Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 RavingDork Jan 15, 2009 18:07:30	One of the players in my group is playing an overt canine moreau soldier. Apparently, moreaus are a common sight in the military in this particular campaign. Nevertheless they are often considered little more than living weapons by the populace at large and are loathed by most. What I want is a thread where we can all brainstorm on horrible slurs for moreaus (in the military or not) for use during this (and similar) campaign settings. Thanks in advance fr any contributions!
#2 nclanceman Jan 15, 2009 18:26:20	A Dog GI could be called "Fido" or "Lassie", implying a mindless obedient nature, and of course either could work for civilian Dog-men if you're using the "created for the military" part of the background for Moreaus. "Four paws", "Furball", and of course a loud whistle could work for general insults. For a more serious insult, use "Old Yeller" as a verb.
#3 TheRealOrion Jan 15, 2009 18:58:09	You could come up with slurs that sound like racist terms. Dog moreaus could be called "diggers," for example. You don't want to do that to a table without really knowing the personalities that you're dealing with (no need to start a fight!), but if everyone there is willing to explore anti-moreauism as a racist practise, then making that connection explicit could be... well, not "fun," but perhaps thought-provoking.
#4 RavingDork Jan 15, 2009 19:11:37	You could come up with slurs that sound like racist terms. Dog moreaus could be called "diggers," for example. You don't want to do that to a table without really knowing the personalities that you're dealing with (no need to start a fight!), but if everyone there is willing to explore anti-moreauism as a racist practice, then making that connection explicit could be... well, not "fun," but perhaps thought-provoking. I'm sorry to say some of my friends don't have any trouble throwing around real-world slurs, so I don't think there is going to be any fights at our table about that kind of thing. I don't plan for my character to use any of the slurs that may come up here. I just recall our GM saying that moreaus were (and I apologize for this) "the new blacks" in that they face heavy prejudice. So to enhance that theme, I thought I would direct him to this thread so as to make it seem more vivid. He has trouble coming up with ideas on his own so us players help him out where we can. I apologize if anything I said above offends anyone. It mopst certianly was not my intent.
#5 TheRealOrion Jan 15, 2009 21:41:07	I certainly can't speak for people of colour, but I think you're treading pretty carefully. I have some trepidation, though, about a game where the GM says something like that without hesitation. If he wants to address racism in his game, then I applaud him! That kind of thing can be really eye-opening. I've had some games that touch on real-world issues that they simulate personal experience in such a way that, well, it can leave you with a profound new understanding. I would caution, though, against a fairly common tactic in fantasy/SF where, because some new kind of prejudice/bigotry has been introduced, suddenly the old ones all disappear because "who'd be racist against humans if you're riding the bus with an Orc?" It seems a little disingenuous to just say "Hundreds of years of prejudice? They don't apply any more. Blacks, Muslims, aboriginal people... you're not discriminated against any more!" But then the game world doesn't really change all that much because the GM doesn't realise just how much the everyday world would have to change ifracism/ethnic prejudice just went away. The economic burdens placed on former colonised peoples (including slaves, aboriginal peoples, etc.) would have to magically disappear, for example, and suddenly life in the Western world would be very different indeed. Anyway, I don't want to go all "post-colonial" on ya, and I don't mean to imply an accusation against you or your gaming buddies. I've just seen prejudices propagated at the gaming table because the players and/or the GM have only a very thin understanding of the social, economic, and political factors that surround prejudice. (In my other life, I'm a graduate student in an English department, and this is stuff we talk about a lot.)
#6 Master_Vega Jan 15, 2009 21:55:45	Something else to remember is that racism is a two-way street. You'll have humans who look down upon "those animals" and moreaus who feel they are superior to "furless apes". They might use realworld racist terms, or callously remark that they "can't tell one human apart from another" when asked about a particular person. Just a thought.
#7 RavingDork Jan 15, 2009 22:24:23	Something else to remember is that racism is a two-way street. You'll have humans who look down upon "those animals" and moreaus who feel they are superior to "furless apes". They might use realworld racist terms, or callously remark that they "can't tell one human apart from another" when asked about a particular person. Just a thought. Ooh! I didn't think of that! If you guys want to add blanket human slurs (from moreaus) to the list than by all means! :D
#8 TheRealOrion Jan 16, 2009 0:33:37	Sure, that's true, but I think we also have to keep in mind who speaks from a privileged position and who doesn't. There are words I could use (but choose not to) to refer to people of colour, to immigrants, to gay people, to people with disabilities, the list goes on. When those words are used by genuine bigots, they're filled with hate, from the speaker to the listener(s). That hate is powerful. However, what's far, far more powerful is the reminder of a history of oppression and marginalisation. Hearing similar words thrown back at me (a white, straight, middle-class, able-bodied man) just isn't the same. Those words don't speak to centuries, if not millennia, of abuse. They don't remind me that my entire community is always at the mercy of the speaker's community. So sure, the dog moreaus can make up words about humans, but humans are still the dominant species, so whatever words they make up with sound a lot like "gai jin" or "honky" or "breeder." They just won't have the same weight to them. I know I sound like I'm taking this awfully seriously, but, honestly, it is serious. I applaud the care and time you're taking to think this through, I really do. I just want to point out all the complexities of this kind of thing. Systemic racism is a very, very complex thing. I really do believe that RPGs are a kind of performance art, like theatre. It's worth stopping and really thinking about how to treat race and racism in art.
