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do does anyone actually have a problem with Lara croft because her tits were no longer center stage? and does anyone actually have a problem with more females in games?
good points anyway
good points anyway
I think the current issues are less with her tits and more with the themes of powerlessness and gamers being told we shout want to protect Lara from the bad men.
This was terrible. I'm not a straight white male (this means I'm amazing) and I genuinely feel awful for straight white males everywhere because of godawful posts like these. It's remarkable how easily you can paint a strawman argument that generalizes a few million (billion?) people, and then say that if anyone disagrees they are a bigot, based solely on their gender, sexual orientation and skin color.
I truly can't think of any moments in gaming where bigotry is so proud, and so celebrated, as bigotry against straight white males.
I didn't feel left out of gaming at all, and almost all console and arcade games from NES through SNES were not made for straight white males. Almost all of it was made for a Japanese audience. That alone kind of destroys your entire bullshit theory.
Also, no one excluded anyone from gaming. Gamers were excluded from popular society. They were branded as nerds, before nerds was something "cool." They were social outcasts who couldn't rollerskate at school parties, who couldn't dance, who couldn't socialize well with the opposite sex. Many of them were minorities drawn to it early on precisely for these reasons. Many were lower class, without the coolest clothes to fit in with popular trends. Girls weren't ever told to butt out. Girls mostly shunned gamers as complete losers, had no interest in it at all, and didn't bother playing.
Outcast from society, nerds basically made a culture for themselves. Miyamoto was a nerd. The vast majority of people who really took the time to get into it were nerds. If any dared to invite girls to play, 99.99% of the time, they would get straight up laughed out of school for 4 years. Very few girls wanted to play Dungeons and Dragons with social outcasts in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
It wasn't until fairly recently that gaming became "cool." The culture built by nerds, and supported almost exclusively by nerds, was suddenly the envy of the world. Comics weren't stupid, they were the basis for every single blockbuster movie out. Lord of the Rings wasn't socially awkward obsession with elves and fantasy, it was the biggest movie of the last 20 years. Games aren't socially awkward, they're now mainstream. So why are there not that many games for girls, or women in the industry? Because most of them would have laughed in your face at the thought of working in gaming 10 years ago. No one pushed them away, they simply had no interest until the social branding, and the social stigma attached changed.
To spin around nerd culture, which was born from society-wide rejection - as some kind of "privileged" club of elites is the most ridiculous revision of history I've ever seen.
And to top it off, you are definitely a bigot. Stop saying bigoted shit because you think it makes you progressive. It's really shitty to generalize anyone in a negative way based on race, gender, or sexual orientation.
I truly can't think of any moments in gaming where bigotry is so proud, and so celebrated, as bigotry against straight white males.
I didn't feel left out of gaming at all, and almost all console and arcade games from NES through SNES were not made for straight white males. Almost all of it was made for a Japanese audience. That alone kind of destroys your entire bullshit theory.
Also, no one excluded anyone from gaming. Gamers were excluded from popular society. They were branded as nerds, before nerds was something "cool." They were social outcasts who couldn't rollerskate at school parties, who couldn't dance, who couldn't socialize well with the opposite sex. Many of them were minorities drawn to it early on precisely for these reasons. Many were lower class, without the coolest clothes to fit in with popular trends. Girls weren't ever told to butt out. Girls mostly shunned gamers as complete losers, had no interest in it at all, and didn't bother playing.
Outcast from society, nerds basically made a culture for themselves. Miyamoto was a nerd. The vast majority of people who really took the time to get into it were nerds. If any dared to invite girls to play, 99.99% of the time, they would get straight up laughed out of school for 4 years. Very few girls wanted to play Dungeons and Dragons with social outcasts in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
It wasn't until fairly recently that gaming became "cool." The culture built by nerds, and supported almost exclusively by nerds, was suddenly the envy of the world. Comics weren't stupid, they were the basis for every single blockbuster movie out. Lord of the Rings wasn't socially awkward obsession with elves and fantasy, it was the biggest movie of the last 20 years. Games aren't socially awkward, they're now mainstream. So why are there not that many games for girls, or women in the industry? Because most of them would have laughed in your face at the thought of working in gaming 10 years ago. No one pushed them away, they simply had no interest until the social branding, and the social stigma attached changed.
