Resident Evil 5 Coverage Reignites Racism Debate

[InsanityBaronOfAtrocity]

Whoever is making a big deal out of this just has to relax and realise it doesnt matter. People get pissy so easily nowadays.

I also thought it was kinda funny that they quoted a guy called Pedobear.

 

[AgentNein]

Key point they ARE infected. I doubt anyone, no matter the race, who isn't infected has tentacles that come out of their neck when their head is destroyed.

I had that but my doctor gave me a balm to apply. Couple of weeks and I was cleared up.

 

[Steelfists]

This is one of those cases where white people's opinions really don't matter. If black people are offended by it, then its a problem that needs to be adressed. If they aren't, then its a non-issue.

Speaking generally there, not trying to refer to black people as a massive hive-mind sharing one consciousness.

I think the biggest problem here, is not racism, but lack of empathy on the gamers' side.

It seems like its all too fashionable to take a 'rebel' anti-mainstream view...

 

[Caliostro]

Whatever the angle you take on the debate is, there's no doubt that it's a complicated one. What do you guys think?

Not particularly no... It's no secret Capcom has a long-lasting tradition of hiring the worst possible writers they can find, usually the ones just fresh out of elementary school or, preferably, the ones that never attended such place to begin with... Really, the guys behind the R.E. "storyline", if you can call it that, aren't exactly the most brilliant writers in history if you know what I'm saying...

...That said, IT'S A FUCKING GAME... It's just your average run-of-the-mill controversy whoring, panic mongering, conspiracy theorists running out of things to cry about... Same people that will cry foul if they see a white guy beating a black guy, regardless of context, but won't give two shits if it's the black guy kicking the white guy's ass... I mean, if that exact same scenes depicted white people instead, nobody would give a fuck and everyone would comment on the gore effects instead...


In short: Are those scenes tacky and needless? Probably, but such as always been in the case in this series. This is resident evil we're talking about...

...The majority of the previous RE games were in "white" lands, murdering mostly white people... Are those racist too? Or is it only wrong if they're murdering black people, but fine and dandy if it's white people?

 

[TsunamiWombat]

Quite frankly, I don't see the big deal about a bunch of black guys murdering/raping a white woman. I see the big deal in a bunch of guys murdering/raping a woman. I know it sounds cliche, but isn't pointing out OMG THOSE PEOPLE ARE BLACK DOING BAD THINGS IT MUST BE RACIST, racist in and of itself. Stop making such a huge frigging deal about OMG BLACK PEOPLE, because that shows how you really think.

Whatever the angle you take on the debate is, there's no doubt that it's a complicated one. What do you guys think?

Not particularly no... It's no secret Capcom has a long-lasting tradition of hiring the worst possible writers they can find, usually the ones just fresh out of elementary school or, preferably, the ones that never attended such place to begin with... Really, the guys behind the R.E. "storyline", if you can call it that, aren't exactly the most brilliant writers in history if you know what I'm saying...

...That said, IT'S A FUCKING GAME... It's just your average run-of-the-mill controversy whoring, panic mongering, conspiracy theorists running out of things to cry about... Same people that will cry foul if they see a white guy beating a black guy, regardless of context, but won't give two shits if it's the black guy kicking the white guy's ass... I mean, if that exact same scenes depicted white people instead, nobody would give a fuck and everyone would comment on the gore effects instead...


In short: Are those scenes tacky and needless? Probably, but such as always been in the case in this series. This is resident evil we're talking about...

...The majority of the previous RE games were in "white" lands, murdering mostly white people... Are those racist too? Or is it only wrong if they're murdering black people, but fine and dandy if it's white people?

Also, this.

 

[edinflames]

Why is that African Americans think everyone hates them? Per se RE 4 where their were mexicans. NO ONE MADE A BIG DEAL ABOUT THAT DID THEY? This is maybe one reason why some people are still racist to them, because make a big deal about everything and we always need to help them. THAT IS NOT HOW I THINK. I was IMAGINING what racists see. I personally treat blacks as human beings. My good friends are black.

You're an idiot. Resident Evil 4 was set in SPAIN you are killing the Spanish not Mexicans. You are a white guy killing white European people. Now you are a Spanish guy killing a black people. Any time a white guy is shown killing black people, it is racist. For the record, there are Asian in the game as well.

