Probably A Bad Idea

So, orc racism post. I've got three things here, but first, I want to make it clear that I haven't really been involved in this debate before. It's probably pointless for me to get involved, because the grog side has already dug in their heels and committed to bad faith, but I just wanted to get this out there because holy shit the "everything I like is perfect and the communists are trying to censor me" side is really bad at arguing. People have definitely pointed this out already, but the three ways I'm going to look at it here are ways that I haven't seen anyone approach their arguments before (probably because said arguments aren't really worth dedicating this much thought to, and because the people making them aren't going to listen anyway). But here goes.  

1. Three Questions 

My first thing is a series of three questions for the people who respond to criticism of the "always chaotic evil"/"savage race"/etc trope with "if you think orcs represent black people, that makes you the real racist!". This is very stupid, but I'm going to try and take it seriously here. So, if you've made that argument, I pose these three questions to you. 

Question One: Which of the following qualities, traits, and labels have racist establishments historically used to stereotype nonwhite people and cultures? 

• Less intelligent than "normal" humans 

• Savage and inherently violent

• Technologically and culturally primitive 

• Subhuman

• Worship demons or other malevolent powers

• Cannot be reasoned with

• Physically ugly

• Inherently dangerous to "normal" humans 

• Tribal

• Corrupt and degenerate 

• Brutal and merciless

• Cannibalistic 

• Associated with spiritual corruption

• Sexually voracious and prone to assault

Question Two: How many of those traits apply to your typical Always Chaotic Evil pseudo-Tolkien adventurer-fodder orc? 

Question Three: Can you see why someone would draw parallels between orcs and historically othered groups based on this information, and why those parallels would be uncomfortable to some people? 

2. John K. Klansman 

So, you say you're not racist. Let's say for the purpose of this argument that you're not. You say your favorite author- Gygax, Tolkien, whoever- isn't racist. Let's say that they aren't. But you do acknowledge that racism is a thing that exists. That, while you and your idols are not racist, there are people who actually are. Let's imagine one of these people, someone you would concede would qualify as an "actual racist". A dyed-in-the-red-armband open and avowed white supremacist. What do you think this person thinks about orcs and other inherently evil subhuman monster races, and why do you think they think about them that way? Do you think they would enjoy a narrative that positions them as heroes for committing genocide, even if that genocide is against a fictional species? Do you think their enjoyment of this narrative is in any way tied to their racism? 

This is in general a very useful question when dealing with "ironic" bigotry. Ask yourself what a "real racist" or a "real sexist" or a "real pedophile" would think of what you're defending. Would they enjoy it? Would they be able to see it as validating? Say your favorite anime presents sexual assaulting teenagers as a funny running gag. You protest that of course you know that this is wrong in real life, that you would never do it. But what about someone who would? Can you not see how, when someone like that sees their behavior being presented as quirky and funny, they take it as self-justification? 

So you're only using racial stereotypes and slurs ironically. But is what you've made so close to actual racist propaganda that it could be mistaken for it? Let's look at some examples of thinhs that get it right. Watch a few episodes of Decker or Garth Marenghi's Darkplace through this lens. No actual Trump supporter is going to see Tim from On Cinema as a figure to be identified with. The alt-right is never going to embrace Jack Decker as an icon, because the show makes it absolutely clear what a hollow, pathetic fantasy he represents. 

3. The Alignment System's Potential As A Cure For Insomnia 

Imagine if you were watching TV and every character had a stack of signs above their head saying things like "I WILL BETRAY THE HERO" or "I'M GOING TO DIE BY THE END OF THIS EPISODE". It would take a lot of suspense out of it, right? That's what dealing with devils and demons in D&D has always felt like to me. If they're always inherently evil, if they'll always try to screw you over in the end, if literally all of them exist only in service of evil...then they're really fucking boring. If dealing with demons will always lead to ruin, why bother with it? Why does anyone ever trust them in the first place? The story's no fun if you can see the end from a mile away. "Lovecraftian" horror actually tends to be even worse about this, because it talks a big game about how its entities are "beyond human morality" and "distant and uncaring rather than evil", but if their sole narrative role is to harm people and ruin is the only outcome of any diplomatic or non-violent interaction with them, they're not really "cosmic". They're just Satan in a coat of green paint. 

Even if I believed in the post-racial world of the Grog, where saying "I'm not racist" automatically absolves you of racism and where fiction and reality are completely unconnected, I'd still have a huge problem with assigning a single morality or personality to an entire species. Here's something I think doesn't get talked about enough: racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia aren't just bad for social reasons, they're also fucking boring. The subhuman savage, the endless damsels in distress, the sad dead gays, the villain who's spoooooooky because they break gender norms, and so on have all been done to death and beyond. I don't read stories to be bored, and I don't play tabletop roleplaying games to be told I can't be a lizard person because they're "too savage to become adventurers" or that I can't have a devil who the party can trust because "they're all evil". 

And for shit's sake, stop listening to the churning engines of culture war outrage that tell you that any criticism of a thing means that a sinister conspiracy is trying to destroy it forever.