Playing a racist

[Saellyn]

So. Here's a fun one.

It's in documentation that certain races (i.e. elves, humans) are racists. Very. Racist. Humans hate the crap out of elves, elves hate the crap out of humans.

I have yet to see a good example of this in the game world. Ever.

Why? Why are people so afraid to play racists? This isn't America, this isn't hugandkissthas. This is Zalanthas. Yet all I've seen are people sucking up to elves, elves sucking up to people, people in general sucking up to other races and kissing ass and really making it hard to get properly immersed.

Racism is bad IRL, I get it. Unfortunately, in Zalanthas, it's not bad, and you should start playing racists and stop playing carebears.

Yes, this is a dig. Yes, I'm very annoyed. So, here's the discussion part:

How many people play racists here, and how do you do it? Are you in your face "you suck you stupid necker" racists? Or do you just say "Yeah, I don't deal with your kind" or are you more of point and snicker type?

[Barzalene]

I tend to be the last two.

[Riev]

Depends on my position. If I basically HAVE to deal with them as a part of the characters job, then yeah, I'll deal with their dumb asses.

But after playing in Tuluk, many a time, and getting my ass handed to me for even -saying- necker, I just prefer to ignore.

Either way, they're going to kill you.

[boog]

There is plenty of subtle racism in the game. No one says to be a racist you need to go stick burning crosses in peoples' yards or murder them because of ethnicity.

I've seen subtle racism soooo much. And even overt racism, as in north versus south, so... Hm. I dunno.

[TheBadSeed]

Depends on my position. If I basically HAVE to deal with them as a part of the characters job, then yeah, I'll deal with their dumb asses.

But after playing in Tuluk, many a time, and getting my ass handed to me for even -saying- necker, I just prefer to ignore.

Either way, they're going to kill you.

I was away from Arm for a long ass time, (12+ years), and was surprised at the lack of racism when I came back recently. I mean, elves are full fledged and -trusted- members of society. When I tried to RP elves as being conniving bastards, it was shrugged off by pretty much everyone with a laugh.

Seems like racism in Zalanthas has fallen to the wayside.

[bcw81]

My suggestion is that if you're playing a racist in Tuluk is to not be the "I'm going to kill you you ***ing necker/roundear" type, and think of a better, more subtle way to say "I dislike your kind, stay away from me."

If you're playing in the south though, go for it.

[Erythil]

Zalanthas is clearly in the midst of a cultural revolution.

The abolitionist movement is next!   

[Majikal]

I haven't played a non-racist pc in years I don't think. Though some have been more subtlety racist while some were very loud and outspoken about shitty neckers and Southern barbarians in the right atmosphere.

I've noticed people tend to forget that their pc might be racist, unless of course you get the ball rolling.

Folks are then pretty quick to jump on the hate train once you let them know you're willing to be the conductor on that son of a bitch.

[HavokBlue]

I like being a racist prick ICly, and I wish people were more willing to go along with it, instead of jumping to kill you or beat the shit out of you for calling their mudsex buddy a filthy necker.

[HTX]

Huh, I've had plenty of characters throw out racist remarks (of varying subtlety) and nobody's ever hated on my characters for this.

Wouldn't mind seeing more quantity and variety of racism in the game, though.

[Gunnerblaster]

Meh. I just tend to avoid it, all together.

People are too touchy on this game and don't really play it other than the way they want to play it, regardless of racism.

It seems the one trying to be racist is suddenly pinned as "the bad guy" and everyone has a tendency to jump to the victim's defense.

[AmandaGreathouse]

I stopped playing regularly in Tuluk.

In the south, I'm as racist as I want to be. (which is a lot)

[Quell]

Zalanthas is clearly in the midst of a cultural revolution.

The abolitionist movement is next!   

Yay! Abolish the elves! And tall people in general. Everyone knows that there's a certain height at which all conspiring takes place, and it's around the 6 foot mark.

[X-D]

All my PCs are racist. Well, not the half-giants, but they don't understand it is all, they will act racist if taught.