Ironically the Spanish are renowned as one of the most racist populations in Europe. If you want proof, google the Formula1 'monkey' incident involving Spanish F1 fans and Lewis Hamilton (the first black F1 champion).

Further proof is provided by the fact that Wednesday's friendly football (soccer) match between England and Spain is being hosted in Seville instead of Madrid because the last friendly game (in madrid) was marred by continual racist chants from the Spanish fans directed towards England's black players.

In both the above incidents the pricks actually went to the effort of dressing up as monkeys at international sporting events with the sole intention of insulting black competitors.

What convinces me more than anything else is, when playing against Spaniards in multiplayer games like Quake Live, JKA or Day of Defeat, the most common insult directed towards myself after fragging their no-skill asses is "puta negro" (no translation needed).

On Topic:
Its not inherantly racist to be killing black people in a computer game (Delta Force:Black Hawk Down anyone?) what makes it racist is the way the black people are portrayed and the tone in which they are killed.

 

[EnglishMuffin]

So are they saying its alright for white people to kill only white people and black people to only kill blacks?

NO THEY'RE NOT SAYING THAT READ THE GODDAMN ARTICLE ALREADY!

Holy fucking shit are you really that stupid. Seriously how did you manage to even find the capslock key. Did two of your retarded friends and dumb ***** of a mom need to bust out a map to help you out.

What if it was black men dragging off a black woman or white men dragging off a white woman. No they have different color skin so its racist. Why don't you read the fucking article and then read what I said and figure out the point I'm making.

Just don't have any kids and if you do, kill them.

 

[DemonI81]

I'm so sick of everything being turned into racism. The whole racism argument and the people that scream it is what keeps racism alive.

 

[sheic99]

Why is that African Americans think everyone hates them? Per se RE 4 where their were mexicans. NO ONE MADE A BIG DEAL ABOUT THAT DID THEY? This is maybe one reason why some people are still racist to them, because make a big deal about everything and we always need to help them. THAT IS NOT HOW I THINK. I was IMAGINING what racists see. I personally treat blacks as human beings. My good friends are black.

You're an idiot. Resident Evil 4 was set in SPAIN you are killing the Spanish not Mexicans. You are a white guy killing white European people. Now you are a Spanish guy killing a black people. Any time a white guy is shown killing black people, it is racist. For the record, there are Asian in the game as well.

Ironically the Spanish are renowned as one of the most racist populations in Europe. If you want proof, google the Formula1 'monkey' incident involving Spanish F1 fans and Lewis Hamilton (the first black F1 champion).

Further proof is provided by the fact that Wednesday's friendly football (soccer) match between England and Spain is being hosted in Seville instead of Madrid because the last friendly game (in madrid) was marred by continual racist chants from the Spanish fans directed towards England's black players.

In both the above incidents the pricks actually went to the effort of dressing up as monkeys at international sporting events with the sole intention of insulting black competitors.

What convinces me more than anything else is, when playing against Spaniards in multiplayer games like Quake Live, JKA or Day of Defeat, the most common insult directed towards myself after fragging their no-skill asses is "puta negro" (no translation needed).

As an American, I did not no this. Suddenly, the racist claims are starting to make sense, expect that Carlos' nationality is American. It definitely makes the game a little more entertaining. Thanks.

Does anybody what country the racist claims originated from?

 

[Nikajo]

I don't find this issue to be complicated. In every field except car keys- literature, sociology, history- people always find what they are looking for. I could rant all day on this subject, but I find this outlook on race relations quite disturbing, especially in regards to literature, new and classic.

I will say this much, though: All the races of humans have virtually identical DNA. They are indistinct. We're made of the same stuff, and history demonstrates we are all capable of the same savagery or goodness. So why can only whites be portrayed as evil? I'm tired of being the punching bag, to be quite honest.

You, sir, are nothing short of my new hero.

It seems you have to cross most of the internet to find someone who actually sees the double standards in the Western world for what they are.

christ....dont even get me started on double standards!
howcome blackboards arent allowed anymore? becoz it's "racist".... BULL FU***NG S**T!!! white boards are still allowed tho. thats fine coz u kno its only white ppl not like everybody should be equal or anything. that would just be a world gone insane wouldnt it?