To spin around nerd culture, which was born from society-wide rejection - as some kind of "privileged" club of elites is the most ridiculous revision of history I've ever seen.
And to top it off, you are definitely a bigot. Stop saying bigoted shit because you think it makes you progressive. It's really shitty to generalize anyone in a negative way based on race, gender, or sexual orientation.
In this thread, somebody with some constructive self-awareness (JFZeb) and a perfect illustration of the problem (Shinta).
Gotta side with Shinta on this... I was already marking it when the article talked about leaving people out... all I could think was "who the FUCK was left out of playing Super Mario Bros.?"
That said, the culture is changing, and not all for the better. Let me ask you something... do you think the nerds that made gaming what it is would have been yelling for a girl who dared to get on the mic to "get back in the kitchen?"
Cause I don't. I think that's just what happens when the mainstream finds something (mainstream is often made of assholes).
That said, the culture is changing, and not all for the better. Let me ask you something... do you think the nerds that made gaming what it is would have been yelling for a girl who dared to get on the mic to "get back in the kitchen?"
Cause I don't. I think that's just what happens when the mainstream finds something (mainstream is often made of assholes).
Oh yes, because being a straight white male means I hate people of any minority. Fuck them all, I'm a powerful straight white male keeping you all down, because that's all straight white males do.
>_>
>_>
I seem to have offended some people. Firstly I am not criticising nerd culture, certainly not. Nor am I saying that any of you are intentionally excluding anybody. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. Try not to take this as a personal attack, try not to be defensive, and try reading the post again.
I find the accusation that I am perpetrating a straw-man argument confusing, I am not damning all straight white male gamers based on the imagined actions of a few. I am trying to draw attention to an issue and point out the problem with privilege. Once again you seem to have taken this post as an attack, it was not.
Also I am confused as to where nerd culture and the discussion of gaming being a safe haven for social outcasts enters into this discussion at all. I say that gaming caters to the straight white male demographic and we should be aware of that, I am countered with a rant about how some gamers didn't have cool clothes and girls didn't like them. Somehow that means my views are absurd and that I am a bigot. The leap in reasoning here has left me behind.
And to top it off, you are definitely a bigot. Stop saying bigoted shit because you think it makes you progressive. It's really shitty to generalize anyone in a negative way based on race, gender, or sexual orientation.
If you honestly think discussing the idea of white privilege is bigotry against white people, then I pity you. You have no idea what bigotry is. Also you claimed that 99.99% of girls would laugh at a guy if he asked them to play videogames. So I think you really should look inwards before accusing other people of making shitty generalisations.
I find the accusation that I am perpetrating a straw-man argument confusing, I am not damning all straight white male gamers based on the imagined actions of a few. I am trying to draw attention to an issue and point out the problem with privilege. Once again you seem to have taken this post as an attack, it was not.
Also I am confused as to where nerd culture and the discussion of gaming being a safe haven for social outcasts enters into this discussion at all. I say that gaming caters to the straight white male demographic and we should be aware of that, I am countered with a rant about how some gamers didn't have cool clothes and girls didn't like them. Somehow that means my views are absurd and that I am a bigot. The leap in reasoning here has left me behind.
And to top it off, you are definitely a bigot. Stop saying bigoted shit because you think it makes you progressive. It's really shitty to generalize anyone in a negative way based on race, gender, or sexual orientation.
If you honestly think discussing the idea of white privilege is bigotry against white people, then I pity you. You have no idea what bigotry is. Also you claimed that 99.99% of girls would laugh at a guy if he asked them to play videogames. So I think you really should look inwards before accusing other people of making shitty generalisations.
@ JFZeb
"Sometimes it's worth reminding yourself that every day is a straight white man parade and you have been given more than enough already you entitled dick-head."
