February is Black History Month and thus an appropriate time for us to examine the issue of Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, and Equality in TF2 and other videogames.
TF2 has gained a reputation for being one of the more relaxed gaming communities out there, but it is not without it's ugliness. Thankfully the situation isn't nearly as bad as X-Box Live, which is about the pinnacle of FPS nastyness. This video demonstrating very NSFW language makes it quickly apparent how unwelcoming a community can be. As our community looks to grow further and strengthen itself as a place for fun and competition we need to stand up to the bigots and racists.
One of the biggest draws of Videogames is that different from traditional sport, everyone is playing on an equal field. No matter who you are, your avatar moves at the same speed and has the same capabilities as every other avatar. Unlike Basketball, if you are short you are at no disadvantage. If you have horrible cardio, the exercise freak won't be running circles around you on the Soccer field. Physical strength is not a deciding factor. Barring vision problems or hand problems, you are guaranteed of having the same shot as everyone else. This isn't a free pass to be obese, Gamers should still be physically healthy. The point is though, that video gaming has an inherent equality and is thus one of the fairest forms of competition.
It's time that we as gamers match the innate egalitarianism of videogames and welcome everyone into our game whether they are Black, Asian, Latino, Female, Gay, or Transgender.
Team Fortress has a stronger appeal to Female gamers than other FPSs. We need to make female gamers feel welcome instead of greeting them with derogatory language. Every gamer that joins our community makes us stronger. TF2's female players should be celebrated not made to feel like outcasts.
Winding up opponents with insulting talk is common in any form of competition, but there is a point where this talk crosses the line. Too often are words like Faggot and Nigger thrown around simply for their shock value with no consideration of the damage they do. Players use these words because they are looking for the easiest way to attack someone, and can't think of anything original.
Using Faggot as an insult is deeply entrenched in the gaming community. It's ironic as calling someone a Faggot is the stereotypical insult Jocks throw at geeks. Do we really need to continue the cycle of abuse by using the same insult on each other?
While many players simply shrug off the inflammatory attacks the continual use of the word Faggot is an assault on homosexual videogamers, driving them away from the community. In many of the traditional sports homosexual athletes must hide their sexual orientation for fear of being ostracized. As a niche community we cannot afford to push players away. I'm sure that a good portion of the players who insult others with the term Faggot are not actually homophobes, but the simple act of using the term propagates a homophobic culture and makes homosexual gamers uncomfortable in our community.
The use of the term Nigger is similarly inflammatory and should be viewed by gamers as completely unacceptable. Videogames are a place where all races, sexual orientations and both genders have fun together without even realizing the diversity of who they are playing with. Telling another gamer to "shut up nigger" is so exceedingly stupid that it's mind boggling. It's used because it's one of the most forbidden words in our vocabulary and because it has the largest shock value, but its use is extremely damaging to our community. Racism has caused so much destruction and damage in our world and as a global community we must move past it.
As gamers, we are all on equal ground with each other. What we know about each other is what we tell each other. How we act with one another doesn't just affect those directly involved, but also those on the periphery of the interaction. Put yourself in the shoes of an African American gamer, even if the insult was not directed at you, how would you feel seeing a gamer telling someone to "shut up nigger"?
That sort of language must be stamped out of our community and not tolerated what so ever. ESEA's League Rules contain the following paragraph: " Unsportsmanlike conduct of any type, including but not limited to racist or abusive remarks and attempts to use circumvent or abuse any league policy as determined by ESEA is not tolerated and is subject to punishments including forfeits, expulsions, bans, or any other action deemed appropriate by ESEA" I hope that ESEA and other leagues stand behind their policies, dealing swift and harsh punishment upon anyone who uses racist or homophobic language towards each other. TF2Lobby and #tf2.pug must also stand up to racists and homophobes. We cannot allow this behavior to continue simply because we don't want to look for a substitute.
I realize that the players who use these types of insults are most likely those who are young or immature, but that is exactly why the more responsible gamers among us must stand up to those players and teach them that it is unacceptable.
Its okay to talk trash, I'm not trying to stop that process. It's part of sport, it's part of competition, and it's part of joking around with opponents. However, even when talking trash goes from joking to real dislike, we need to stop the unacceptable Racist, Homophobic, and Sexist behavior.
Comments
in Starcraft, it is a universal law that when a round ends you must say gg before you leave the match. in korea, if you don't do this then you're fined by KeSPA for bad manners. outside of korea, if you don't do this then you're punished by having your rating lowered for bad manners.
the starcraft community looks very much down at bm (bad mannered) people — saying that someone is bm when they feel they aren't breaking any of the social norms there is like saying their mother is a whore and is a hell of a way to start an e-fight.
btw as a funny parallel to the conversation, have you ever heard of a Manner Pylon?there's a comedy television show in korea on OGN where the host tries to teach a girl how to play starcraft. its an inside joke.
also, this.
Think the root of the problem is that most people think they can get away with being an abusive ass (and they can). Until that is changed (getting a warning from your ISP or something along those lines), few will bother to actually be nice.
If you simply institute a policy that "the following words are banned from use," people will just come up with more inventive ways to insult each other. I think that the best thing that can be done is to encourage sportsmanlike conduct. If people are genuinely interested in playing a "good game," they'll be much less likely to spurt insults. If people are able to replace hateful insults with more constructive criticism and advice, the community will be more inviting for everyone, not just minority groups who are often the target of slurs.
While it may be true that few people specifically site offensive language as a reason for not joining the competitive community they do often complain that competitive players are assholes… it occurs to me that these may in some small way be linked. The general atmosphere of comp tf2, and tf2 in general, is clearly harmed where racial/homophobic slurs are bandied about without restriction. If we don't actively seek to do something about it then we all look bad as a result. Can we do more than we currently are? I don't know.. but I think the importance of the issue bears it being raised here.
"Don't use 'nigger' or 'faggot' because they're unaccommodating and hurtful; try to consider their point of view" is an elementary point that everyone's heard since they were children (oftentimes before they even knew what the words meant), and repeating it doesn't really accomplish anything. The article doesn't really show how widespread the problem is, what its actual effects are, the implications of putting language rules on TF2Lobby and pug games, nor what other things would need to be done to solve the problem.
While I agree that something like "shut up nigger" is hurtful and excessive, I'd have to wonder exactly how much such language has deterred prospective players (I've never heard anyone say "I would join TF2 competitively, but I find their language too offensive"), and while I'm sure that such behavior has some sort of subjective impact on whether or not people get into the community, I think that's more a problem with the fps community as a whole than our small TF2 niche. Unless you really made inoffensiveness a central focus of the TF2 scene (which would require some rather in-depth problem-solving), I don't think it would raise recruits/retentions more than doing what we're already doing.
All in all I'd say you have a good cause but need to delve into it much deeper or provide further suggestions and ideas if you want to make any meaningful points or changes.
It's also surprising that you'd get through a whole article on this topic without mentioning Muscle Milk & Moolians. :S
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