My elves are the most racist, followed by my dwarves then humans.

The elves tend to be overtly, the dwarves will seem subtly racist usually, though that is just because a dwarf is good at just ignoring things:) Humans tend to be middle of the road.

I see plenty of racism IG, though I admit most that I see tends to come from PCs controled by players that have been around for a few years.

[musashi]

I am currently playing my most racist character ever, and coincidentally having a grand ole' time.
But yeah I don't often see a great deal of overt racism. There are likely both IG reasons for it like some people have already expressed, and OOC reasons like the player base being small so -that- breed or -that- elf is almost always connected to important people in some fashion.

[Cutthroat]

"Wink-wink" racism seems more appropriate than overt racism at times. It depends on the setting as well as the character itself. Subtle racism is called for even in Allanak, and overt racism can fit into Tuluk. We should remember that racism isn't just harassment, and actually doesn't have to involve any harassment at all.

How I do racism:
- What is my character's race?
- What are some stereotypes about every other race besides his own?
  - Elves are thieving bastards.
  - Dwarves have a tendency to be unreliable, focusing instead on, well, their focus (how employers particularly might be racist against dwarves)
  - Half-elves have too much elf blood in them (if my character is not an elf) or too much human blood in them (if my character is an elf).
  - Half-giants are dumbasses that can't think for themselves.
  - Muls are angsty, prone to violence, and (if a dwarf that hates humans, see below) have too much human blood in them.

Being racist against humans as a non-human is tricky, because they're the middle-of-the-road race. However, that fact makes them have inferior qualities when compared by other races.

- Elves will think humans are dumber and slower.
- Dwarves will think humans are weaker, and might even hold a grudge about that whole slavery thing, in Allanak.
- Half-elves know how much their kind has been brutalized by humans. Also, especially if they identify more with the elven race, there's the whole dumber and slower thing.
- Muls will remember humans are the slave owners and mul breeders of the world.

Being a racist half-giant depends on whose example they follow, and are a wildcard of sorts. I could even see half-giant racist that was pushed into servitude by a human scholar that really hated half-giants, resulting in the half-giant being racist toward other half-giants.

After I establish some stereotypes for my PC (the above are examples that could be used, though more could certainly be thought of) I put them into practice constantly. Whether it's outright or done mostly in my character's mind as he makes decisions or has thoughts is up to me. You never set aside those stereotypes tempoarily just to start a plot or have some interaction, though you can do those things while keeping the stereotypes in mind.

And keep in mind that stereotypes are not necessarily true. Don't be afraid of forming a stereotype for your PC to believe in if it's not especially enforced by code or the current documentation, but is instead based off of your PC's background, a strange quirk, etc.

I see plenty of racism IG, but then again I also see flagrant disregard for the separation of races at times, too. Sometimes it's annoying, but I don't let that spoil my enjoyment of what is a thoroughly racist-filled setting.

[Chettaman]

I love being racist! (ic)
Those vnpc bynners that wail on that breed in the gaj for no reason, cracks me up! I can't wait to see actual PCs do it. Bullies. We need more bullies. I don't think this thread is about racism at all. (joking) I think this thread is challenging those already racist (because I see them) to be more hostile. For no reason other then that guy's not like me and he should be picked on. He doesn't have to leave (unless I say so), he doesn't have to do anything (unless I say so) but get picked on by me because he is inferior to my superior human strength and other superior human abilities!

In closing...
I bet you won't.

[Cind]

maybe your character doesn't want any trouble, or can't afford it and is not protected by anybody. and over half of pcs can't really afford the kind of trouble that would come out of trying to shank some random elf in the gaj because they're bored--- that elf might be in the Jaxa Pah and you might be in shit.

the opportunity for your indie human's overt racism may be backed by a templar or authority figure one out of a hundred times or less. the opportunity might just not arise for the major stuff.

seriously, though--- playing an elf in allanak is _hard_ because of the racism thing. you're always watching your back, and you get kicked out of Red's about five times as often as you might get kicked out of the Firestorm. when you act like an elf, when you act and speak like that roundear's possessions are already yours, the racism almost clicks on like a light. try it, its great.

