A very well-written and thought out response to a question that we are seeing everywhere. This concept is a hard one to grasp for many of us "normal" white guys. It takes a lot of mental work and...
Exemplary
A very well-written and thought out response to a question that we are seeing everywhere.
Imagine if every time you turned on the TV or watched a movie, no one looked like you. For some of us, that’s never happened. We see ourselves constantly, so it’s hard to truly understand what not seeing yourself represented in media is like.
This concept is a hard one to grasp for many of us "normal" white guys. It takes a lot of mental work and introspection to realize that some people live a life full of totally different experiences and that things you take as universal really aren't.
For example, I had a friend when I was younger that came from a very well off family. I introduced him to some friends and at the end of the night I offered one a ride home. My wealthy friend was shocked, genuinely shocked that this person didn't own a car. In his world, a car was just something everyone had. He had no concept of someone being unable to afford something as "essential" as a car.
That's how a lot of people like the questioner think. The idea of representation isn't something that they've had to think about before. It just never occurred to them. So when they are confronted with it, they reject it as something new and different. But it isn't new and different to everyone. For some people it's just normal.
To this poster or people that share their viewpoint, the narrative that a gain for someone else is an attack on you is just not true. As I just pointed out above, you play a game all about personal choice, about players getting to choose how they play and enjoy the game. Why should life be any different than Magic?
The conclusion (quoted above) is what I try to hammer home to people who complain about these types of programs. Including someone else doesn't mean someone else has to be excluded from the circle. It just means we take a step back and add space for one more person.
I absolutely love how you put this. It's exactly right. Too many people treat it as a zero sum game, but it's really not.
Including someone else doesn't mean someone else has to be excluded from the circle. It just means we take a step back and add space for one more person.
I absolutely love how you put this. It's exactly right. Too many people treat it as a zero sum game, but it's really not.
I am a non-white person who partly grew up in North America. Although I've always supported inclusivity and accessibility, ironically I only understood its power when one particular show was...
I am a non-white person who partly grew up in North America. Although I've always supported inclusivity and accessibility, ironically I only understood its power when one particular show was authentically themed around my birth culture. I didn't expect that it would be downright ecstatic to watch.
It's hard to put into words, but I felt truly seen. Like I'm part of this society and culture, completely and not just partly. Before that, I subconsciously felt like only certain parts of me belong, and that I have to tailor myself to not emphasize the parts of me that don't fit the mainstream indicators of the culture. (For example, my skin color, mannerisms and speech patterns belonging to my "other" culture.)
All of a sudden, there were people on screen playing out their lives as I would: having a dual life where both parts were in harmony. And I remember feeling "this is normal and accepted".
I can't imagine how more potent this feels when it relates to sexuality and gender identity, for example. We all deserve to feel that sense of belonging.
I put this under ~games.tabletop but I actually think it could go in ~society or ~lgbt too, because at its core, this isn't really about games, but about what diversity, equity, and inclusion mean...
I put this under ~games.tabletop but I actually think it could go in ~society or ~lgbt too, because at its core, this isn't really about games, but about what diversity, equity, and inclusion mean and why they are important. I'm just happy that the head designer for a game that I enjoy wrote it.
A very well-written and thought out response to a question that we are seeing everywhere.
This concept is a hard one to grasp for many of us "normal" white guys. It takes a lot of mental work and introspection to realize that some people live a life full of totally different experiences and that things you take as universal really aren't.
For example, I had a friend when I was younger that came from a very well off family. I introduced him to some friends and at the end of the night I offered one a ride home. My wealthy friend was shocked, genuinely shocked that this person didn't own a car. In his world, a car was just something everyone had. He had no concept of someone being unable to afford something as "essential" as a car.
That's how a lot of people like the questioner think. The idea of representation isn't something that they've had to think about before. It just never occurred to them. So when they are confronted with it, they reject it as something new and different. But it isn't new and different to everyone. For some people it's just normal.
The conclusion (quoted above) is what I try to hammer home to people who complain about these types of programs. Including someone else doesn't mean someone else has to be excluded from the circle. It just means we take a step back and add space for one more person.
I absolutely love how you put this. It's exactly right. Too many people treat it as a zero sum game, but it's really not.
I am a non-white person who partly grew up in North America. Although I've always supported inclusivity and accessibility, ironically I only understood its power when one particular show was authentically themed around my birth culture. I didn't expect that it would be downright ecstatic to watch.
It's hard to put into words, but I felt truly seen. Like I'm part of this society and culture, completely and not just partly. Before that, I subconsciously felt like only certain parts of me belong, and that I have to tailor myself to not emphasize the parts of me that don't fit the mainstream indicators of the culture. (For example, my skin color, mannerisms and speech patterns belonging to my "other" culture.)
All of a sudden, there were people on screen playing out their lives as I would: having a dual life where both parts were in harmony. And I remember feeling "this is normal and accepted".
I can't imagine how more potent this feels when it relates to sexuality and gender identity, for example. We all deserve to feel that sense of belonging.
I put this under ~games.tabletop but I actually think it could go in ~society or ~lgbt too, because at its core, this isn't really about games, but about what diversity, equity, and inclusion mean and why they are important. I'm just happy that the head designer for a game that I enjoy wrote it.
At first, I thought the quote at the beginning was the statement from Mark Rosewater. That was a shock.
Happy to be wrong!