Taking a Stance
I tend to "pop" into culturally relevant things a tad too late for my liking, and for the most point it's a matter of choice and not ignorance. When people take up arms either for or against something, other people are inclined to make assumptions about that person's position even before they make assumptions about that person, especially if the person is a minority. Automatically the stance taken is one assumed typical of that type of person: a gamer will defend his games, a black will defend their race and a gay will defend their sexual lifestyle and practices.
It's because of these stereotypes I exclude myself from general opinion; I'd rather not have the double task of defending both my statement and the stereotypes that led me to make it. Every so often, however, I come across an issue or two that really catches my eye and (try as I might... and I do try) I feel utterly compelled to give an opinion on it; usually because my reasoning for the particular opinion isn't a mainstream one and I enjoy the uncomfortable look on people's faces as I break the mold they so carefully surround themselves with.
This week I was lucky enough to find two issues that have my blood boiling, and each coincidentally deals separately with one minority trait I have, as well as one aspect of my lifestyle I hold dear.
While searching for ways to better procrastinate and not work on my website, I happened upon gametrailers.com and I took a look a one particular video, the one directly below you.
I'm wondering what the initial feelings anyone reading this may have, because I must admit that coming across this, it was the second time I had seen the video, and I didn't have the reactions toward it either time that this guy had. N'Gai Croal of Newsweek was particularly disturbed by the imagery presented in the video, as it shows a buff white man (Chris Redfield, for those in the know) killing hoards of shady looking (and in some cases, violent) people who sometimes turn into zombies. He states that, given the history of Africans, Somalians and Blacks this game is very racist.
Now, I always get very tense whenever someone decides to do anything with African Americans or people of color in general. Earlier this week the New York Times received a wave of backlash from a political cartoon that many claimed was overtly racist at most, utterly tasteless at best. I'm trying to abstain from an actual opinion on this one, so I'll let the cartoon speak for itself, but I find the whole mess pretty disconcerting for two reasons I'll touch upon later. It seems to me that people of color and their portrayal in any form of media is always lorded by some sort of elephant in the room that makes any appearance at all seem strained and forced; blacks just can't act black because someone is going to throw a hissy fit over it, so producers make blacks (and other people of color) little more than accessories that do nothing but acknowledge the existence of races other than "white". People like Al Sharpton have contributed the most to this, and I have to wonder if, as much as people from his generation tout that younger people from my generation know nothing of the struggles of our ancestors, do they truly understand that anymore themselves?
Rarely are blacks ever seen united anymore unless they're protesting something, which creates an aura of fear for anyone who wants to use black people in their media because in the back of their mind they're having this conversation in their head:
"I'd like to have this character be African American, but what if people think I'm stereotyping and protest? Better take out his speaking parts so no one gets offended."
BAM! Another useless and utterly generic character of color is created in media, and I'm once again left without a black character I can relate to. With all of that said, it's no surprise to me that someone would take offense to blacks being portrayed as shifty-eyed ne'r do wellers who turn into zombies, and it should also come as no surprise that I took absolutely no offense to the people being black, if for no other reason than the fact that blacks have been cannon fodder in movies, comics and games for years. At least they have a decently appropriate reason now.
I also just don't take the stance that everything that has blacks portrayed as anything other than cop-hating-rappers is bad. With the litany of zombie videogames out there, it's about time that someone proves that blacks can be zombies too. Digging further, I also like that someone went all out and decided that killing blacks in a videogame doesn't make them necessarily racist; the main character just happens to be in an area with black zombies. And seriously, the game is about trying to survive as hoards of people come at you with every blunt object they can find; I'm not about to take offense if I have to shoot or run over them to get to the ending cinematic.
Rev. Al Sharpton will tell you that it's that type of thinking that proves I'm in the dark about black struggles, but I'm pretty sure that my type of thinking is what's needed to get blacks out of the chasm that makes them feel entitled to bring that up every few minutes. If blacks don't stop thinking that everything in the world is some sort of racist comment, then how is the rest of the world ever going to stop being afraid of doing anything other than stereotyping?
But a lot of blacks have problems with acknowledging that, just as they have trouble admitting that other classes and races of people have been unjustly persecuted in the past; as though civil rights don't also apply to Jews, Mexicans or Gays. Which is why I'm sure my grandmother will tell me our pastor is in support of Kentucky's senate bill 68, the other topic I feel i need to discuss.
