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[Meier]

Don't forget the grape juice!

Umm.. by juice, you certainly meant soda right? Grape soda. And orange soda too (see Undercover Brother, one of the funniest movies ever made, for reference). Duh.

 

[Dabookerman]

God dammit, I hate this age of political correctness.

I dunno how it is in America, but at least in Britain, something like this would be ignored or laughed off. Not people moaning all the time.

 

[Rollo Lawson]

Most stereotypes do come from an overgeneralization of observations of people. From what I've seen when I worked at UPS loading trucks, the black guys I worked with were more likely to get fruit flavored soda (orange was popular as well) than cola during break. So what? What does that say about them? Its like Dave Chappelle said, its not a reason to hate anyone, its just what you grow up with. I like fruit flavored soda too. I'm sure there plenty of black people who hate grape or orange drinks.

the watermelon stereotype started with slaves who brought knowledge about how to grow it with them from africa (it grew wild there). slaves were allowed to do so to feed themselves on plantations because it saved the slave owners time and money. the idea and association was spread through early film. we also brought the knowledge of rice growing, but that was a cash crop - so no credit for that one. anyway fried chicken also has roots in slavery. expendable (junk) livestock + pig fat (garbage back then, "lard" today).

the sweet drinks stereotype stems from marketing research that blacks prefer sweeter drinks/ food. grape soda specifically is a cultural thing like adobo or gifelte fish

 

[Vinci]

God dammit, I hate this age of political correctness.

I dunno how it is in America, but at least in Britain, something like this would be ignored or laughed off. Not people moaning all the time.

That's because you British folks have a fucking sense of humour.

Bolded letter just for you.

 

[Degen]

Orange Crush is the best of the orange soda variety. For or Against?

As long as orange soda isn't store-brand, I'm cool with any kind.

 

[Ranger X]

So what's the word that started this immature bullcrap? I didn't feel like reading the last 3-4 pages.

.

 

[Zerokku]

So what's the word that started this immature bullcrap? I didn't feel like reading the last 3-4 pages.

.

Sambo.

 

[poppabk]

God dammit, I hate this age of political correctness.

I dunno how it is in America, but at least in Britain, something like this would be ignored or laughed off. Not people moaning all the time.

Bollocks.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=168149

 

[Dabookerman]

Bollocks.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=168149

Well considering no where in the article is it mentioned that there have been complaints. It was Nintendo's own decision to recall the games.

So I suggest you find a better example.

Plus Spastic is a funny word.

 

[DrFunk]

God dammit, I hate this age of political correctness.

I dunno how it is in America, but at least in Britain, something like this would be ignored or laughed off. Not people moaning all the time.

The majority of racial stories are laughed off, thanks to late-nite comedians

 

[C Jones]

That's because you British folks have a fucking sense of humour.

Bolded letter just for you.

So if I find a particular image offensive it means I don't have a sense of humor? Are you serious?

 

[riskVSreward]

So if I find a particular image offensive it means I don't have a sense of humor? Are you serious?

Are you offended by the gourd?

 

[Gwanatu T]

God dammit, I hate this age of political correctness.

I dunno how it is in America, but at least in Britain, something like this would be ignored or laughed off. Not people moaning all the time.

I wish it were like that. Here in the US the media gets all up in arms over the dumbest crap. Obama gets heckled OMG RACIST RACIST RACIST MSDFNKSJNFKJ. Sambo is a watermelon RACIST RACIST RACIST JDSFN23. RE5 in Africa RACIST RACIST RACIST LKJ34N32JK4N2FSJH98F8J982JF2. Seriously people, just shut up, please!

 

[Green Mamba]

Reading this topic makes my head hurt.

 

[Flachmatuch]

God dammit, I hate this age of political correctness.

I dunno how it is in America, but at least in Britain, something like this would be ignored or laughed off. Not people moaning all the time.

Maybe true in real life, but during my five or six years on Eurogamer (a mostly British forum), my experience was that you got the same stuff, except with much fewer real opinions and much more bandwagon jumping. This forum always has a much wider range of opinions and much more actual thinking. This is of course probably not representative, but then maybe Gaf isn't representative of the US either

 

[Dabookerman]

The majority of racial stories are laughed off, thanks to late-nite comedians

It's not even racial stuff. It's anything really.

 

[dojokun]

Bottom line: If you don't like it, don't buy the game. No one is forcing anyone to buy this game.

 

[ultron87]

Well considering no where in the article is it mentioned that there have been complaints. It was Nintendo's own decision to recall the games.

So I suggest you find a better example.

Plus Spastic is a funny word.

Spastic is offensive in the UK?

*looks up wikipedia*

Wow, you learn something new every day. Though I guess I can see how it could be seen as offensive.

 

[RedNumberFive]

Reading this topic makes my head hurt.

