3348 Rannas Achilles Ankle
Argh.
So it occurs to me that the timing of this (and, forgiving spoilers) the next few strips, depicting white characters committing violent acts towards a giant black woman, is quite tasteless and upsetting to me. Even if it didn’t occur to any of you, I’m a bit saddened by how this played out.
My intent in making Ranna a woman was just the fact that I wanted twins and chose female rather than male to appeal to players in a D&D campaign many years ago (the priestess character was a woman and I thought Ch’Thier and her sister should also be female to make them more personal to her). My intent on making them black was simply that I wanted to cast more black characters in positions of power in YAFGC in a conscious attempt to help normalize it. Eric I is a D&D character I played many years ago and is white because he’s a heroic fantasy for myself (and I’m obviously white too).
I couldn’t predict that the scene of Eric I, a white man, attacking Ranna, a black woman, would be published at a point when the US is burning with racist/anti racist protests. I’m so sorry and please believe that my message was intended to be one of equality and respect and that this played out the way it did to be the logical part of the story at the point when it happened. I’m so sorry.
BLACK LIVES MATTER.
Rich BK Morris
******June 4th Edit******
Thank you all for responding and the kind words. I promise you that I have (and am continuing to read) all of your replies and I appreciate all the words of support. I sadly don’t have time to reply to all of them, and if what you say just warms my heart or relieves my concerns, consider my to have said 🙂 or thank you. All of you are important to me (Even Guesticus).
If I feel something you’ve said warrents a more personalized reply -or if I have time to do so- I will. But if I’m unresponsive, please don’t take that as a snub. I promise I read and appreciate you all.
But primarily: Since black readers, women, and members of the LGBT community have all said “It’s all good, we love your stuff”, then I feel I’m doing okay.
Thank you for reading, and supporting.
Rich, your comic has been an extended paean to the principle that character and upbringing matter, not race or colour. You have very thoroughly shown the good, the bad, and the ugly regardless of skin colour.
Personally, (although I do not consider myself a member of a minority), I don’t think you should be fussing.
Truly, thank you.
Regretting now that I didn’t say "protracted paean to the principle. . .’
Oh well. Just lob it on the heap of lost alliterative lapses.
Rich, thanks a lot for your comment on the strip. I understand if people may feel a little uncomfortable, and I thank you for your apology. Having read all YAFGC I know this was due to unfortunate timing, nothing in this webcomic has ever resonated (for me) as sexist or racist.
And yeah, BLACK LIVES MATTER.
Seriously, thank you for that.
Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.
Apologies to Chimera, of course, but we are interdependent, and we must learn that if we want to achieve our potential. You comic, you, exemplify the possible 🙂 hugs and love to a wonderful, thoughtful, caring person
(Sorry, Don’t know what happened there that it posted before I was done…)
The fact that you are aware of this inopportune conjunction and that it bothers you is testament to the fact that you are a Good Person With A Conscience. Never change. ❤️
Thank you! *big hug*
Most of what I’m going to say is probably repeats or reiterates previous posts, but too bad 🙂 1 the fact that you even notice or care says a lot, many producer/creators would blow it off with a that’s not what I meant. You go above that. 2 your entire 3348 page work of art is that personal choices are more important than any phenotype or genotype. You’ve made us fall in love with goblins and beholders and liches and etc because of their good aspects and choices. 3 you’ve included a diversity of races, colors, sexualities, intelligences, abilities, etc etc along the spectrum of good/evil. There was just a discussion of races in terms of Ch’thier’s, and it was emphasized her skin color was irrelevant. She appears as her followers see her. Ranna is the same- when she appeared to the spirits of the Scorpi, she had pincers. She took on other aspects as she wanted. She looks as she wants, and as with Lewie, she has a role in how the story is told. 4 it is not race everybody of the field is fighting about- it’s chaos and destruction and evil and cruelty. Racism isn’t being promoted, but discouraged and fought against theoughtout your entire comic- from the first rebellion of 2 families disowning children who look past race/species. Yes, Ranna wants everyone under her power, but that’s the problem-solving she doesn’t care about the individualism or diversity. She wants everyone the same. That’s a problem with racism- there is no room for differences. 5 it is heartbreaking the coincidental timing of this stage of the comic, and it couldn’t have been foreseen. I’m sorry for the negativity that’s occurred. Thank you so much for caring enough to explain your reasons- I think you did a beautiful selection of choices. And thank you for caring enough to produce this epic that promotes diversity and loyalty and looking beyond the surface, to have characters that fight against injustice and cruelty and evil. We NEED people like this right now, and stories like this inspire. You inspire.
Please remember what G K Chesterton said:
Richard,
If we’re going to truly understand people, we have to understand that there is no skin colour, gender, or anything else, which defines Good and Bad. That’s actually a beautiful thing about true Human diversity.
And in that spirit, let me remove the veneer and get to the core, to what’s real. You are *not* depicting a white man attacking a black woman. You are depicting brave, selfless, open-hearted and open-minded, *caring* individuals taking a stand against those who are self-interested, elitist, irrational, and quick to achieve their ends through violence and cruelty.