Dont get me wrong, i dont wanna perpetuate the horrible term n****r, if ur white and u say that word everybody looks at u like ur a mutated leper and quite rightly so. but if a black person calls a white "yankee" or "white trash" or anything like that nobody bats an eyelid. admitedly theres no history of violence and abuse and injustice attached to those terms, nothing like the N word, but its still tantamounts to the same attitude. some ppl really need to open their minds and think about things like this a little bit. racism in any shape or form should be immediately quashed or we're never going to get anywhere with establishing equality.

sorry bit of a rant! just got back from the pub and this touches on something that really pi***s me off. why cant ppl just live and let live?

 

[Nikajo]

I think this is an old, BS argument that needs to die already. Look around, the world is full of racial stereotypes and things that could easily offend. The bigger a deal we make of this crap, naturally the harder it is to make it go away.

Quite frankly, I don't see the big deal about a bunch of black guys murdering/raping a white woman. I see the big deal in a bunch of guys murdering/raping a woman. I know it sounds cliche, but isn't pointing out OMG THOSE PEOPLE ARE BLACK DOING BAD THINGS IT MUST BE RACIST, racist in and of itself. Stop making such a huge frigging deal about OMG BLACK PEOPLE, because that shows how you really think.

I'm so sick of everything being turned into racism. The whole racism argument and the people that scream it is what keeps racism alive.

Thank you, this is exactly what i was getting at earlier. The more you moan about it the more it perpetuates it. Its counter productive to what your "apparently" trying to acheive when u keep bringing it up. all ur ultimately doing is increasing its influence. if ppl stopped talking about differences in skin colour full stop then it wud never be an issue. but here we are talking about racism in a fu****g computer game of all things! there's actual REAL racism happening out there day after day and all ppl can do is moan about media formats apparently promoting it. but then god forbid we shudnt be PC eh?

 

[Break]

So are they saying its alright for white people to kill only white people and black people to only kill blacks?

NO THEY'RE NOT SAYING THAT READ THE GODDAMN ARTICLE ALREADY!

Holy fucking shit are you really that stupid. Seriously how did you manage to even find the capslock key. Did two of your retarded friends and dumb ***** of a mom need to bust out a map to help you out.

What if it was black men dragging off a black woman or white men dragging off a white woman. No they have different color skin so its racist. Why don't you read the fucking article and then read what I said and figure out the point I'm making.

Just don't have any kids and if you do, kill them.

You... Please say you're kidding. This is... This is a joke, isn't it? You're deliberately missing the point because you think it's funny, right? I think it's funny too. Hahaha. Very funny. Let's all be funny together. HAHAHAHAHA.

The issue people have is that RE5 is playing fairly close to the old-fashioned cliches of how African people are. These cliches are racist. Therefore, if they haven't taken care to balance this out in other sections of the game, they will be regurgitating the outdated nonsense that we've had such pains cleaning up. This is not "there are black people, this is racist". This is "there's an uncomfortable similarity to racist concepts, I hope they also show some acknowledgment of the ordinary non-murderous people that live there too, especially when there's still a fair amount of people who fail to understand that Africa isn't solely comprised of savage guerrilla warfare and violence".

 

[Nikajo]

So are they saying its alright for white people to kill only white people and black people to only kill blacks?

NO THEY'RE NOT SAYING THAT READ THE GODDAMN ARTICLE ALREADY!

Holy fucking shit are you really that stupid. Seriously how did you manage to even find the capslock key. Did two of your retarded friends and dumb ***** of a mom need to bust out a map to help you out.

What if it was black men dragging off a black woman or white men dragging off a white woman. No they have different color skin so its racist. Why don't you read the fucking article and then read what I said and figure out the point I'm making.

Just don't have any kids and if you do, kill them.

You... Please say you're kidding. This is... This is a joke, isn't it? You're deliberately missing the point because you think it's funny, right? I think it's funny too. Hahaha. Very funny. Let's all be funny together. HAHAHAHAHA.