Would you please expound on how being white has any bearing on the topics of gender discrimination, sexual orientation, lack of interest in helping others and general selfishness? I'm finding an extremely hard time drawing a parallel between skin colour and your examples of bigotry. Do straight males with other descents not share any of these behaviours?
Not giving to charity because you don't receive charity doesn't make you a bigot. It makes you a cheap selfish bastard, but I fail to see how that makes you intolerant of another group of people.
Also, please explain clearly what you consider to be straight white male privilege. I'm legitimately curious how you define it and why my disagreeing with something I may take issue with for a variety of reasons makes me completely intolerant of a group of people due to my skin colour. Or would I be exempt from this sense of entitlement as straight middle-class male of mixed descent?
- "I am a straight white male gamer, and I like to believe I am a sympathetic, open minded, and inclusive person."
You may want to re-read and reconsider the tone and phrasing of your argument as it's extremely heavy handed wording doesn't easily lend itself to that conclusion. And I have read it, multiple times. I can't speak for your intentions, but I can speak about your words. Whatever you meant to say is buried beneath a very poorly constructed statement.
Looking forward to your clarifications!
"Sometimes it's worth reminding yourself that every day is a straight white man parade and you have been given more than enough already you entitled dick-head."
Would you please expound on how being white has any bearing on the topics of gender discrimination, sexual orientation, lack of interest in helping others and general selfishness? I'm finding an extremely hard time drawing a parallel between skin colour and your examples of bigotry. Do straight males with other descents not share any of these behaviours?
Not giving to charity because you don't receive charity doesn't make you a bigot. It makes you a cheap selfish bastard, but I fail to see how that makes you intolerant of another group of people.
Also, please explain clearly what you consider to be straight white male privilege. I'm legitimately curious how you define it and why my disagreeing with something I may take issue with for a variety of reasons makes me completely intolerant of a group of people due to my skin colour. Or would I be exempt from this sense of entitlement as straight middle-class male of mixed descent?
- "I am a straight white male gamer, and I like to believe I am a sympathetic, open minded, and inclusive person."
You may want to re-read and reconsider the tone and phrasing of your argument as it's extremely heavy handed wording doesn't easily lend itself to that conclusion. And I have read it, multiple times. I can't speak for your intentions, but I can speak about your words. Whatever you meant to say is buried beneath a very poorly constructed statement.
Looking forward to your clarifications!
@Aethon You're correct, being white does not have any direct bearing on those topics. Perhaps I should have left it out, other than my mention of the RE 5 controversy in my into I did not really touch on race again in the article. It might have been easier not to mention it. However parallels can easily be drawn between being a white gamer and being a male gamer. It's still a position of privilege.
What do I mean by privilege? If you really want to get a good idea of the idea I suggest you hunt around online and do some reading on the topic. It's an interesting subject. In this post I mainly mention it in regards to media being designed to appeal to a certain group of people. That group of people is therefore privileged. There are teams of marketing expert out there whose job it is to make sure products are tailored to this group's needs. It some cases, the products are tailored to suit the needs of one group of people, to the detriment of the needs of another group of people. I am saying that white straight males are very privileged in this sense, and most don't realise it
The first time I really became aware of the idea was years ago when I was playing a dungeon crawler style game. I was on the character select screen and realised there was no white male character for me to pick. I ended up picking another character and was fine with it, but for a moment I was disappointed. Like many gamers, when given a choice of avatar I tend to choose whatever most resembles me as I find it helps immerse me. That was the first time I had ever not been able to find a white male avatar and it threw me. At that moment it occurred to me that people who aren't white males probably come across that problem a lot. In fact I was privileged to have so many games where I could find a white male avatar.
If I made it seem that I was suggesting that straight white males are naturally intolerant, or that they should apologise for being in a position of privilege then I apologise. This was not my intent, and I am sorry my words failed to communicate my message properly.
My goal was not to attack, but to make people think. It was a post about how ridiculous the arguments people are making about a con aimed at the LGBT community being unfair to straight people. It was about how trying to tear down negative feminine stereotypes in games is a noble goal, despite most gamers being men. It was about how maybe there need to be more games with protagonists of different races, even if that might make same white gamers uncomfortable.
