can't blame ya).

A game about the rough and tumble wild wild west isn't exactly a field for progressive character models what with angry indians and violent mexicans. Oh and whores.

what kind of stuff does it have about Indians?

well the game is set in the wild west so I have to assume the angry indian stereotype will be in there front and center.

i guess i wont be playing this game, but then i guess i already knew that.

Oh, brother.... look, nearly everything in this game is pretty genuine to the aesthetic of the times. What fucking sense would there be in a Wild West game where women were treated as equals and all races were super PC to each other and robbin and killin and gamblin and drinkin were as fiercely regulated as today? I'll tell you; NOT A GODDAMN BIT.

Stop trying to turn what are essentially toys into excuses for PC diatribes, please. No one is gonna play this game, kill a Mexican or Native American avatar, and then become a racist because of it.

It's electronic 'cowboys 'n' indians', not your fucking soapbox. Trying to turn it into one is an excersize in supreme ignorance. It's like me hating straight lines and rich white guys because I played with an Etch-a-Sketch or a game of Monopoly.

I seriously wonder about some people sometimes....

/sighs and shakes head, dissapoint

explain to me how i simply saying that i wasn't going to be playing the game was me getting on my soapbox. also explain to me how you derived from that simple statement that i thought playing the game was going to turn people in to racists. i as well never said in that three sentences that i wrote that i thought the old west was a pc utopia if it had been my grandmother wouldn't have been born on a reservation. i suggest you either get off of your soapbox or actually argue with someone who has at the very lest said the imaginary things you have made up so you don't seem crazy.

i reread your rant and decided that my replay to it was incomplete. firstly lets talk about language. not that i am a spelling or grammar nazi because i am far from that and i really don't care about your spelling or grammar. its the blatant misuse of words is that i find upsetting . you say "everything in this game is pretty genuine to the aesthetic of the times." i don't know what you think aesthetic means but i can tell you what it actually does mean and why your use of the word renders your sentence unintelligible. aesthetic means a person/peoples sense of beauty. so your sentence reads that the game is genuine to the wild west perception or sense of beauty. how the fuck does their sense of beauty have anything to do whatsoever with the topic you were commenting on? secondl, yes i am against any game that would reinforce racism even when its historically accurate. with your line of reasoning i guess you think it would be find to play a cop during the civil rights movement where your avatar would be beating the "electronic" African Americans or hitting them with water hoses, and why stop their. we could also have a game were your avatar is a klan member and you hang people and burn crosses. according to your line of reasoning its perfectly okay since there simply toys right? and then to say your disappointed with me, when i had said nothing that you were complaining about, fuck that. fuck your shitty attitude also. oh, and fuck that stupid fucking game if the comments about it are not a complete exaggeration, and fuck the way my people are constantly portrayed in every fucking media, and also here's a fuck that for the Irish.

Uhh....don't mean to burst your bubble, but the internet is a -big- place, those type of games have been done and done worse than that. Luckily they mostly never reach the mainstream.

But as for playing a police officer during the civil rights movement, I don't know, it depends, that could work if set up as a piece of educational gameplay. More likely interactive fiction though as, games are for fun, and while there've been some noble stabs a serious subject matter in gaming, it's hard to reconcile things with the 'gameplay' aspect of things.

 

[Video Gone]

It's our "media" that's upset, not us. Just because some sensible, chic Dublin teenager set up an "online newspaper", it doesn't mean we're all about to siege Rockstar.
Allow me to refer you all to a column Neil Delamere, a funny guy, but professional jackass whenever he tries to be grown up and column...ish, wrote in the Irish Examiner, "Weather's Snow Joke Until It Hits Capital" or something, which, I fuck you not, contains something along the lines of "You country idiots can keep toiling in your potato fields, while we do the important stuff, and contemplate over a cup of coffee what it means to be Irish."
That is the kind of person that writes stuff like that thing about Redemption.
I personally love Irish as a character, the dialogue between him and John is sublime, and he's a great comic relief in general.
Also, don't listen to people who say the Irish get upset over Family Guy. It's all in fun, and the only people who would get upset over it would be the aforementioned drunken wife-beaters.
How's that for an opinion column, eh?

 

[Nikajo]

I've got some irish blood in me but I'm not in the least bit bothered about that. Everybody is subject to stereotypes, people just need to get over it and move on.

 

[GothmogII]

Kinda weird that this dude is getting all upset about an irish person being depicted as a drunk. I mean I kinda thought at this point it was pretty common knowledge that drinking and being irish Is a common circumstance (and from reading the history of irish people I honestly can't blame ya).

A game about the rough and tumble wild wild west isn't exactly a field for progressive character models what with angry indians and violent mexicans. Oh and whores.

what kind of stuff does it have about Indians?

well the game is set in the wild west so I have to assume the angry indian stereotype will be in there front and center.

i guess i wont be playing this game, but then i guess i already knew that.

