We're all a bit racist from time to time. It might not be overtly obvious but at some point in time, you have stereotyped someone based on their race. But wait, you've never said it out loud so you can't be a racist right?. Wrong, It's not just the physical manifestations of racism that counts . Racism is a system which involves the thoughts and ideas you use to process a person into each category of race. But don't worry, its ok to have those thoughts. Just don't go preaching them as fact ok. The phenomenon I want to touch on is how people can go from young, innocent, politically correct, 'never been racist in my life' in person to a complete racist bigot when online. I'm an avid online gamer so I'm usually exposed to ages ranging from 7 to 30ish. I can confirm that online gamers produce some of the most toxic communities in the world. Yup, that innocent 7-year-old or your 30-year-old husband gamer is a complete ass-hat when online. It can turn the best of us at times. The outbursts aren't exclusively racist, but it is frightening to hear a 7-year old call you a "useless shit N***er" just because he's better than you (I'm 24, sad face). I thought I would be the bigger person and reply. "yeah you got me good man.......Just like I did your MUM!" Boom. Yeah, I'm not proud of it but damn it felt good to say. .....Anyways let's discuss how the online world turns us into these monsters.
Group popularization
This occurs when people who share a common interest become more extreme in their positions when discussing it. With the internet, it is easier to find like-minded people. Are you a vegan? google vegan restaurants and groups. If you're into rugby, join a fan page. Are you a Nazi? well go punch yourself first, but then you can proceed to find nazi supporter groups. The internet helps connect those of common interest and from those groups come extreme views. Take the TPPA or flag debate for example. Pages were set up on social media sites to show support for, or against, it. They exploded on social media with protestors calling for John key to be removed from his position. It even went as far as death threats against him. That's pretty extreme if you ask me.
In online gaming, it's also a matter of 'if everyone else is doing it, I should too'. This makes it more acceptable to throw around those racist slurs, but with others joining in it becomes a case of who can be the most racist.
Witness Me!
Ever met a person who brags about how many likes they got on their selfie or Instagram post or how many retweets they got on their tweet and how one of those retweets was a celebrity. OMG, you're like literally famous now right.......This is all a matter of 'what can I do so people will notice me'. One way is to share the loudest, most controversial opinion you can find. Racist comments are always gonna spark conversation or reaction. For gamers, if you want to get under another player's skin then all you have to do is assume he's some minority race and shout racist slurs at him/her. I could be some white English guy (I'm Polynesian) but that 7-year old completely disregards that fact and calls me a racial slur intended for African-Americans. As mentioned earlier, it sparked my reaction but it shows how we contributed to an online culture that is desensitised towards the implications of racism. An interesting observation here is that the racial slur was not aimed to offend my race, rather its acts as a symbol of his superiority. With these racist stereotypes comes the issue of power. Racism is a sensitive subject. By stereotyping and judging with disregard to that race's customs and cultures you degrade them in return for your perceived superiority.
Anonymous: "(insert racist comment)"
This is the most obvious reason that we let those demons out of our closet. You can say whatever you want because no one knows who you are. No one will find out that you're a closet racist, or cross-dresser, or even a silly old dog. Anonymity shields us from the judgement of our real-world selves. Also, with no ownership comes no consequence. People online hide behind their aliases and avatars so they can let out that controversial thought without being targeted directly.
The competitive nature of gaming makes it so you have to be better than the other team.
If you are better than them then that gives you the right, through some unspoken rule, to belittle them. While I understand the theory behind it, it is sad to see the majority of belittling comments made through racist analogies. Yeah, that 7-year-old was better than me but it was shocking to see him make the connection of the word N***er and its use as an oppressor for an inferior player. In the end, all I can do is curse back at him. Most casual gamers have no real means of finding out who they are playing with. In real-world sports or games, you hardly ever see these types of comments made to the opposing team. It does happen, but the consequences are real world consequences. If you shout some racist comment at a football player, you can bet that you got a fist coming your way.
There are more reasons for why we suddenly become racist online, but these three I find particularly important. It is nice to see a lot of online forums employing admins to monitor inappropriate behaviour and language. It's a great step towards fighting online racism. However, for now, I would suggest that you tell your gamer friends to mute the chat, especially your 7-year olds.