My inclusion of charity in that section was to highlight the similarity between those arguments. It was a bit left of field though and probably confuses my point instead of reinforcing it. Good feedback.
Lastly thank you for actually reading and thinking about what I wrote, and trying to understand my intentions, instead of simply getting defensive. The internet needs more people like you.
What do I mean by privilege? If you really want to get a good idea of the idea I suggest you hunt around online and do some reading on the topic. It's an interesting subject. In this post I mainly mention it in regards to media being designed to appeal to a certain group of people. That group of people is therefore privileged. There are teams of marketing expert out there whose job it is to make sure products are tailored to this group's needs. It some cases, the products are tailored to suit the needs of one group of people, to the detriment of the needs of another group of people. I am saying that white straight males are very privileged in this sense, and most don't realise it
The first time I really became aware of the idea was years ago when I was playing a dungeon crawler style game. I was on the character select screen and realised there was no white male character for me to pick. I ended up picking another character and was fine with it, but for a moment I was disappointed. Like many gamers, when given a choice of avatar I tend to choose whatever most resembles me as I find it helps immerse me. That was the first time I had ever not been able to find a white male avatar and it threw me. At that moment it occurred to me that people who aren't white males probably come across that problem a lot. In fact I was privileged to have so many games where I could find a white male avatar.
If I made it seem that I was suggesting that straight white males are naturally intolerant, or that they should apologise for being in a position of privilege then I apologise. This was not my intent, and I am sorry my words failed to communicate my message properly.
My goal was not to attack, but to make people think. It was a post about how ridiculous the arguments people are making about a con aimed at the LGBT community being unfair to straight people. It was about how trying to tear down negative feminine stereotypes in games is a noble goal, despite most gamers being men. It was about how maybe there need to be more games with protagonists of different races, even if that might make same white gamers uncomfortable.
My inclusion of charity in that section was to highlight the similarity between those arguments. It was a bit left of field though and probably confuses my point instead of reinforcing it. Good feedback.
Lastly thank you for actually reading and thinking about what I wrote, and trying to understand my intentions, instead of simply getting defensive. The internet needs more people like you.
@JFZeb
The merriam-webster dictionary defines privilege as: a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor. I don't see how this applies to straight white males in terms of marketing at all. You might argue that whites in general are more catered to than other demographics, certainly. However, according to the U.S. Census bureau poll in 2010, whites made up 72.4% of the population of the United States.
http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-05.pdf
(Page 3)
Unfortunately, there was no breakdown as to the gender or sexual orientation of the white population so any further breakdown of the 223,553,265 of white Americans into more specific samples is pure conjecture and can't be effectively argued.
72.4% of the U.S. population is white, an overwhelming majority. Should it be surprising that this would be the target demographic if you wanted to have the highest possible market saturation for the minimum investment?
Gaming has been considered a predominately male dominated hobby for as long I can remember (I'm 30). In terms of raw metrics, which corporations simply adore, it would yield the highest profit to market to the largest demographic possible: white males in the case of gaming. This would be why you see the focus on that demographic, not because of any privilege.
Simply put: there are a lot more white people out there and they have the second highest average household income. Marketing to different demographics simply costs more money. More focus research and custom marketing strategies are necessary. Why not just pick the group that's a hell of a lot larger than the rest? Is it right? Not really. Is it profitable? Gaming is becoming the largest entertainment market in the U.S. so I'd have to concede that this approach is effective.
Sorry for the essay. Sleep seems to be escaping me for the night. I could add other arguments about white privilege on social contexts but I'd rather keep it to gaming.
The merriam-webster dictionary defines privilege as: a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor. I don't see how this applies to straight white males in terms of marketing at all. You might argue that whites in general are more catered to than other demographics, certainly. However, according to the U.S. Census bureau poll in 2010, whites made up 72.4% of the population of the United States.
http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-05.pdf
(Page 3)
Unfortunately, there was no breakdown as to the gender or sexual orientation of the white population so any further breakdown of the 223,553,265 of white Americans into more specific samples is pure conjecture and can't be effectively argued.
