PhoenixVanguard said:
I'd just like to clarify something to those dozens upon dozens of you using the defense that essentially boils down to, "Well I know people who actually talk this way so it's not racist." This argument does not in ANY way, shape, or form qualify something as not being a racist stereotype. Stereotypes emerge BECAUSE there are a large number of people fitting the given epithet. What, do you think people make up random character qualities about a group of people and then HOPE they come true so they can all laugh at it later? Really now. Lots of people from all races enjoy fried chicken and watermelon, are good with math, and try hard to save money, but that doesn't mean that these aren't stereotypes aimed at SPECIFIC groups of people. Please, please, PLEASE stop making this ridiculous counter argument. It's utterly baffling to me.
That being said, while this is the first jarring racial stereotype you run into in this game, it's far from the only one. I was initially impressed by Hengsha when the first few NPCs I ran into were speaking Chinese, then immediately broke out into hysterical laughter at the onslaught of horrible "engrish" accents I was assailed with shortly thereafter...especially from the local prostitutes. And in fairness, it is important to point out that while there are quite a few eyebrow raising accents in the game, the game also has more than its fair share of respectable people in those same races.
When I saw that this was written by one of the many jackasses who claimed that having black people in Africa is racist (None of whom ever made mention of Sheva's overtly racist AND sexist "Clubbin" and "Tribal" outfits), I was almost immediately dismissive, but he makes a good point here. And in fairness to him, he actually reviewed the game very highly overall, so while he does take time to point out that this is racist, he's not trying to start a protest or even dissuade people from buying the game.
I saw this, and decided I had to reply... despite knowing that it's a waste of words, entirely, what with the discussion being ridiculously pointless.
Stereotypes, like cliches, exist for one simple reason: They Work.
When you want to describe something in a way that someone understands, you use a cliche. When you want to create a character that represents an idea, or some sort of social group, you borrow a stereotype. These things happen because people UNDERSTAND what you are portraying. They understand what the character is supposed to mean, or the description is supposed to depict. There are literally BILLIONS, TENS-OF-BILLIONS of stereotypes getting used every day.
The problem arises because people think THEIR ideas... their feelings... their beliefs... somehow warrant receiving PERSONAL attention. I don't care if you're a scrawny, chicken-hating black dude who is allergic to fruit, or a bi-lingual Chinese hooker: the stereotype exists because someone -knows- that guy. Somewhere, that guy who loves fried chicken exists. Somewhere, that Chinese prostitute who can barely slur out four words of English exists. In multiples. And someone said: "We want it to be obvious this person is one of those."
People use stereotypes because they want to portray a specific group, without having to make secondary characters too involved. Stereotypes exist because people need ways of making an individual character representative of a certain group... without having to invest time into developing a back-story for each of them.
Stereotypes aren't the problem. It's the sensitivity.
People who get all up in arms over stereotypes are the source of this problem, because they've gone too far the other way. It's one thing to defend people from mindless hate and oppression. It's another when you stand around picking apart everything in search for the Red Herring we call Racism these days.
Racism is the white cops kicking the ass of a black guy because he's black. Sexism is women being paid less to do the exact same thing a man does. Classism is all the wealthy rich folks getting away with murder, while we throw poor kids off the street in jail for selling stolen shoes.
There are PLENTY of real incidents, plenty of ACTUAL cases.
When we start getting -truly- offended over stereotypes... it's usually because they hit a little too close to home. It's usually because we see something of ourselves in them, and we start to feel uncomfortable with it. Some people, like the man who wrote the article about which this news-post originated, are obviously just whoring themselves out for attention.
Another stereotype, by the by: "Guy who'll call anything racist if there's an (insert race here) person in it."
In either case... the right choice is simple. Remind yourself that these stereotypes aren't creating the problem. You are. Every time you get all up in a huff because you don't like something getting stereotyped, you remind a MILLION other people why they hate folks JUST LIKE YOU. And then you create a -new- stereotype. Only this time, it really IS a negative one... and it really IS focusing on you.
If you want to fight for a cause, fight against mindless hate. Fight against people who abuse others based on gender, sexuality, class, and creed. Fight against oppression. Fight against whatever cause you see fit.
But fighting against stereotypes is the problem here, and it's its own problem, because they're made by all of us, every day. There are far too many 'types' out there for our brains to comprehend. Most lack the ability to understand just how big a number of people there are. So we naturally condense others down into more manageable groups. These groups often have defining characteristics... and those characteristics are STEREOTYPICAL.
And sure, Stereotypes -can- be mean-spirited and mindlessly hateful. I'm not so naive as to claim that racists can't make stereotypes too. But racism isn't hard to spot. Racism is blatant. Hate doesn't have much room for subtlety. When you see a black woman digging through the trash, talking in an (and I will agree -horribly- voice-acted)obvious southern/midwestern accent... that's not racism. That's representing poverty in the 'City Built on Promises'.
And since she's a minor character, she didn't warrant -that- much backstory. She's an informant who worked with Adam Jensen prior to his leaving SWAT. That's all you need to know. In fact, most of the bums have ridiculous accents in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
Even the white ones.
As a writer, I find myself more offended by the quality of the writing than anything. And that's not even overly much. For most places, the writing is excellent. But the dialogue is a weak-spot that has existed throughout the entire series.
Stereotypes exist for a reason. They're not going away. Continuing to fuss about them only serves to hinder the cause for which people who TRULY suffer under the heel of racists further, by creating a distraction from the true source: human failings.
We hate because we fear. We fear that which we cannot understand. We have difficulty understanding that which is different from us.
I know just as many racist black folks as I know racist white folks. I know just as many sexist women as I know sexist men. Bigotry doesn't stem from being on 'one side or the other'... it stems from being human, and terrified of other humans.
Meh. That's all from me.
Most folks won't read it all the way through, anyways.