The issue people have is that RE5 is playing fairly close to the old-fashioned cliches of how African people are. These cliches are racist. Therefore, if they haven't taken care to balance this out in other sections of the game, they will be regurgitating the outdated nonsense that we've had such pains cleaning up. This is not "there are black people, this is racist". This is "there's an uncomfortable similarity to racist concepts, I hope they also show some acknowledgment of the ordinary non-murderous people that live there too, especially when there's still a fair amount of people who fail to understand that Africa isn't solely comprised of savage guerrilla warfare and violence".

i think this would have been massively helped if the previous games had shown white ppl doing similar violent things in the event of society collapsing around them due to sum messed up infection killing everybody in sight....then reanimating their corpses to eat everybody else who happened to survive. yes these cliches are very racist, and would be again be helped by showing that not everybody is Africa acts in this way. Regardless of the current state of things of things over there, there will obviously be ppl who are just trying to live their lives and its important to show that. maybe the full game will show it but who can say for now? perhaps they r using it just to create a sense of fear in the gamer b4 the real threat is encountered? all i can say is i will buy and play it through, and hopefully it will prove not to be racist. i didnt find RE4 racist, but then they were all infected by some weird parasite thing, perhaps the same is going on with the ppl in RE5 and its just not portrayed as such until later in the game.

Africa isnt soley comprised of these things but it is rife and does tend to rip through otherwise peaceful ppls lives, depending which part u live in. the problem is its such a delicate subject and capcom have taken a huge risk with setting this game in that particlular part of the world. why cudnt they just set it sumwhere like russia? lmao ;-)

 

[Jumplion]

but here we are talking about racism in a fu****g computer game of all things!

No. Please stop using that excuse.

Do books get that excuse? No, most people then call the book badly written and full of cliche.
Do TV shows get that excuse? No, people will complain and the shows ratings drop dramatically.
Do movies get that excuse? No, they are outcryed by the people offended and they may even release an edited version of it.

So is it that hard, that hard to imagine that the most interactive medium to ever hit human kind would be getting some huge flak for putting the player in this racial position? It's just stunning, a computer game of all things? Who knew that the most interactive medium to ever hit human kind would be getting more flak than a passive medium of watching a movie or reading a book would.

If video games are to ever gain the stature of "art" then we have to deal with these issues upfront and maturely and not just brush it off as some overly sensitive/paranoid freak who wants everything fun to burn.

A "fucking computer game!" is a hell of a lot more involving than any book, show, movie, or piece of music will ever become and I for one am glad that we are dealing with these issues because no controversy means no chance of becoming a respected medium in society.

Good night, and grow the fuck up.

 

[Brett Alex]

So are they saying its alright for white people to kill only white people and black people to only kill blacks?

NO THEY'RE NOT SAYING THAT READ THE GODDAMN ARTICLE ALREADY!

Holy fucking shit are you really that stupid. Seriously how did you manage to even find the capslock key. Did two of your retarded friends and dumb ***** of a mom need to bust out a map to help you out.
What if it was black men dragging off a black woman or white men dragging off a white woman. No they have different color skin so its racist. Why don't you read the fucking article and then read what I said and figure out the point I'm making.
Just don't have any kids and if you do, kill them.

Firstly, calm down. This [http://www.youtube./watch?v=hg2n039txnk] may help.

Secondly, make sure you read the article properly.

Thirdly, read Break's post above.

Fourthly, think about this:
Ever seen an old movie or comedy show where the Chinese character was played by a white guy? And he was the perfect stereotype of a FOB; Glasses, good at maths, carries a calculator, always ate rice and had a ridiculously pronounced accent?

Is that racist? Yes, but not intentionally. It was just the way asians were portrayed at the time in that context. Doesn't mean anyone should be blamed or shot, it was an earlier time and people just didn't understand "Jonny Foreigner".

But we've come along way since then in terms of diversity and multiculturalism. Would you expect to see it today, not done tongue in cheek or as a joke?

Its the same kind of issue here. Besides, no one is saying "Blacks being shown in an insensitive light, QUICK SUE CAPCOM AND BURN RE5!!!"

It Is much more like Beak said

there's an uncomfortable similarity to racist concepts, I hope they also show some acknowledgment of the ordinary non-murderous people that live there too, especially when there's still a fair amount of people who fail to understand that Africa isn't solely comprised of savage guerrilla warfare and violence".

 

[Slythernite]

Capcom does seem to be shooting itself in the foot with Resident Evil 5, however I think that the so-called "racism" is exaggerated by its attention from the populous.

 

[meatloaf231]

Good things

Yeah, I'd say something, but Jumplion already said it. So just go read his post again.