72.4% of the U.S. population is white, an overwhelming majority. Should it be surprising that this would be the target demographic if you wanted to have the highest possible market saturation for the minimum investment?
Gaming has been considered a predominately male dominated hobby for as long I can remember (I'm 30). In terms of raw metrics, which corporations simply adore, it would yield the highest profit to market to the largest demographic possible: white males in the case of gaming. This would be why you see the focus on that demographic, not because of any privilege.
Simply put: there are a lot more white people out there and they have the second highest average household income. Marketing to different demographics simply costs more money. More focus research and custom marketing strategies are necessary. Why not just pick the group that's a hell of a lot larger than the rest? Is it right? Not really. Is it profitable? Gaming is becoming the largest entertainment market in the U.S. so I'd have to concede that this approach is effective.
Sorry for the essay. Sleep seems to be escaping me for the night. I could add other arguments about white privilege on social contexts but I'd rather keep it to gaming.
@JFZeb
"If you really want to get a good idea of the idea I suggest you hunt around online and do some reading on the topic"
Weird, for some reason that read as "I'm dodging the question.", but I digress.
It seems that you're a bit lost on why you're being attacked like this, let me elaborate:
From the conception of video games as a medium, up to say, 2006? Yeah, you might have as well included "gamers" as a minority in and of itself, which is why telling the white male demographic of our community that they should feel privileged is a downright ludicrous notion, because they've probably taken as much abuse, if not even more than say, someone gay or transsexual or a girl, because we were also most likely physically, verbally, mentally and socially abused just as much as the next minority.
in other words, you are telling us we were "privileged" to be beaten, called names and just straight up treated like pariahs our entire youth period.
The difference, though? There are two major differences:
A)defending gamers is not as "Glamorous" as defending homosexuals, or women, or black people, because at that point there were no "adult" gamers, there were only kids who got beaten and bruised and were simply told by everyone to "grow up", you see those touching moments on television when an older gay man gives life-altering advice to the young confused teenager? Now tell me, have you ever seen that with gamers? Hell, have you ever seen that with plain old nerds?
B)We were not born into this, we CHOSE to be gamers and nerds, because that's what we love, it's not something that's pushed on you, or something that's inherited against your will, you CAN help it, and despite being attacked and chastised and ostracized, we still decided we would rather play games and do the things we love than "fit in".
Being a white, male "gamer" does not necessarily make you privileged, and if you're saying that's not the point of your post, then I suggest re-reading the goddamn post title... And the goddamn post.
"If you really want to get a good idea of the idea I suggest you hunt around online and do some reading on the topic"
Weird, for some reason that read as "I'm dodging the question.", but I digress.
It seems that you're a bit lost on why you're being attacked like this, let me elaborate:
From the conception of video games as a medium, up to say, 2006? Yeah, you might have as well included "gamers" as a minority in and of itself, which is why telling the white male demographic of our community that they should feel privileged is a downright ludicrous notion, because they've probably taken as much abuse, if not even more than say, someone gay or transsexual or a girl, because we were also most likely physically, verbally, mentally and socially abused just as much as the next minority.
in other words, you are telling us we were "privileged" to be beaten, called names and just straight up treated like pariahs our entire youth period.
The difference, though? There are two major differences:
A)defending gamers is not as "Glamorous" as defending homosexuals, or women, or black people, because at that point there were no "adult" gamers, there were only kids who got beaten and bruised and were simply told by everyone to "grow up", you see those touching moments on television when an older gay man gives life-altering advice to the young confused teenager? Now tell me, have you ever seen that with gamers? Hell, have you ever seen that with plain old nerds?
B)We were not born into this, we CHOSE to be gamers and nerds, because that's what we love, it's not something that's pushed on you, or something that's inherited against your will, you CAN help it, and despite being attacked and chastised and ostracized, we still decided we would rather play games and do the things we love than "fit in".
Being a white, male "gamer" does not necessarily make you privileged, and if you're saying that's not the point of your post, then I suggest re-reading the goddamn post title... And the goddamn post.