[Mooney]

I was a foul-mouthed open racist in the south...and even in the north when my character traveled there (due to ignorance of how neckers were valued there, not bravado or deep immersion). Never got killed!

But I've also experienced the northie who chats them up and shares laughs, partly profession, partly personality. Sure there's subtle consistent racism, but it lacks the zest.

[Kaiden]

I gave up trying to play a racist in the north a while ago.

A bit like Gunnerblaster, I came to the conclusion that if you don't want to be universally hated and you want more than just a few characters to interact with, then you better not be too racist toward elves or your racism will be known as far as Allanak within a few weeks.

I've seen everything from dwarves being best buddies with elves, human females openly defending the reputation of an elf, human men offering to protect elf women outside the gates just to have a chance to chat up some ladies, a tons of humans sleeping with elves, etc, etc.. And that was in the last 6 months or so.

I met so many characters that had an 'excuse' to not be racist it's not even funny.. ''I judge a person by his action and not his blood'', ''I was raised in Luir's so I hung out with many elves before, they are just like us'', ''Look at what this elf did for our city, how can you not be in awe toward him?'', ''I work for Clan X and a customer is a customer''.

Now I'm more like.. ''Yeah, elves are dumb, but there's 10 of them at the bar and nobody else to interact with.''

[janeshephard]

I have yet to see a good example of this in the game world. Ever.

I'm playing a very racist human toward elves. It's very alive and well. I played a half-elf who got the crap beaten out of him for just being a breed.

[Cind]

i do think a human actively choosing to be friendly to an elf when there's another perfectly good human sitting right there is kind of weird. i've seen it before, its been done to me, i've tried avoiding it but sometimes circumstances won't let you. i don't think its a total fail because i've noticed its much more easier to get in good with humans as a human pc once i finally stopped being an elf because humans tend to be nicer to other humans. it still surprises me when i play a human.

there's a lot of players who simply don't want to be that mean; you don't have to be. be nervous around elves or something, as though you're sitting amongt prison inmates. ICly, its virtually the same principle, and the method i use most often.

I have yet to see a good example of this in the game world. Ever.

It's very alive and well.

i wished i remembered the name of this one racist fellow so i can kudos them. they made it into an art form, and i loved being discriminated against by them.

[Kankman]

I gave up trying to play a racist in the north a while ago.

A bit like Gunnerblaster, I came to the conclusion that if you don't want to be universally hated and you want more than just a few characters to interact with, then you better not be too racist toward elves or your racism will be known as far as Allanak within a few weeks.

I've seen everything from dwarves being best buddies with elves, human females openly defending the reputation of an elf, human men offering to protect elf women outside the gates just to have a chance to chat up some ladies, a tons of humans sleeping with elves, etc, etc.. And that was in the last 6 months or so.

I met so many characters that had an 'excuse' to not be racist it's not even funny.. ''I judge a person by his action and not his blood'', ''I was raised in Luir's so I hung out with many elves before, they are just like us'', ''Look at what this elf did for our city, how can you not be in awe toward him?'', ''I work for Clan X and a customer is a customer''.

Now I'm more like.. ''Yeah, elves are dumb, but there's 10 of them at the bar and nobody else to interact with.''

If you're playing Armageddon and your character lives in Tuluk, you're doing it wrong. This is reason number 5003.

[Barzalene]

I haven't played in Tuluk for the last two or three years, at least not extensively. But in '08 when I played my most obnoxious and  confrontational pc, who was blatantly racist, my pc was extremely successful. Don't let fear stop you from playing the docs. Play to the highest common denominator, not the lowest.

[Dakota]

I think many ppl are afraid to rock the boat w/ full on, balls to the wall, "OK.. Docs say elves are thieving, nekker scum.." running away with it kinda thing.

I think players are a bit too timid tbh and racism is certainly one aspect. Role forcing you to be exposed to them? So. If you hate them, hate them. Give them a mark up and laugh in their fucking face about it.