#9 trappedslider Jan 16, 2009 0:39:28	big ugly is used in the World at War series by Harry turtledove to describing humans to the invaders
#10 senko Jan 16, 2009 7:17:00	Just wanted to add that overcoming past prejudices isn't necessarily going to prevent future ones. I read a book recently where highly advanced humans stumble across an alien race (first contact situation). The race were at roughly the industrial revolution stage although they had some advanced technology they still used animal labour (similar race but unintelligent which they spayed, hobbled and used to pull transports). The advanced humans were appaled by this behaviour and decded in their great wisdom to solve it by giving the animals intelligence on the grounds it was better for them to live free as intelligent beings for 5 minutes before being killed as a monster than a lifetime as an enslaved mindless beast. The alien race on realizing what was happening segregated all the altered "Trudges" into areas that had a faraday cage blocking transmission from them to the humans and then set about developing laws to emancipate the intelligent ones (easily checkable as they developed an electrical field from the modifications) peacefully. The humans convinced of the aliens barbarity came down to force them to treat the trudges "Properly" and were then highly embaressed when they realized the aliens weren't planning to do anything horrible to them at all but were instead protecting them till they could be presented to the civilian population safely..
#11 Master_Vega Jan 16, 2009 10:50:05	TheRealOrion - That's a good point. I suppose racism from a minority to a majority isn't expressed so much in words as in behavior and attitude toward the majority. For instance, members of a particular minority working in the same kitchen as my brother constantly berated him with insults, racial slurs, immoral accusations, and anti-religious remarks because he was the only white guy who worked in that kitchen, and they were bored. This same group was immediately hostile (passively or openly, depending on who was present) to anyone they did not know, who happened to be of a different ethnicity. I suppose my point is that there is just as much hate on both sides, and since they don't have a damning word for the majority, the openly racist members of a minority will find other methods to attempt to tear down even friendly members of the majority. Then there's the subtle, passive racism of not trusting those of another race (even particular members who are genuinely friendly and respectful, and not just piteous) because "they aren't one of us". I'd say the latter option would suit canine moreau well. They are bred to be loyal, and they have found not all humans to have that same quality. The racist members of their population find it difficult if not impossible to trust humans because of this, and some aiming to hurt will express this openly and callously.
#12 TheRealOrion Jan 16, 2009 11:46:56	I think, though (and now we're really getting into complicated, and possibly off-topic stuff, which is partly my fault, I know), that there's a difference between (a) racism that marginalises and oppresses a community, and (b) that marginalised community then looking at the available evidence and logically concluding "Wow, white/straight/middle-class/whatever people must really be *ssholes to treat us like sh*t with such consistency." I think it's kind of missing the point to say "there's racism on both sides." The question remains, who's racism has a real effect on the world? And whose "racism" might actually be an accurate assessment of how the privileged group really does treat the oppressed group? Now, I'm speaking in terms of groups as opposed to individuals, and I want to make clear that I don't think that racism against white people is "good" or even "okay." But racism against white people is pretty ineffective and considering the kind of crap that people of colour have to deal with all the time, I think crackers like us can maybe just suck it up. It's not like it's a fair fight. That's kind of the point.
#13 Master_Vega Jan 16, 2009 12:27:48	I don't think any assumption based in skin color is logical, or anymore logical than any other assumption - or treatment - based on skin color... but that might just be my opinion as the brother of a victim of the so called "reverse racism", to the point where the aforementioned victim probably should have gone to therapy for how messed-up he was after it. Based on that experience, I personally cannot tolerate or understand racism, or "reverse racism". I believe it to be just as bull-headed on both "sides", and that regardless of how one-sided it might have been before, both "sides" are fueling the fire. One simply claims oppression as justification. Buuut, before we get this guy's thread locked, we should talk about something else. I wouldn't mind continuing this chat via PM, though. On the subject of racist slurs toward the overt canine moreau: Muzzlehead Narrow Fido Fleabag Pet
#14 RavingDork Jan 16, 2009 15:01:23	Buuut, before we get this guy's thread locked, we should talk about something else. I wouldn't mind continuing this chat via PM, though. On the subject of racist slurs toward the overt canine moreau: Muzzlehead Narrow Fido Fleabag Pet Good idea. Also, the PC in the party is a canine moreau. Other moreaus in the campaign might be other types of beasts (perhaps bat moreaus are used for Stealth ops and such).
#15 AnimeSniper Jan 16, 2009 15:16:18	On the subject of racist slurs toward the overt canine moreau: Muzzlehead Narrow Fido Fleabag Pet Leg Humper Leg Thumper; you know when a dog is petted/scratched their leg thumps Visually Colored Challenged
#16 Master_Vega Jan 16, 2009 15:17:34	Overt Bat Moreau: Pig-nose Vampire Blood-sucker Dayblind Shrieker Overt Rat Moreau: Rat Rodent Vermin Tumor-farm Lab Rat (any of the above preceded by "diseased") Overt Cat Moreau: Kitten Tabby Whiskers Furball Overt Dolphin Moreau: Flipper Blubberskin Fish "Watch it, Flipper, or you might find yourself in a tuna can." Overt Bear Moreau: Smokey Grizzly Teddy My apologies if I listed any realworld slurs in the above. To my knowledge, none of them are, but just incase...
#17 Wolfen_Fenrison Jan 19, 2009 17:26:41	In X-Men human supremacists used the slur "Mutie" or "Gene Joke", while mutant supremacists use terms like "Baseline" and "Flatscan". On either side these are used by very hostile and violent groups. X-Men comics, esp. ones from the beginning of the series to about the 80's-90's are great for viewing racism from a fictional point of view. One of the best stories being God Loves, Man Kills.
#18 nclanceman Jan 19, 2009 17:49:03	In X-Men human supremacists used the slur "Mutie" ... "YOUR RIDE'S OVER MUTIE."
#19 Ragitsu Jan 19, 2009 17:56:58	There is no such thing as "reverse racism". Racism is racism.