Group popularization
This occurs when people who share a common interest become more extreme in their positions when discussing it. With the internet, it is easier to find like-minded people. Are you a vegan? google vegan restaurants and groups. If you're into rugby, join a fan page. Are you a Nazi? well go punch yourself first, but then you can proceed to find nazi supporter groups. The internet helps connect those of common interest and from those groups come extreme views. Take the TPPA or flag debate for example. Pages were set up on social media sites to show support for, or against, it. They exploded on social media with protestors calling for John key to be removed from his position. It even went as far as death threats against him. That's pretty extreme if you ask me.
In online gaming, it's also a matter of 'if everyone else is doing it, I should too'. This makes it more acceptable to throw around those racist slurs, but with others joining in it becomes a case of who can be the most racist.
Witness Me!
Ever met a person who brags about how many likes they got on their selfie or Instagram post or how many retweets they got on their tweet and how one of those retweets was a celebrity. OMG, you're like literally famous now right.......This is all a matter of 'what can I do so people will notice me'. One way is to share the loudest, most controversial opinion you can find. Racist comments are always gonna spark conversation or reaction. For gamers, if you want to get under another player's skin then all you have to do is assume he's some minority race and shout racist slurs at him/her. I could be some white English guy (I'm Polynesian) but that 7-year old completely disregards that fact and calls me a racial slur intended for African-Americans. As mentioned earlier, it sparked my reaction but it shows how we contributed to an online culture that is desensitised towards the implications of racism. An interesting observation here is that the racial slur was not aimed to offend my race, rather its acts as a symbol of his superiority. With these racist stereotypes comes the issue of power. Racism is a sensitive subject. By stereotyping and judging with disregard to that race's customs and cultures you degrade them in return for your perceived superiority.
Anonymous: "(insert racist comment)"
This is the most obvious reason that we let those demons out of our closet. You can say whatever you want because no one knows who you are. No one will find out that you're a closet racist, or cross-dresser, or even a silly old dog. Anonymity shields us from the judgement of our real-world selves. Also, with no ownership comes no consequence. People online hide behind their aliases and avatars so they can let out that controversial thought without being targeted directly.
The competitive nature of gaming makes it so you have to be better than the other team.
If you are better than them then that gives you the right, through some unspoken rule, to belittle them. While I understand the theory behind it, it is sad to see the majority of belittling comments made through racist analogies. Yeah, that 7-year-old was better than me but it was shocking to see him make the connection of the word N***er and its use as an oppressor for an inferior player. In the end, all I can do is curse back at him. Most casual gamers have no real means of finding out who they are playing with. In real-world sports or games, you hardly ever see these types of comments made to the opposing team. It does happen, but the consequences are real world consequences. If you shout some racist comment at a football player, you can bet that you got a fist coming your way.
There are more reasons for why we suddenly become racist online, but these three I find particularly important. It is nice to see a lot of online forums employing admins to monitor inappropriate behaviour and language. It's a great step towards fighting online racism. However, for now, I would suggest that you tell your gamer friends to mute the chat, especially your 7-year olds.
As a gamer myself, and someone who plays League of Legends (arguable the most toxic gaming community online) I am no stranger to what you have just described above nor am I innocent. I agree with your observation that the fact being anonymous adds to likely hood that someone will make a negative comment, let alone a racist one. However I'm also finding that gamers are also using American and hermit life style stereotypes against one another. For example "The 20+ year old living at home in his mums basement" is something I personal feel is a negative American stereotype. Apart from that, glad someone touch on gaming and racism!
ReplyDeleteI'm really interested that the kid saying these comments had just won. From my experience in really toxic gaming communities it is usually the ones who are losing that go on tilt and start typing more than playing the game. It's also really weird that he would call you the N word for being bad at a game. We see from many different forms of sports and games that many African Americans are incredibly good at them. In the League of Legends professional sphere there are more minorities than there are Caucasians. So I'm really surprised that this guy would use a racist slur to try and insult you. I'm not sure what planet he comes from but I would say that if anyone took a look at the gaming community they would find a much higher percentage of insults pertaining to the 20+ year old mentioned above than any ethnicity.
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