Senate bill 68 was proposed by our very own Sen. Gary Tapp (R), who decided that in the midst of a financial crisis we should focus our efforts upon eliminating the gay threat to children in need of homes. Even taken from a purely practical standpoint I would be against it, as this bill would prevent me from being able to adopt my siblings and their children in the most unfortunate of circumstances purely because I'm living with my boyfriend. That's right... even straight people should fear this one. But that's not really the main reason I took up arms against it.
I would really be interested in seeing data that substantiates the need to create an exclusionary act on adoptions based solely on marital status. As I've yet to see any sort of response from the state senator who proposed it, I'm assuming that there is none. Rarely do I see laws or bills that upset me, but this bill angers me outright. As a gay man who intends to adopt at 27 or 28, this hits me close to home because the only thing I can do to get around this (if the bill passes) is to move to another state, which I very well might do once the dust settles on this one. And while it sucks that this bill will probably pass, it's even worse that this bill will probably pass thanks to (in some small way) the efforts of "concerned" blacks who still stubbornly refuse to admit that gay rights and civil rights equal the same thing: equal rights for all.
This is coming from a gay black man who's parents are probably in support of this bill, just as they voted to ban gay marriage in this wonderful state, so I guess I'm a bit jaded anyway. I'm perplexed as to why gays and blacks mix like water and oil, especially when you throw a black gay into the mix. I won't often mix politics with my blogging, but if you feel compelled to do something about this, you can go here and voice your protest to the people who matter. I know I will be.
Edit: A news report about the bill can be seen on WLKY's website if you'd like to see the points both sides are making about this.
...
So enough of my soapbox antics. I'm going to get back to procrastinating in a way that allows me to not do any work. Plus, I have a LOT of gaming to catch up on. Gonna be a busy weekend.
Later
It's because of these stereotypes I exclude myself from general opinion; I'd rather not have the double task of defending both my statement and the stereotypes that led me to make it. Every so often, however, I come across an issue or two that really catches my eye and (try as I might... and I do try) I feel utterly compelled to give an opinion on it; usually because my reasoning for the particular opinion isn't a mainstream one and I enjoy the uncomfortable look on people's faces as I break the mold they so carefully surround themselves with.
This week I was lucky enough to find two issues that have my blood boiling, and each coincidentally deals separately with one minority trait I have, as well as one aspect of my lifestyle I hold dear.
While searching for ways to better procrastinate and not work on my website, I happened upon gametrailers.com and I took a look a one particular video, the one directly below you.
I'm wondering what the initial feelings anyone reading this may have, because I must admit that coming across this, it was the second time I had seen the video, and I didn't have the reactions toward it either time that this guy had. N'Gai Croal of Newsweek was particularly disturbed by the imagery presented in the video, as it shows a buff white man (Chris Redfield, for those in the know) killing hoards of shady looking (and in some cases, violent) people who sometimes turn into zombies. He states that, given the history of Africans, Somalians and Blacks this game is very racist.
Now, I always get very tense whenever someone decides to do anything with African Americans or people of color in general. Earlier this week the New York Times received a wave of backlash from a political cartoon that many claimed was overtly racist at most, utterly tasteless at best. I'm trying to abstain from an actual opinion on this one, so I'll let the cartoon speak for itself, but I find the whole mess pretty disconcerting for two reasons I'll touch upon later. It seems to me that people of color and their portrayal in any form of media is always lorded by some sort of elephant in the room that makes any appearance at all seem strained and forced; blacks just can't act black because someone is going to throw a hissy fit over it, so producers make blacks (and other people of color) little more than accessories that do nothing but acknowledge the existence of races other than "white". People like Al Sharpton have contributed the most to this, and I have to wonder if, as much as people from his generation tout that younger people from my generation know nothing of the struggles of our ancestors, do they truly understand that anymore themselves?
Rarely are blacks ever seen united anymore unless they're protesting something, which creates an aura of fear for anyone who wants to use black people in their media because in the back of their mind they're having this conversation in their head:
"I'd like to have this character be African American, but what if people think I'm stereotyping and protest? Better take out his speaking parts so no one gets offended."
BAM! Another useless and utterly generic character of color is created in media, and I'm once again left without a black character I can relate to. With all of that said, it's no surprise to me that someone would take offense to blacks being portrayed as shifty-eyed ne'r do wellers who turn into zombies, and it should also come as no surprise that I took absolutely no offense to the people being black, if for no other reason than the fact that blacks have been cannon fodder in movies, comics and games for years. At least they have a decently appropriate reason now.
