Racism, homophobia and WoW players.

[Ziaon]

My beef with people from Quel'Thalas isn't the fact that they're spanish, that isn't even something I consider. Its the fact that they shout at me (the MT) in spanish, /whisper me explaining the fight in spanish (Which I don't speak, and I already know the fight). Sure, a lot of players Ive met from brazil servers were god-awfully terrible, but so was I at some point, so I brush it off.

Saying "All players from Quel'Thalas SUCK" isn't racist or homophobic, just stereotypical.

Yep Idk what it is bout the servers azralon n goldrin but damn lfr's would be nice without those servers in the que

[gamhacked]

There's nothing inherently wrong with being racist. We're all prejudiced against something. Besides, absolute racism isn't real. It's the person's traits you have a problem with, not their skin color or ethnicity per se. There's nobody who would hate every single black person if they met them all. Racism simply represents a lazy generalization; an assumption that every proponent of a cultural group is more or less the same. Racism individually is no more 'evil' than hating a type of music, or an idea. In a word, it is ignorance (of one kind).

The problem arises when this hate spreads and manifests physically. When the lynch mob can be heard coming around the bend, you've got a problem.

You're free to hate or like whatever you want in most of Western society, as long as you control it, and, preferably, work to overcome it. Fear of love is probably one of the most potent inhibitors to the progress of mankind we will ever know.

[Trassk]

I think everyone should thicken their hide to brush off words easily, specially if you're gay. It does take it's toll, but haters/trolls feed on negative reactions. Pose, turn, flaunt bitch. :P

Why should people who are a minority be forced to 'brush it off'? why shouldn't the ones using the derogatory terms be forced to learn not to be ignorant?

When ignorant people think they have the right to be douchebags and talk to one another like that, do you expect everyone to be thick skinned about it? NO, there are people in life that are not thick skinned, they don't want to be degraded because some chode slings names around like he can.

It took me years to develop my own sense of self worth growing up gay and seeing how people reacted to gays in general. At 32 its no issue for me now if I kiss a guy in the street, but given how long it took to gain that confidence for me, thinking of young gay guys and girls growing up with that even in todays society pissed me off, nobody should be made to feel bad about who or what they are, just because some loud mouthed punk, who isn't part of there group, hurls insults about them.

If I walk into an indian restaurant, and start speaking in a fake indian accent and making slurs about there culture in there environment, does that give me the right to say 'well I don't mean anything by it I'm just having fun'? Sorry, but people don't know where the line is in any of these arguments.

[Uennie]

Agreeing with someone who posted earlier.

Ironic bigotry is still bigotry.

Sorry guys/gals who like to use derogatory racist/homophobic/sexist slurs. You're still bigots, no matter how many excuses you make.

[Nighthawk1027]

lol at this thread, truly a grand idea

[Tojara]

Eh it's words, but that's just how I operate. We pretty much grew up slinging around the word gay and fag at pretty much everything. It's pretty broad word now that can take the form of almost anything in the English language. I like many others throw around retard as well.

I have a few gay friends and none of them really care because it's like those words really don't mean what they traditionally meant years ago. They are certainly used in a derogatory or joking fashion, but from many peoples perspective they aren't actually meant to inflict harm on the group they were initially based upon.

Now if one of my gay friends was actually offended I would cut it out. It really just depends on the person, but if someone finds it offensive than you should cut it out. I've thrown around racial slang with friends who were black before and they wouldn't think anything of it, difference being is a know the person.

Note I am talking in a private domain with people you actually know. I really see no problem with language around people you're comfortable with, as vulgar and politically incorrect as it might be. That shit doesn't have a place in the public domain though as you never know if someone would get offended by it.

[Sam the Wiser]

Well I'm black and no matter where I go on the internet someone going to say the N word. Do I let it bother me if it just some random no. Only time I find it to become a problem is when I'm in a guild and they know me and continue to say it non-stop. Normally I leave these types of guilds pretty fast tho.

[zerocoolhack]

I do as well. I also noticed that, when I tanked on a male character, people would let me tank in dungeons no problem. Tanking on a female night elf, any DPS with a tank spec will switch specs half the time to tank instead because "they want to make sure I can actually handle it." People in dungeons will agree with me if I ask a DPS not to tank when I'm on a male toon, but when I'm playing the female toon I'm usually ignored.

Sorry have to call bullshit on this one. I have never seen this happen ever.

[Trassk]

Anyone here to simply casts of this discussion and says 'its just words, they can't hurt you', your obviously someone whos never suffered the slings and arrows of another persons ignorance, how it feels to be singled out, and has no empathy for those that do.

[jonoy8]

Anyone here to simply casts of this discussion and says 'its just words, they can't hurt you', your obviously someone whos never suffered the slings and arrows of another persons ignorance, how it feels to be singled out, and has no empathy for those that do.

yes obviously those of us who aren't gay have NEVER had any negative experiences or words used against us with other people in life about dozens of other issues such as weight or looks or how we dressed or how we spoke or how we acted etc etc., all bad things only happen to gay people because they are gay

[anveena]

Anyone here to simply casts of this discussion and says 'its just words, they can't hurt you', your obviously someone whos never suffered the slings and arrows of another persons ignorance, how it feels to be singled out, and has no empathy for those that do.