Oh, brother.... look, nearly everything in this game is pretty genuine to the aesthetic of the times. What fucking sense would there be in a Wild West game where women were treated as equals and all races were super PC to each other and robbin and killin and gamblin and drinkin were as fiercely regulated as today? I'll tell you; NOT A GODDAMN BIT.

Stop trying to turn what are essentially toys into excuses for PC diatribes, please. No one is gonna play this game, kill a Mexican or Native American avatar, and then become a racist because of it.

It's electronic 'cowboys 'n' indians', not your fucking soapbox. Trying to turn it into one is an excersize in supreme ignorance. It's like me hating straight lines and rich white guys because I played with an Etch-a-Sketch or a game of Monopoly.

I seriously wonder about some people sometimes....

/sighs and shakes head, dissapoint

explain to me how i simply saying that i wasn't going to be playing the game was me getting on my soapbox. also explain to me how you derived from that simple statement that i thought playing the game was going to turn people in to racists. i as well never said in that three sentences that i wrote that i thought the old west was a pc utopia if it had been my grandmother wouldn't have been born on a reservation. i suggest you either get off of your soapbox or actually argue with someone who has at the very lest said the imaginary things you have made up so you don't seem crazy.

i reread your rant and decided that my replay to it was incomplete. firstly lets talk about language. not that i am a spelling or grammar nazi because i am far from that and i really don't care about your spelling or grammar. its the blatant misuse of words is that i find upsetting . you say "everything in this game is pretty genuine to the aesthetic of the times." i don't know what you think aesthetic means but i can tell you what it actually does mean and why your use of the word renders your sentence unintelligible. aesthetic means a person/peoples sense of beauty. so your sentence reads that the game is genuine to the wild west perception or sense of beauty. how the fuck does their sense of beauty have anything to do whatsoever with the topic you were commenting on? secondl, yes i am against any game that would reinforce racism even when its historically accurate. with your line of reasoning i guess you think it would be find to play a cop during the civil rights movement where your avatar would be beating the "electronic" African Americans or hitting them with water hoses, and why stop their. we could also have a game were your avatar is a klan member and you hang people and burn crosses. according to your line of reasoning its perfectly okay since there simply toys right? and then to say your disappointed with me, when i had said nothing that you were complaining about, fuck that. fuck your shitty attitude also. oh, and fuck that stupid fucking game if the comments about it are not a complete exaggeration, and fuck the way my people are constantly portrayed in every fucking media, and also here's a fuck that for the Irish.

Uhh....don't mean to burst your bubble, but the internet is a -big- place, those type of games have been done and done worse than that. Luckily they mostly never reach the mainstream.

But as for playing a police officer during the civil rights movement, I don't know, it depends, that could work if set up as a piece of educational gameplay. More likely interactive fiction though as, games are for fun, and while there've been some noble stabs a serious subject matter in gaming, it's hard to reconcile things with the 'gameplay' aspect of things.

i hate it when someone says "don't mean to burst your bubble." as if what their about to say is so extremely life changing that after reading it your world would simply collapse around you and then end up saying something so completely obvious that you have to wonder if their trying to insult your intelligence or if they really think their heralding some new breath taking idea. yes, i know full well that the internet is a big place, worse games, games are for fun, bla bla bla. as for the police officer during the civil rights movement thing i thought i my sarcasm was obvious and because of that one would know that i never in anyway meant for the idea to be actually considered, as the idea is shit and as far as i can tell without giving it any real thought and i promise you i will not the game has only the prospect of being shit as well.

Just a figure of speech, wasn't trying to be mean or anything. But..if you weren't being serious, how does one go about debating with you? It's not like we've got sarcasm tags or anything...

 

[Vault Citizen]

does anyone really care that one Irish newspaper is upset?

 

[GothmogII]

does anyone really care that one Irish newspaper is upset?

Not really, no.

 

[RJ Dalton]

Whats the difference between a nationality and a race?

Ethnicity and nationality are very very intertwined in Europe.
*Snip*

I don't believe in race. It's always based on some arbitrary physical characteristic that usually results from less than a .1% genetic variation. Breeds of house cats have more genetic variation than the so-called different races of humanity. What we call race is nothing more than a means for the elites of society to divide up its members into classes that can easily be ranked and oppressed.
What I believe in is culture. Ireland is it's own country because it has a different culture and because they wanted to be their own country. Also, probably lots of things I don't know about; I know very little about Ireland's history.

And I didn't think you were trying to troll. I understand the difference between attempting to have an intelligent conversation and looking for people to make angry.

 

[jthm]

I personally don't advocate the use of stereotypes, considering I hate how Hollywood portrays people from Louisiana as being super-Cajun coons who live on the boondocks. But really, it has to originate from somewhere, and the only person you need to blame is the jackass who started it.