Green Mamba, you officially have the best avatar ever!

 

[firex]

Well... I guess Jackson needs to apologize to Jesse Jackson now.

 

[gkryhewy]

If this actually gets picked up by news outlets outside the enthusiast web press, it would be enormously beneficial for this game's broader visibility.

I encourage everyone to get as outraged as possible -- send emails to Ed Shultz!

 

[woodypop]

the watermelon stereotype started with slaves who brought knowledge about how to grow it with them from africa (it grew wild there). slaves were allowed to do so to feed themselves on plantations because it saved the slave owners time and money. the idea and association was spread through early film. we also brought the knowledge of rice growing, but that was a cash crop - so no credit for that one. anyway fried chicken also has roots in slavery. expendable (junk) livestock + pig fat (garbage back then, "lard" today).

the sweet drinks stereotype stems from marketing research that blacks prefer sweeter drinks/ food. grape soda specifically is a cultural thing like adobo or gifelte fish

Thanks for the info. I didn't know the origins of those stereotypes. Very interesting.

 

[Dabookerman]

Spastic is offensive in the UK?

*looks up wikipedia*

Wow, you learn something new every day. Though I guess I can see how it could be seen as offensive.

Spastic = Retard. So there you go.

Fanny here means Vagina.

Willy means Penis.

Wee means Piss.

When Nintendo first announced the name as Wii, everyone thought it was a dumb name. We thought it was Nintendo taking the Piss (<--------SEE WHAT I DID THERE !!!!!!!!! HOLY SHIT!)

 

[SmokyDave]

That's because you British folks have a fucking sense of humour.

Bolded letter just for you.

<3

Bolded heart just for you.

 

[C Jones]

Are you offended by the gourd?

I was generaly speaking, as I'm not really offended by the Scribblenauts thing. I own the game, and now that the creators explained themselves I'm ok with it.

I just, like some others have said, find it a little disturbing that some people seem to think we should just brush stuff off without questioning it, or stop being "too sensitive".

 

[riskVSreward]

Spastic = Retard. So there you go.

Fanny here means Vagina.

Willy means Penis.

Wee means Piss.

When Nintendo first announced the name as Wii, everyone thought it was a dumb name. We thought it was Nintendo taking the Piss (<--------SEE WHAT I DID THERE !!!!!!!!! HOLY SHIT!)

You're quite the bugger, you are!

 

[poppabk]

Well considering no where in the article is it mentioned that there have been complaints. It was Nintendo's own decision to recall the games.

So I suggest you find a better example.

Plus Spastic is a funny word.

Ubisoft had to move quickly to withdraw PSP and DS game Mind Quiz following complaints over the appearance of "super spastic", a label given to players performing poorly in the game.

From the article.

 

[Stumpokapow]

I wish it were like that. Here in the US the media gets all up in arms over the dumbest crap. Obama gets heckled OMG RACIST RACIST RACIST MSDFNKSJNFKJ. Sambo is a watermelon RACIST RACIST RACIST JDSFN23. RE5 in Africa RACIST RACIST RACIST LKJ34N32JK4N2FSJH98F8J982JF2. Seriously people, just shut up, please!

He wasn't racist because he heckled obama, he was racist because he commented that a black woman should not have outed herself as the daughter of a noted segregationist because it diminishes the man's legacy and also because he voted to keep the confederate flag.

Clyburn's allegation wasn't that wilson was a racist because he heckled Obama, it was that he heckled Obama because he has a long history of being a racist.

OH WAIT PC OUT OF CONTROL!!!!!! AMERICA RAN BY SISSY GIRLS!!!!

 

[riskVSreward]

I was generaly speaking, as I'm not really offended by the Scribblenauts thing. I own the game, and now that the creators explained themselves I'm ok with it.

I just, like some others have said, find it a little disturbing that some people seem to think we should just brush stuff off without questioning it, or stop being "too sensitive".

Well he did say "something like this," and not "anything at all remotely racist." Is anyone here really offended that the word "sambo" summons it's literal meaning in a video game? If so, there's a good case towards them being a bit "too sensitive."

 

[stupei]

But by people attempting to take the words back - or whatever it's being called - they've made it impossible to consider any word inherently bad and something deserving of punishment for using it because you don't know why it was used. Motive becomes the focal point at this time, IMO.

First of all, you don't seem to really understand reclamation of language. If a gay male chooses to call himself a fag as a form of self-empowerment, that does not then mean that a homophobic person calling him a fag is no longer hateful. Intent is obviously important in that instance, and perhaps that is your entire point.

But a gay person using the word "fag" is obviously familiar with its history and is making a deliberate choice in use of language. There is nothing unintended or subconscious. It's a clear demonstration of understanding of the power of language.