I also just don't take the stance that everything that has blacks portrayed as anything other than cop-hating-rappers is bad. With the litany of zombie videogames out there, it's about time that someone proves that blacks can be zombies too. Digging further, I also like that someone went all out and decided that killing blacks in a videogame doesn't make them necessarily racist; the main character just happens to be in an area with black zombies. And seriously, the game is about trying to survive as hoards of people come at you with every blunt object they can find; I'm not about to take offense if I have to shoot or run over them to get to the ending cinematic.
Rev. Al Sharpton will tell you that it's that type of thinking that proves I'm in the dark about black struggles, but I'm pretty sure that my type of thinking is what's needed to get blacks out of the chasm that makes them feel entitled to bring that up every few minutes. If blacks don't stop thinking that everything in the world is some sort of racist comment, then how is the rest of the world ever going to stop being afraid of doing anything other than stereotyping?
But a lot of blacks have problems with acknowledging that, just as they have trouble admitting that other classes and races of people have been unjustly persecuted in the past; as though civil rights don't also apply to Jews, Mexicans or Gays. Which is why I'm sure my grandmother will tell me our pastor is in support of Kentucky's senate bill 68, the other topic I feel i need to discuss.
Senate bill 68 was proposed by our very own Sen. Gary Tapp (R), who decided that in the midst of a financial crisis we should focus our efforts upon eliminating the gay threat to children in need of homes. Even taken from a purely practical standpoint I would be against it, as this bill would prevent me from being able to adopt my siblings and their children in the most unfortunate of circumstances purely because I'm living with my boyfriend. That's right... even straight people should fear this one. But that's not really the main reason I took up arms against it.
I would really be interested in seeing data that substantiates the need to create an exclusionary act on adoptions based solely on marital status. As I've yet to see any sort of response from the state senator who proposed it, I'm assuming that there is none. Rarely do I see laws or bills that upset me, but this bill angers me outright. As a gay man who intends to adopt at 27 or 28, this hits me close to home because the only thing I can do to get around this (if the bill passes) is to move to another state, which I very well might do once the dust settles on this one. And while it sucks that this bill will probably pass, it's even worse that this bill will probably pass thanks to (in some small way) the efforts of "concerned" blacks who still stubbornly refuse to admit that gay rights and civil rights equal the same thing: equal rights for all.
This is coming from a gay black man who's parents are probably in support of this bill, just as they voted to ban gay marriage in this wonderful state, so I guess I'm a bit jaded anyway. I'm perplexed as to why gays and blacks mix like water and oil, especially when you throw a black gay into the mix. I won't often mix politics with my blogging, but if you feel compelled to do something about this, you can go here and voice your protest to the people who matter. I know I will be.
Edit: A news report about the bill can be seen on WLKY's website if you'd like to see the points both sides are making about this.
...
So enough of my soapbox antics. I'm going to get back to procrastinating in a way that allows me to not do any work. Plus, I have a LOT of gaming to catch up on. Gonna be a busy weekend.
Later
Labels: Adoption, Blacks, Gay, Resident Evil, Videogames
posted by Houston at
10:31 AM
2 Comments:
You dont really know me but I was in a couple of your drwing classes and I was just browsing fellow students blogs. I just want to add my two cents about your blog on the zombies in Resident Evil 5. I have never tried to be racist in my life but know that I have been. Sometimes I dont know, because I dont know what is like to be black, so I can never fully understand. Its things like this zombie issue that Ie question if Im being racist and dont know it. For example, I am working on a piece in printmaking of a black woman possessed by a loa(spirit) who is the representation of zombism. I am a zombie freak, so Ive done my research. But, the whole idea of a zombie came from a religion called voudon, or voodoo, which originated in Haiti which involves mostly black people and that is why I chose a black woman to represent this and Im thinking this is why they chose black people to represent the zombie like people in the game. I dont think its a racist concept but maybe they are trying to be true to the history of the zombie ( which is skewed anyway in america). The one thing I could see about it being racist is that they could have had the hero be black as well, for all the women out there why not a black woman. In a way its always going to be something. I think people should pick their battles honestly. I loved Resident Evil 4 btw, but anyway, I hope noone is offended, I was speaking on behalf of a cultural religion and it's history.
I actually was agreeing with what you said, lol. I hope my rant didn't come off as me supporting this, as I feel (as you do) that people should pick and choose their battles wisely. There is actually an issue quite similar to this one going on at our school right now, where the "race card" was used, in my opinion, needlessly and in a way that alienated the true victims. I hope you continue reading!
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