Night_Trekker
Member
legend166 said:Can someone explain the black people like watermelon stereotype? I don't understand that at all.
Most stereotypes don't make any sense when you really think about them.
For the record, I love watermelon!
legend166 said:Can someone explain the black people like watermelon stereotype? I don't understand that at all.
Joystiq isn't banned any more.Zzoram said:I have no idea why Kotaku isn't banned but Joystq is, considering that Kotaku is by far the worse of the two.
I unno, ask the 1850s or whatever the fuck.legend166 said:Can someone explain the black people like watermelon stereotype? I don't understand that at all.
And worse than that, encourage people to click through and come back. What the fuck? I think you might be trying to give them more exposure, because, really, who the fuck reads Kotaku?Cyan said:If this is some stupid bullshit story intended only to generate clicks (and I'm not saying I disagree)... why even link to them?
The Kotaku link in the OP talks about your inquiry, but that's all I will say on your inquiry for I do not wish to be banned.antispin said:I hate to sound naive here -- not from the US and first time I heard this word -- but what's the watermelon connect here? Is watermelon another stereotype associated with a particular group of people?
birdman said:All I can say is that I never even heard the term until I saw it mentioned on Kotaku today.
Just one man's opinion...Jonnyram said:But all I am reading is the text in children's books. Jesus.
And if you want to talk about racial stereotypes, try raising a couple of white kids in Japan. Don't give me your judgemental shit.
Warren Ellis said:i don't understand this.. why search the dictionary of a game to find racist terms ?
birdman said:All I can say is that I never even heard the term until I saw it mentioned on Kotaku today.
Warren Ellis said:i don't understand this.. why search the dictionary of a game to find racist terms ?
To find something to bitch and moan about. All it takes is one little blemish to ruin anything, if the populace wants it bad enough. Fuck that, it's not even the populace! While it can be the populace, all it takes is just one little blemish and one bad egg! I am not talking about this issue specifically, I am talking in general of course.Warren Ellis said:i don't understand this.. why search the dictionary of a game to find racist terms ?
Also yummy! As is fried chicken and grape juice. "Black people have good taste" stereotype unlocked!Son of Godzilla said:I unno, ask the 1850s or whatever the fuck.
It's cheap food? Easy to grow? Who the fuck knows.
And worse than that, encourage people to click through and come back. What the fuck? I think you might be trying to give them more exposure, because, really, who the fuck reads Kotaku?
Roto13 said:Joystiq isn't banned any more.
If someone makes a "Why Kotaku Sucks" thread, I'll be all over it.
pakkit said:Watermelons are an African fruit that came across in the slave trade.
Yeah, I can definitely see how it would be a little shocking to someone who stumbled across it.pakkit said:I think the dude happed upon it and, ignorant of the other definition, passed the story along. Don't give him a hard time, having been hassled for reporting religious issues in games I can definitely relate to the guy.
Doesn't seem to reaaaaaally big when half the Americans in this thread haven't even heard of the term.Tiktaalik said:Yeah that's an unfortunate coincidence but man that's a reaaaaally big oversight.
Sucks that you even had to use your last game as a defense against this bullshit, sadly.Jackson said:I wasn't very happy when I told them that our last game we made "Lock's Quest" had a black guy as Lock's best friend who was the lead support character in the story.
But for some reason they refused to quote me on that point. Why? Not sure, Joystiq did, that smacks of sensationalism to me. Probably because it would undermine the whole racism point.
To be honest, I like Stephen a lot, but I don't know Ashcraft from Adam. But I thought that was kinda messed up they refused to take my quote about our last game.
Fredescu said:Doesn't seem to reaaaaaally big when half the Americans in this thread haven't even heard of the term.
That is fucked up. Not only that, but the fact that you even had to bring up your last game, as antispin said, is pure bullshit. Kotaku, for shame. They might as well not even interviewed you, maybe it's not the correct word, but it stinks of cowardice on their part.Jackson said:I wasn't very happy when I told them that our last game we made "Lock's Quest" had a black guy as Lock's best friend who was the lead support character in the story.
But for some reason they refused to quote me on that point. Why? Not sure, Joystiq did, that smacks of sensationalism to me. Probably because it would undermine the whole racism point.
To be honest, I like Stephen a lot, but I don't know Ashcraft from Adam. But I thought that was kinda messed up they refused to take my quote about our last game.
Fredescu said:Doesn't seem to reaaaaaally big when half the Americans in this thread haven't even heard of the term.
Ca1amity said:Secondly, and more to the discussion end of things, the majority of this piece is spent explaining a uniquely American appropriation of a word (one that has passed out of common verbiage) and why, because it offended in America, it is offensive.
As a non-American, I have a real difficulty with pieces that purport to 'expose' or 'educate' on these matters universally when they are doing so from an American focused perspective.
