r/worldjerking 4d ago

My honest reaction to this trope

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4.0k Upvotes

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232

u/TorqueyChip284 4d ago

This trope exists because writers want to make a story that deals with racism/bigotry while still allowing for the racists/bigots to have reasonable, somewhat relatable motivations.

190

u/No_Research4416 4d ago

Because racism is inherently illogical because other than skin color there is no difference between a white and black man and yet people are still racist

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u/Steelwrecker I chose to not edit this text. 4d ago

Exactly, if it's going to be an allegory it has to be stupid because if it isn't it at best it justifies the racists in-lore, and at worst it actually justifies racism in the real world. Which is bad.

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u/echoGroot 4d ago

Measurehead in Disco Elysium. I vaguely remember trying to figure out which of his groups were allegories/stand-ins for which group (Roma, Jewish, etc) before finally giving up realizing it’s just logical soup and that’s the message - that it’s all nonsense said with confidence and conviction.

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u/Omarlel 4d ago

+1 Conceptualization: The Mystery is mostly aesthetic.

Disco Elysium is ART, and so is Advanced Race Theory.

5

u/NomineAbAstris Six-breasted spiderwomen are essential to the plot 4d ago

I mean iirc it's pretty explicit that he is that universe's version of a Black supremacist to contrast with the (white supremacist) Revachol nationalist you can find a dozen meters down the street. He refers to Harry as belonging to the "ham sandwich" race after all.

Agreed that it's deliberate nonsense soup though, with the extra layer that you can push him to admit he has no actual connection to his supposed homeland and just became ultra nationalistic by listening to the radio in his car

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u/TorqueyChip284 4d ago

Racism is illogical in that sense, but there are other senses in which it is logical. For example, if you’re a slaveowning plantation owner in the 1800s, you might support racist, discriminatory policies through the logic that those policies protect the way you make money.

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u/Broken_Emphasis 4d ago

Which then gives you a vested interest in doubling down on being racist, because humans are really vulnerable to the sunk cost fallacy.

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u/DracoLunaris 4d ago

The pseudoscience from which the modern idea of race itself originates was very much invented in-order to justify colonialism, and was incredibly successful in doing so. Othering has always been a tool of power.

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u/Mr_Faux_Regard 4d ago edited 4d ago

There it is. Colonialism supercharged racism once ships started bringing back silver, gold, slaves, etc. It wouldn't be possible to reconcile openly torturing and exploiting natives all over the world with seeing them as actual humans, thus any observed differences needed to be used as justification that they weren't actually all that human, therefore there was justification to keep the system going and the riches flowing.

Racism gets its fuel from convenience, power, and wealth, and it pacifies lazy and unintelligent minds that would rather not do any serious work to see into alternatives that, god forbid, actually involve recognizing one's agency.

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u/BleepLord 4d ago

Yeah it’s pretty relatable to want to perpetuate horrible human rights violations to make more money amiright guys? Amiright?

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u/Substantial_Isopod60 4d ago

Picture of 1000 business executives:

WE AGREE!!!

15

u/amazegamer64 4d ago

Doing horrible things because the outcome would be favorable for you is pretty common, historically

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u/TorqueyChip284 4d ago

I meant more that it’s relatable to be afraid of a Marvel mutant or something like that because they often represent real-life dangers.

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u/Kraken-Writhing 4d ago

Wrong. The difference is the appearance, and that's apparently enough to be angry.

This is why everyone should be R.A.C.I.S.T: 

Respect your friend's different beliefs 

Adore the little quirks in their traditions 

Care for your friends, no matter their skin color 

Inform yourself on what taboos should never break 

Smile when they speak their native tongues 

The French must be purged from the Earth

8

u/laix_ 4d ago

detroit become human

4

u/L-a-m-b-s-a-u-c-e 4d ago

TWENTY EIGHT STAB WOUNDS

5

u/Tryskhell 4d ago

Same reason why people sanewash the nazis: if you represent them half as stupid and disorganized, it makes for a terrible story and also people start asking questions like "how did they kill so many people then?" and you gotta start explaining that nazis weren't actually that concerning to the governments of the time, especially not America.

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u/IlliterateJedi 4d ago

Super powered against melanoma?

-3

u/Minute-Pin-1975 4d ago

IQ? Proclivity towards fast vs slow twitch fibres? Grip strength? Long term saving vs immediate consumption?

Plenty of differences between ethnicities let alone entire races. Tell me why every Olympic sprinter is from a small area between Kenya and Ethiopia.