Wednesday 23 February 2011

Interesting article on racism in Eve-Online

I came across this article on eve tribune (which I originally found through the repost on kuan yidas blog) about racism in Eve. Thought it was very well written and worth highlighting.

The article and some of the following comments got me thinking about my own behaviour online. Whilst I'm the most unprejudiced person you could expect to meet in the real world I do find myself using words in Eve that I would never dream of uttering in the real word. Somehow certain terms seem to become part of the fabric of the game and start to feel acceptable to use. Perhaps I should think more before I type?

I also realised that whilst I pretty much always petition racist chatter in public channels I have probably never petitioned anyone for a sexist, anti-religious or homophobic remark. In fact “gay” or “ghey” is a word I use quite often, even though I am aware this is sometimes being said in front of gay players. Crikey am I an evil closet homophobe?

But on the other foot, I myself am often the butt-end of sexist jokes or references. Usually it is from my corp mates and none of it ever bothers me in the slightest because it is said in jest and if anything I encourage it. That said I guess there would be a difference between a friend calling me a whore and some random in local spouting off abuse in a personal attack. But if that did ever happen I would probably print screen and repost it in various forums for the world to see what a twit that person was.

Part of me does find it hard to see how anyone could feel truly offended by a bit of typing by some ignorant unknown entity on a computer game. Perhaps some people just need to grow thicker skins?

Certainly a thought provoking subject!

10 comments:

  1. Or perhaps, as we abuse, overuse, and twist a word through common usage it will lose its power. In any case, I find the author a little overblown about the subject and yes, I think a thick skin is what everyone on the internet needs. Then again I fly with the goons semi-regularly so perhaps my worldview is a little slanted.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm not sure what the equivalent of "haters gonna hate" for over-sensitive politically correct whiners is, but those people gonna.

    I often refer to "the Russians" in a mock-denigrating way in relation to Eve, because in Eve (a game) I am engaged in (gaming) conflict with a large group of game players who identify themselves as Russian. I don't believe that makes me a "racist".

    The word "gay" originally meant "happy and carefree" and was co-opted by the homosexual community for themselves. The word itself doesn't hold any derogatory connotations, the way the N word does. Furthermore, its more recent usage as "poor" or "lame" has no direct connection to its other uses. Calling those who use the word "gay" in the latter context homophobic makes no more sense than calling people who use the word "blue" for depression chromophobes.

    TL;DR: HTFU.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, I will try to give a counter point, if only on principle.

    Words matter. Look at your country's constitution, wedding vows, the mean insult you hurtled at a friend - they are all just words. Yet they matter.

    It is said 'Haters gonna hate', but at least haters mean what they say. The smack in a game on the other hand is the mindless drivel uttered by people who can't be arsed to be considerate, yet expect that everybody else adapts to them (ie. grows a thick skin).

    Whether the overuse of derogatives diminishes their effect, remains to be seen. I can as easily argue that the overuse just solidifies their underlying opinion - like use of 'Jewgold'.

    Personally, I don't know where to draw the line, or if it is even possible to draw One Line - it could very well be case by case. However, I do know that I find the constant garbage tedious - if you want to run off your mouth, at least show some intelligence and be creative!

    ReplyDelete
  4. "Words matter. Look at your country's constitution, wedding vows, the mean insult you hurtled at a friend - they are all just words. Yet they matter."

    Yet how many constitutions are routinely trampled on by legislators? How many wedding vows routinely disregarded? The lighthearted insult shared between friends deemed deeply offensive by an outside observer without the benefit of context and history?

    Words have the power that we choose to attribute to them, and they themselves are imperfect - homonyms, synonyms, multiple contextual meanings and popular culture. What really matters is the intent behind them when they are uttered or written.

    "Personally, I don't know where to draw the line, or if it is even possible to draw One Line - it could very well be case by case."

    Not even case by case - case by case by individual. Everyone has their own lines, and they are all in different places. Do we adopt a highest-common-denominator approach, censoring anything that could in anybody's wildest imagination cause offence? Impractical. Unrestrained vilification? Incompatible with modern society.

    What we really need to do is to be *less* sensitive to hate and stereotypes, not *more*. As we are now, we have escalating tension in response to what might otherwise fizzle out as harmless (though moronic) name-calling.

    ReplyDelete
  5. "The smack in a game on the other hand is the mindless drivel uttered by people who can't be arsed to be considerate, yet expect that everybody else adapts to them (ie. grows a thick skin)."

    I am not responsible for other peoples feelings, just as they are not responsible for mine.
    Though I do agree, that a well put together slur is, and has always been, a part of our (human) culture. So in the end I would say, make your hatred entertaining and clever at the very least. :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. There's something about the internet, and being "anonymous" that just brings out the worst in people isn't there?
    I thought that was a really interesting article, since I too find myself repeating those words "nano-fag" "gay" "jew-gold" etc. The longer I play this game, the more benign those words seem...

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wtf is a women concerned with who I call gay or how often ? Shouldn't you be in the kitchen instead of concerning yourself with internet spaceships language ?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Interesting points of view and @Blooregard LOL! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I was once killed by a gatecamp from some annoying smacktards from a corp called 'Apartheid appreciation club'. I petitioned and sure enough the next day their corp name was now a number. Revenge was sweet. They killed my frigate, but I cost them their corp name.

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Morolen: As soon as you talk to someone, you affect their feelings, giving you at least some responsibility for it (and vice versa). If you really don't want the responsibility, don't talk. I could say: with the privilege of communication also comes responsibility.

    But I think the real question is whether one is respectful of other people's feelings (this is a game, after all). That doesn't mean that we only talk in floweries, but it ought to mean that at minimum we back off if we notice that other people feel _really_ hurt.

    Because, while @blackhuey's thought of outgrowing sensitivity towards hate and stereotypes is a noble one, you can't command it and it definitely won't happen quickly. Also, this being text, intent is easy to misinterpret - where in a face-to-face conversation we can quickly ask to clarify or draw clues from body language, we don't really have these avenues in text chat.

    @Laedy Indeed. In Ye Olde Days of the Internet it was attempted to counter this drawback of anonymity with the netiquette, but even then it was an uphill battle.

    ReplyDelete