Obviously this isnt the first time (see: "clearly no one black worked on this game") and we all do it from time to time. But, I'm wondering how we can purport to enjoy an international hobby, have global developers and a (generally speaking) multicultural take on things and then get caught up in American hand-wringing worrying over offense, or even worse, people digging around to find something offensive.
Why arent more developers able to say "No, here in Japan no one considered your nations particular history with slavery when making our zombie game. We just made a zombie game. Play it, discuss it from every angle, but dont try to paint us for what comes out of it" or "Yes, the song does use quotes from the Quran - it does so with respect and in aide of creating a beautiful sound. We stand behind our developers choice."
Why do we as consumers allow this petty shit to continue? Is there even anything we can do about it?
Washington State-based developer 5th Cell said in the game the word sambo refers not to the racial term but to the Spanish term for a fig leaf gourd that resembles a watermelon.
Slaczka said that the word was included in Scribblenauts because it is an ingredient of the Ecuadorian dish Fancesca, which is listed, on Wikipedia, as including a "figleaf gourd," or "sambo." A Google image search of the term "figleaf gourd" produces an image that looks like a watermelon. Slaczka said that it is common to use the same image for multiple words in Scribblenauts and that that is the reason a word meant to depict a figleaf gourd appears to be a watermelon.
Fredescu said:Doesn't seem to reaaaaaally big when half the Americans in this thread haven't even heard of the term.
Tiktaalik said:Ignorance isn't really an excuse. If you're going to put a word in the game you should know what it is. Look up "sambo" in wikipedia and you don't get any hits about figs.
When he joined Kotaku, I tweeted about how someone like him doesn't belong in a crappy blog like that and Nick Denton started following me on Twitter.Rez said:hope you're proud of yourself Totilo
:lolA Black Falcon said:So overall, how do we know that they are telling the truth when they say that it was a complete accident?
That "leaked" (re: ninja'd by a hacker) list isn't a complete list of words in the game.Tiktaalik said:If you actually want to have a discussion about race in Scribblenauts someone should ask why apparently[1] the words "Native American", "American Eskimo", and "Eskimo" are in the game but "Jew", "Asian" or "African American" aren't. It's a shame, but I suppose it shouldn't be surprising considering the near invisible status of American Indians in American society, and their continued status as sports team caricatures.
[1] going from the leaked list, since I don't have the game myself.
MidnightScott said:I tried to warn Ashcraft, but he doesn't listen. :S
It's a type of gourd, which looks a lot like a watermelon. It makes sense that it uses the same sprite. It truly is an unfortunate coincidence, but I think it is foolish to consider it anything more.A Black Falcon said:... It draws a watermelon when someone writes "sambo"? Seriously? Yeah, I quite agree with the article that it's nearly impossible to imagine any situation where that isn't racist... wow, that is pretty bad.
A Black Falcon said:... It draws a watermelon when someone writes "sambo"? Seriously? Yeah, I quite agree with the article that it's nearly impossible to imagine any situation where that isn't racist... wow, that is pretty bad.
The word "Sambo" isn't inherently racist, no. It has been used as a slur, but that isn't the only thing it means. But having it make a watermelon... that is racist, without question. I know they have an excuse, but accurate or not it's not a very good one.
If that's true then they just really weren't paying attention. I mean, not realizing the implications and what that image looked like? Not smart... they should have known better. I've never heard of any other definition other than the story (Little Black Sambo) and the racist ways the name was used, certainly. I find it very hard to believe that no one there responsible knew... it's possible, but seems pretty unlikely. Unless there wasn't enough oversight about which words went into the dictionary and what pictures they formed? But I'd think there'd have to be, so that explanation doesn't make sense.
So overall, how do we know that they are telling the truth when they say that it was a complete accident? I mean, yeah, whoever put it there probably did only mean the food ingredient or whatever... but how can you be absolutely sure? It just opens them up to a lot of questions that should never have had to have been raised.
Being ignorant about the law does not mean you don't have to follow it... same applies here. And it is a very well known term.
EazyB said:Sorry if this has been explained but I've only read the OP: Is there any other use for the word that better explains why a watermelon pops up other than playing on a racist stereotype? Someone obviously went in there and programmed the game accept that word and respond this way so it's hard to call it a mistake. Disregarding Kotaku sensationalism and the internet's popular response of getting offending by someone calling out racism, it seems kinda fucked up the game does this at all.
I live in the south and I really haven't heard/seen that word used negatively since I was a kid. Even when I saw it today in the game I had forgotten that it was ever a racial thing. I don't think it's logical for a dev to research every single word that appears in their game on the offchance that unbeknownst to them it might have a racial context. Especially a game like Scribblenauts which is pretty much a handheld dictionary.Tiktaalik said:Ignorance isn't really an excuse. If you're going to put a word in the game you should know what it is. Look up "sambo" in wikipedia and you don't get any hits about figs.
Cyan said:If this is some stupid bullshit story intended only to generate clicks (and I'm not saying I disagree)... why even link to them?