Someone who unintentionally says something with racist connotations is not empowering or using language with a full understanding of its force and impact. That person isn't inherently a bad person and I don't know where you're getting "punishment" from. They're uninformed of the impact of their chosen words. They have a right to be informed that language can, in fact, be "racist" or racially loaded without the individual being a racist.

For all the talk that comes up of people looking for things to get up in arms about, it always seems to me that the most defensive people in these discussions are those who break out in a rash at the mere mention of the dreaded R-word and start hurling insults the second it's brought up. If I'm to believe the majority on GAF, anyone who is aware of how their words might impact others or are affected by language because of personal experience is a whiny cry-baby liar who is actively seeking a chance to be upset and hurt and they are the childish and stunted ones, pay no attention to the head's buried in the sand.

 

[Dabookerman]

I was generaly speaking, as I'm not really offended by the Scribblenauts thing. I own the game, and now that the creators explained themselves I'm ok with it.

I just, like some others have said, find it a little disturbing that some people seem to think we should just brush stuff off without questioning it, or stop being "too sensitive".

True to an extent.

Say if I was black, and someone said "You should die nigger", then i would be offended.

But if they said, "You blacks and your chicken".. I have to be honest. I would laugh.
Stuff like that are silly and harmless I think. In this day people shouldn't need to get upset at what is essentially non violent jokes or whatever. As long as they ain't threatening or bordering discrimination, then I don't see the fuss.

 

[poppabk]

Spastic is offensive in the UK?

*looks up wikipedia*

Wow, you learn something new every day. Though I guess I can see how it could be seen as offensive.

When I was a kid it was simultaneously the official name of the charity and accepted name for the disease and a derogatory term, although "spacca" was the preferred derogatory variation in my neck of the woods.

 

[Dabookerman]

From the article.

I want to know how many complaints there were. Because I am sure there were few.

And to be honest, the majority of complaints stem from old people. Or whatever. The majority of british do not complain. Well not on the same extent that they seem to do in the US.

On Top Gear, they get complaints, it seems, every episode! From truckers being accused of being whore killers. But Top Gear take the piss out of these people. It's like that all the time.

 

[stupei]

Can someone compose a list of how many people in this thread (or anywhere in the blog posts) have said they are actually offended and want the game to be changed and compare it with the seemingly much larger group of people who are offended at the mere idea that other people are offended?

I mean, are people basing their outrage over Evil Political Correctness on something people are actually saying, or do they just make that assumption because the word "race" is in the subject line? (Surely the outrage isn't over stupid shit on Kotaku. Surely.)

 

[markatisu]

That is complete crap, its like the Janet Jackson nipple thing. When people are told something is bad they jump by the boatload to cry about it.

Fuck kotaku for running such an awful story instead of just letting it die as it should

 

[jrricky]

So I left this thread to go to sleep expecting to get up and this would be buried, but instead I come back and it is now 12 pages long, I see Totilo defending this shit of an article, and idiot people who know nothing of the game keep distorting the developer's intentions. Why can't this just be dropped now; the game brings up a fig leaf gourd when the word is typed in, there is nothing more to look into for that, NOTHING...

 

[Xenon]

Wow this is some obscure stuff. Maybe Microsoft should think of adding a politically correctness checker for Word 2010.

 

[riskVSreward]

Fuck kotaku for running such an awful story instead of just letting it die as it should

That's my main issue here, they made a controversy out of nothing. Honestly, I never hated on Kotaku as much as the average Gaffer, but now I do. Especially considering Totilo felt the need to come here and defend the sensationalist tripe it really was. 5th Cell don't deserve this type of press, even if the average person could tell right away that it's bollocks.

 

[C Jones]

True to an extent.

Say if I was black, and someone said "You should die nigger", then i would be offended.

But if they said, "You blacks and your chicken".. I have to be honest. I would laugh.
Stuff like that are silly and harmless I think. In this day people shouldn't need to get upset at what is essentially non violent jokes or whatever. As long as they ain't threatening or bordering discrimination, then I don't see the fuss.

I guess this is where the difference lies - it's impossible for me to say with any certainty that "if I was race/nationality X, Y wouldn't offend me". I can't make that leap. I can't say that if I was of Native American decent I wouldn't give a shit about the Redskins logo. Maybe I wouldn't, maybe I would, I don't know. I just can't make that leap because I'm just not Native American, so it's impossible for me to tell.

I guess for other's it's easy to make that leap in logic. I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm just saying I can't think along those lines. So therefor most of the time I don't really question someone's right to be offended, especially if I'm not in that person's shoes.

Anyway, as a minority I'm not offended by Scribblenauts - I think intent is very important when it comes to stuff like this, and I think it's clear they weren't intending to offend. Personally I'm ok with it.