Or they have and don't see the reason to get hung up over what some random person says to you.

I'll seriously never get how some of you people can take the words of what some random idiot says to you on a video game so personal.

[Deleted]

Quote Originally Posted by bufferunderrun View Post
isn't it because it's still present in rl? peoples need to understand that the world were everyone is accepted and is holding hands with each other do not exist, it's just a hippie dream, there is a whole part of humanity that you can classify as scum.
-

Yea, the portion that believes coexistence isn't possible.

this is a brilliant answer!

[Otimus]

I hate the way countries with predominantly White populations are so harshly judged in terms of racism, sexism and homophobia, when other societies/cultures/population groups get a free pass. It's as if some people think only White people can be racist/sexist/homophobic when EVIDENCE suggests this is not the case.

All of you complaining about these things in Western countries should do some research into how sexism/homophobia (especially) are so prevalent in other societies/cultures - look at the laws, cultural practises and social norms in many Middle Eastern and African countries.

This is actually pretty true.

Look at Japan, it's a hotbed of extreme racism, and ultra-sexism, and no one gives it a second blink, even though they're out and about and prominent about it. An insanely classist society, too.

[Uennie]

It's just reflective of greater internet culture. Racism hasn't changed online, so WoW won't either.



If you think words make a person racist, then you have no understanding of what racism is. It's pretty simple.

Oh I'm pretty sure I have a better understanding of individuals being racist than you might. It's pretty simple. My dad likes to use the n-word "ironically", and has demonstrated racist behaviour towards me since he's white and I'm a halfie (and he forever regrets having ever married my mom). Pretty sure ... yeah. Pretty sure I know what the fuck I'm talking about here. He's not "racist", but he thinks it's really funny to act that way. He's a 60 year-old troll on the internet, but in real life. It's fucked up, and he's still racist for it.

Also yes, Japan is super racist I've been telling people that for years NO ONE BELIEVES ME.

[Thrive]

Its the Internet.

/thread

I mean, are you saying you've never heard a homophobic, racist slur outside of WoW? I open Facebook for 5 minutes and see all of those things on the same page.

This. Either way no one means any harm by it, they just think it's funny or are incredibly stupid. Sometimes both

[Trassk]

Or they have and don't see the reason to get hung up over what some random person says to you.

I'll seriously never get how some of you people can take the words of what some random idiot says to you on a video game so personal.

this isn't just in context to video games, so much of communication in the modern age is though the net and online chat.

[Otimus]

Sorry have to call bullshit on this one. I have never seen this happen ever.

Yeah, moreso, I've seen that most people generally assume that no girls exist in the game, and all females are males. (Some of my female friends who play WoW actually prefer it this way, because the minute anyone has found out they're girls, they either A) Assume we're dating or B) Ask if "they're hot". To the former, we usually just say we're related to keep people from making creepy assumptions :x)

[Uennie]

Yeah, moreso, I've seen that most people generally assume that no girls exist in the game, and all females are males. (Some of my female friends who play WoW actually prefer it this way, because the minute anyone has found out they're girls, they either A) Assume we're dating or B) Ask if "they're hot". To the former, we usually just say we're related to keep people from making creepy assumptions :x)

... You know that's pretty much the definition of sexism right. Where you can't even be okay with people knowing your gender for fear of what might happen. I've also had people pidgeonhole me as a healer because "chicks make better healers anyway" (and I main a pure DPS class). Just because you guys haven't seen something happen doesn't mean it hasn't, it happens (to me and this other person, and probably way more). I've had people be really terrible to me on WoW because I was female, and moreso because I'm a minority female. When that gets out I get a lot of shit from the immature Warcraft players, and there's a lot of them.

[Okacz]

Why should people who are a minority be forced to 'brush it off'? why shouldn't the ones using the derogatory terms be forced to learn not to be ignorant?

When ignorant people think they have the right to be douchebags and talk to one another like that, do you expect everyone to be thick skinned about it? NO, there are people in life that are not thick skinned, they don't want to be degraded because some chode slings names around like he can.

It took me years to develop my own sense of self worth growing up gay and seeing how people reacted to gays in general. At 32 its no issue for me now if I kiss a guy in the street, but given how long it took to gain that confidence for me, thinking of young gay guys and girls growing up with that even in todays society pissed me off, nobody should be made to feel bad about who or what they are, just because some loud mouthed punk, who isn't part of there group, hurls insults about them.

If I walk into an indian restaurant, and start speaking in a fake indian accent and making slurs about there culture in there environment, does that give me the right to say 'well I don't mean anything by it I'm just having fun'? Sorry, but people don't know where the line is in any of these arguments.

Couldn't help but recall this episode

[Deleted]

only thing to say here: Old shadowfang keep full of those ´´worgens´´ dropping watermelon chicken legs and wool cloth.... and the place was run by a white man sorry if someone thinks of this as offensive