So, screw you, ancestors of every known stereotype. I hope you're proud of the damage you caused.

Better than that the "Australian" stereotype. If one more person tells me to put a Shrimp on the Barbie, in a Steve Irwin-esque voice, I will stab a *****.

G'day mate! About time to throw another shrimp on the barbie, innit? Crikey! Stingrays!

...I warned you. *stalks*

(Also, "innit?" is English, not Australian. There IS a difference.)[/quote]

(Australians are English, they just don't want to admit it).

 

[RJ Dalton]

It is always a prudent idea, if you want to make a joke on a serious topic, which is fine, to actually state that you're making a joke. Otherwise, confusion occurs. For the record, it wasn't obvious whether you were making an innocent joke or just being malicious.

But a joke stops being funny if you explain that it's a joke.
I'm an anthropology student, and fully understand the concept of stereotypes and generalizations. I find them funny primarily because they are so ridiculous. Take this whole Irish thing: A lot of Irish people enjoy drinking, this is a fact. Ireland is known for its interesting and amusing drinking songs, also a fact. I've been told that the Irish make good whiskey, although, since I don't drink, I've never been able to verify this. Not a single thing I've said is false (except possibly that last one, but that's entirely subjective opinion). Okay, fine, but these statements apply to more than just the Irish. Germany has its thing for beer, French like whine, Russians go for vodka, Americans will drink anything as long as it helps distract them from thinking about how impossibly fat and ugly their wives are.
Furthermore, I'm well aware that while these statements may hold generally true, they cannot be made to apply to every Irish person, nor can it be said from these things that Irish always have drinking problems. Yet, for some reason, that's exactly the stereotype. I find that funny as hell. It's a huge leap in the dark from one or two possible facts that to a highly generalized conclusion that bares no resemblance to reality, and yet there are people who ardently believe it.
When people are complaining about stereotypes, I find it funny to suggest you solve people's problems with stereotypes by using a stereotype. It's like saying, "My foot hurts, please kick me in the balls." Furthermore, I'm satirizing people who chime in, because most of the people who get so freakishly upset about stereotypes rely on hundreds of them in their daily lives without ever realizing it. It's not so much that I'm trying to push forward stereotypes, I'm making fun of the people who just say things to sound enlightened without ever realizing how much they prove themselves otherwise on a daily basis.
Again, this is why I never pursued a career as a professional comedian.

 

[rokkolpo]

people need to stop being offended by everything.
take the joke like a man and move on.

i hate whiners.

 

[laststandman]

...

Get over it; there's really nothing to complain about, other than a minor stereotype which virtually every country has in one form or another.

I personally don't advocate the use of stereotypes, considering I hate how Hollywood portrays people from Louisiana as being super-Cajun coons who live on the boondocks. But really, it has to originate from somewhere, and the only person you need to blame is the jackass who started it.

So, screw you, ancestors of every known stereotype. I hope you're proud of the damage you caused.

You didn't seriously just say "coons"?

I laughed pretty hard at this, I'm not 100% sure why, but I did.

 

[MattRooney06]

yeah cause rockstar never take the piss out of other stereotypes....

seriosuley people took offensise to this?

 

[The Last Nomad]

I'm Irish and this just makes me wanna play the game even more...

I think at this stage the whole world realises that stereotypes are usually wrong and something like this doesn't (or shouldn't) change peoples views of Irish people or any one else...

Although, I was out drinking on a beach last night...
Maybe they are onto something...?

 

[Inmate13]

I don't suppose anybody stopped to think that perhaps they were playing to the actual nature of the American frontier? Lets face it, a town is going to have a town drunk, and knowing the kind of people that settled these towns, they would almost certainly think of him as an Irishman (you know, the kind of Irishman who was a second class citizen in the United States from the 1840s to the 20th century)

Just face it people, as Patton Oswalt once said:

"It's the old west, okay? It was settled by big, white, racist psychopaths. I'm sorry, those are the guys that settled it. It wasn't settled by gap greeters and jamba juice employees on their break."

 

[Lono Shrugged]

I'm Irish and I don't mind as long as I can hate and stereotype everyone else equally. (especially plastic paddies) The Herald is a shit paper anyway so ignore it.

What I do hate is people thinking it's like a good stereotype to have.

 

[eggy32]

I'm Irish and I don't mind as long as I can hate and stereotype everyone else equally. (especially plastic paddies) The Herald is a shit paper anyway so ignore it.

What I do hate is people thinking it's like a good stereotype to have.

What the hell is a plastic paddy?

 

[Dancingman]

I swear, no one has a sense of humor anymore.

Lots of people have senses of humour. But it only take one git without a sense of humour to make the news.

That and the fact that humorless assholes keep managing to get jobs where people are in a position to listen to whatever crap they have to spew and get it to the news in some manner.