 

[Vinci]

First of all, you don't seem to really understand reclamation of language. If a gay male chooses to call himself a fag as a form of self-empowerment, that does not then mean that a homophobic person calling him a fag is no longer hateful. Intent is obviously important in that instance, and perhaps that is your entire point.

But a gay person using the word "fag" is obviously familiar with its history and is making a deliberate choice in use of language. There is nothing unintended or subconscious. It's a clear demonstration of understanding of the power of language.

But there's an unavoidable byproduct of that sort of reclamation: The more the words are used in public or through media, the more acceptable they become to people who may very well not know the original meaning or feel that it's being used in a neutral sense and is now okay to use in that manner. In my short time owning a 360, I heard many people use the "N" word and I've no doubt some were young white kids who genuinely felt they were using it appropriately; ie. not as a racial attack but as a way of speaking to friends or teammates, whatever.

Someone who unintentionally says something with racist connotations is not empowering or using language with a full understanding of its force and impact. That person isn't inherently a bad person and I don't know where you're getting "punishment" from. They're uninformed of the impact of their chosen words. They have a right to be informed that language can, in fact, be "racist" or racially loaded without the individual being a racist.

You don't think that what Kotaku is doing is negative to 5th Cell and its product? I'd say 5th Cell is being outed for punishment or criticism when I don't think anyone believes they were intending anything by the word's inclusion in the game. It's one thing to say, "Hey, you should probably know that 'sambo' can mean this," and quite another to write the article they did. It's unreasonable to assume that every single person born after a certain point is fully informed on the possibly meanings or slang meanings of every word.

 

[DCharlie]

yeah, the sad thing is an exciting new game is being lost in a sea of moronic quacking.

 

[Zep]

Say if I was black

Please.

stfu

 

[Skiptastic]

Spastic = Retard. So there you go.

Fanny here means Vagina.

Willy means Penis.

Wee means Piss.

When Nintendo first announced the name as Wii, everyone thought it was a dumb name. We thought it was Nintendo taking the Piss (<--------SEE WHAT I DID THERE !!!!!!!!! HOLY SHIT!)

Jesus, why don't you guys learn to speak English over there?

 

[riskVSreward]

First of all, you don't seem to really understand reclamation of language. If a gay male chooses to call himself a fag as a form of self-empowerment, that does not then mean that a homophobic person calling him a fag is no longer hateful. Intent is obviously important in that instance, and perhaps that is your entire point.

 

["God's Beard!"]

:lol awesome, and here's the performance for those behind the curve

Grape Drink-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuTjQLfU6Gk

 

[Dabookerman]

Please.

stfu

Haha. See what I mean.

Jesus, why don't you guys learn to speak English over there?

I'm sorry. We invented English.

 

[Flying_Phoenix]

This is a hilarious thread.

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

So now we are holding people accountable for the proper usage of words? In a game that specifically searches for a approximation of words it doesn't have an exact match on?

I guess the sky isn't the limit for the paranoia of political correctness.


next up: God accused of racism!
(because if an intelligent designer of a complex system is accountable for the users end result then God would have to be accountable as well, wouldn't he?)

 

[Blast Processing]

so um... that's basically the end of this surely?

So, if I'm following this correctly, inputting "sambo" into Scribblenauts generates a picture of a sambo, AKA fig-leaf gourd.

"Sambo" also happens to the name of a stereotypical depiction of a little black boy, and coincidentally, the picture in the game of the sambo (fig-leaf gourd) looks kind of like a watermelon, though the picture of the watermelon is a different picture.

There is a stereotype that black people all love watermelon.

Therefore, racism is present.


I'll leave it to you, the intrepid reader, to find the HUGE MOTHERFUCKING INCONGRUOUS LEAP IN LOGIC.

 

[impirius]

Background: I'm familiar with both the racist and wrestling uses of "sambo".

Here was my thought process on the issue:

• I saw the "Scribblenauts Racism! Breaking!" headline, clicked into the thread, and found the original article.
  
• I read that typing "sambo" in Scribblenauts brings up what looks like a watermelon and looked for an explanation, since it seemed like a tasteless joke on its face with no context.
  
• I read for about thirty more seconds and learned about the meaning of "sambo" used for the game.
  
• Based on this information, I decided that 5th Cell didn't do anything wrong or malicious, although they should probably remove that dictionary word from the next run of the game to prevent any more misunderstanding.

I think I missed the part where I'm supposed to get offended. Perhaps if I'd made a snap judgment before reading 5th Cell's take on it, I'd be hesitant to change my mind after having already made a decision. Or perhaps if I'd looked at the inflammatory images in the article first (or had been called "Sambo" myself before), that would have triggered an emotional reaction.

The facts really seem to be on 5th Cell's side, but a significant amount of people here are still offended. This isn't meant to say "YOU'RE WRONG!", just that I don't understand.