@Aethon You are absolutely correct. It does make sense for white males to be marketed to. It all makes perfect sense, I'm not even suggesting they shouldn't.
However just because it makes sense from a business point of view doesn't mean it's not a privilege. As the dictionary puts it, a particular benefit. I'm not saying they market to us because we're privileged, I'm saying we're privileged because they market to us. Now while we might be the biggest demographic, I'm sure you can easily imagine there are plenty of gamers who don't fall into that category. It's also easy to imagine those gamers perhaps feeling a little left out sometimes. While it's fine to say 'Most gamers are male, so most games should be made to appeal to males' perhaps we should wonder if there might be a few more female gamers if there were more games and games marketing targeted at females?
@Viredae Firstly I am a 29 year old gamer, I know exactly what you are talking about. I was an oddball nerdy kid at school. I've been told to grow up and stop playing games. I got my arse kicked after school on more than one occasion. I get where you're coming from. My message isn't that being a gamer makes you privileged as a human, but that being a straight white male makes you privileged as a gamer. Importance difference.
Secondly, while I am aware that every single person's story is different and there are always exceptions to every rule, and I am also aware that I have no idea what kind of hardships you personally may have encountered in your life... I think comparing the troubles that people who like playing games have gone through to the troubles that gay or black people have gone through is a little... appalling is the only word that comes to mind. Yeah I'll go with that. Appalling.
However just because it makes sense from a business point of view doesn't mean it's not a privilege. As the dictionary puts it, a particular benefit. I'm not saying they market to us because we're privileged, I'm saying we're privileged because they market to us. Now while we might be the biggest demographic, I'm sure you can easily imagine there are plenty of gamers who don't fall into that category. It's also easy to imagine those gamers perhaps feeling a little left out sometimes. While it's fine to say 'Most gamers are male, so most games should be made to appeal to males' perhaps we should wonder if there might be a few more female gamers if there were more games and games marketing targeted at females?
@Viredae Firstly I am a 29 year old gamer, I know exactly what you are talking about. I was an oddball nerdy kid at school. I've been told to grow up and stop playing games. I got my arse kicked after school on more than one occasion. I get where you're coming from. My message isn't that being a gamer makes you privileged as a human, but that being a straight white male makes you privileged as a gamer. Importance difference.
Secondly, while I am aware that every single person's story is different and there are always exceptions to every rule, and I am also aware that I have no idea what kind of hardships you personally may have encountered in your life... I think comparing the troubles that people who like playing games have gone through to the troubles that gay or black people have gone through is a little... appalling is the only word that comes to mind. Yeah I'll go with that. Appalling.
Here's an interesting blog post on male privilege.
http://www.amptoons.com/blog/the-male-privilege-checklist/
I think item 46 on the checklist is perhaps the most interesting as far as our discussion goes.
http://www.amptoons.com/blog/the-male-privilege-checklist/
I think item 46 on the checklist is perhaps the most interesting as far as our discussion goes.
Thanks for telling me how privileged and perfect life is for me based solely on my gender and the color of my skin. That's not sexist or racist at all.
@JFZeb because getting beaten, bruised, getting bones broken, ostracized from your immediate community and getting pushed to suicide all while being dismissed as a non-issue AS A CHILD (and no, not all of it is personal experience, thankfully) is certainly a lot less important, I would certainly love to see you explain to the grieving parents of a child driven to suicide by his peers because "he was a nerd" that it is appalling to compare him to the fully functioning couple who are not allowed marry.
Also, here's a question for you, WHY do you think any demographic beside white males are under-represented? Because for the span of the 30 something years gaming has existed, the only people willing to play them (and by extension, willing to make them) are the white males; white because of mere statistics (they are the largest population), and the males because, again, the females wouldn't even touch the stuff with a 10-foot pole, and hardware limitations would ensure that ONLY your biggest demographic gets representation.
And that point 46? I have a similar one, it goes that you're an idiot, but simply lack awareness of that, and mine makes just as much sense as that one.
Also, here's a question for you, WHY do you think any demographic beside white males are under-represented? Because for the span of the 30 something years gaming has existed, the only people willing to play them (and by extension, willing to make them) are the white males; white because of mere statistics (they are the largest population), and the males because, again, the females wouldn't even touch the stuff with a 10-foot pole, and hardware limitations would ensure that ONLY your biggest demographic gets representation.
And that point 46? I have a similar one, it goes that you're an idiot, but simply lack awareness of that, and mine makes just as much sense as that one.
What if your argument about an LGBT targeted convention isn't so much it's not fair (it is), but that it's self-defeating? Isn't the point, hell aren't you here in this article trying to argue for unity? Isn't pointing out a specific group that overtly kinda... divisive? Or is there another point here?
I just don't think it serves gamers in general to start having conventions divided up by lines like this. Points out to many how "different" they are. (Quoted because of how stupid such a judgement is, but there it is all the same.)
I just don't think it serves gamers in general to start having conventions divided up by lines like this. Points out to many how "different" they are. (Quoted because of how stupid such a judgement is, but there it is all the same.)
The responses to this article have been disheartening, disgusting, but ultimately predictable. But before I get into that though, let me say that when certain people start using population percentages and acting as "Bean Counters for Racial Representation" to defend the status quo, it always strikes me as odd. But I digress.
Why is it that (practically) every time a responsible white person (in this case, a white male gamer) mentions a known problem with a sub-sect of whites, there are legions of white male "knee-jerkers" who take it as a personal attack ON ALL white males? Instead of actually getting to the heart of the matter, they try to shout down the person who brings it up, give them tainted labels (progressive, liberal, white guilt pusher, other new-age sanitized versions of "N-Word Lover") and create distractions/obfuscations to "muddy the waters". All so the issue doesn't get resolved. One can't help but notice how it's usually through intentionally misinterpreting the obvious point being made.
When they respond to articles such as this, it's generally to their poor interpretation of "White Males have no problems at all!". Which is not "White Males have it easier in general!". This latter is what the author was clearly saying. JFZeb isn't the first to bring this issue forth, but like many others he is shouted down by the "Don't ruin a good thing! There's nothing to see here!" Crowd who don't like uncomfortable realities. All so they can continue to exist in their bubble of ignorance and situational obliviousness.
Here's another article that touches on this same subject, that is met with the same brand of resistance by a sub-sect of white male gamers:
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/
@Megabyte
Ask yourself, "why" there has been a need for separated groups/events. Here's a hint:
The culprit has been the same one behind the motivation for every other "special interest group" that's different from it to separate. (Well...a small (but effective enough number of them.)
Here's another hint:
Read the 3rd to 5th words in JZFeb's title.
Why is it that (practically) every time a responsible white person (in this case, a white male gamer) mentions a known problem with a sub-sect of whites, there are legions of white male "knee-jerkers" who take it as a personal attack ON ALL white males? Instead of actually getting to the heart of the matter, they try to shout down the person who brings it up, give them tainted labels (progressive, liberal, white guilt pusher, other new-age sanitized versions of "N-Word Lover") and create distractions/obfuscations to "muddy the waters". All so the issue doesn't get resolved. One can't help but notice how it's usually through intentionally misinterpreting the obvious point being made.
When they respond to articles such as this, it's generally to their poor interpretation of "White Males have no problems at all!". Which is not "White Males have it easier in general!". This latter is what the author was clearly saying. JFZeb isn't the first to bring this issue forth, but like many others he is shouted down by the "Don't ruin a good thing! There's nothing to see here!" Crowd who don't like uncomfortable realities. All so they can continue to exist in their bubble of ignorance and situational obliviousness.
Here's another article that touches on this same subject, that is met with the same brand of resistance by a sub-sect of white male gamers:
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/
@Megabyte
Ask yourself, "why" there has been a need for separated groups/events. Here's a hint:
The culprit has been the same one behind the motivation for every other "special interest group" that's different from it to separate. (Well...a small (but effective enough number of them.)
Here's another hint:
Read the 3rd to 5th words in JZFeb's title.