That means you have NOTHING to apologise for. Not at any moment in Human history, and still less at this one.
Love,
t!
Thank you, t! For what you’ve said and for saying it nonymously (is that a word?) It’s a huge deal that you logged in with your name and I recognize that.
And I agree in that what I /drew/ and intended is not racist or sexist, but meant to be heroic and uplifting… and dramatic and all. My fear is that on the very surface, for people just showing up and looking at the flattest, shallowest images, what some will see is a white man attacking and hurting a black woman.
I put a lot of thought into the sculpture of my stories, even if the hand strokes are improvised, but I’m also aware of the individual frames I’ve drawn and even that has a message, and it’s a message I have the least control over. But I know its there (it took me years to recognize them) and I want people to know what I want to say (as you understand) and not what I may have accidentally said.
For this reason I have a lot of regrets regarding my original Jone:Half-Orc story. As a sweeping story it should be obvious that the point was an icon artificially lifted and followed blindly. But individually, frame-by-frame if you will- I often accidentally made fun of sexual equality and I hate that.
I don’t want that to happen again.
I think that satire has a important role to play in the dialogue about social injustice, and while I recognize that intent and impact are two different things, giving artists freedom to speak about injustice, and to tell stories about injustice which are not necessarily going to bring about deliverance from it, is also important.
I hear everything you’re saying (both of you). I don’t dispute either key set of points, but I add to them (if I may) that Rich…giving yourself credit is important, too. I think the arc in question touched about aspects of "flash mob mentality" and radicalization that were more darkly deadpan than making light of the subjects, and I think that there needs to be room in the narrative on social issues for this style of oblique reflection.
It is possible, my friend, to "do good" imperfectly. It has to be, because I don’t think any of us have ever done good perfectly.
You are a good person. You mean well, you are thoughtful, you learn, you adapt to use your position as a mouthpiece responsibly and sensitively. You will not be perfect in this endeavor, and anyone who would expect you to be is being unreasonable. But more, I think that, *in addition to* these very relevant points, that your use of dark, unwinking, deadpan satirical commentary as a narrative vehicle is more nuanced and more articulate than you’re crediting yourself, in this moment, and this is one voice that needs to be added to the conversation, not in negation of the others, but in concert.
Returning to the start of the thread, I think anyone who sees this arc as "a white male hero picks on an evil black woman" is trying, very hard, to tune out a hell of a lot of context and backstory. Some will, yes, I suppose, but they’ll have to really, really try to be uncharitable, I think.
YAFGC makes it abundantly clear that heroes and villains come in all shapes, sizes, orientations, hues and species. I think it’s okay for some heroes to be cis het(?) white men. It’s just not okay for cis het white men to claim monopoly on heroism and virtue in stories, and that’s the last thing I think that a reader of YAFGC could ever claim of it.
My two bits, anyway. (Apologies for the gate-crash, Taras.)
Lolth’s not looking so good.
And wow, but Eric is good at what he does.
t!
If someone stumbles upon this as their first comic then I’m glad that your message is there. For the people being here a little while longer – we JUST saw her twin sister – the epitome of goodness – who is black as well. Not to speak of everything before that. Like Knicholas and Freaktiful said, the whole worldview behind this is one of tolerance and positivity, which I enjoy immensly.
Any gender-, race-, or otherwise bias you might find in here is owed to the fact that YAFGC is highly informed by typical high fantasy settings (which sadly often confirm to VERY traditional values to put it mildly) and Rich does his best to break through that mold to great success.
The fact that you ARE aware of the problematic imagery this might be seen as makes me respect you even more. So thanks for the ‘disclaimer’.
BLACK LIVES MATTER!
Thank you! I’m glad you understand and thank you for your kind words.
So I have read though all the comments and whilst, as a middle class white guy from the UK I have perhaps one less reason to put my toe in this minefield, I think herk captures my view best.
With the benefit of distance and with a cool head I can’t imagine you changing anything in YAFGC to pick up on real world events for good reasons let alone bad ones and would hope anyone who has been through more than a few strips will know that. In the same way that anyone sensible knows that Peter Jackson did not allude to 9/11. But I still 100% support your decision whack on the disclaimer. Not everyone has a cool head at the best of time and people can be forgiven for being sensitive right now.
Keep up the good work.
People have become far too skilled lately at seeing things that don’t exist and reading ‘motives’ into stories that also don’t exist.
There is a deliberate attempt to foment anger where there shouldn’t be any in order to further political ends that are not what any sane person would want.
I’ve been reading your work pretty much from the start and nothing in it can be construed as being anything other than what it is, a story about people places and creatures far from here with their own morals, mores and motivations that can be compared to the world we live in but are not comparable.
Anyone who can take a drow, demigod or beholder and say "that’s a metaphor for xxxx whether the author intended it or not" desires nothing more than chaos and will say anything to get it. They can’t create anything by themselves so they take any chance to destroy things other people build out of petty jealousy.
Keep up the art and story, it’s been entertaining for years and hopefully for many more to come.
I disagree to an extent. These icons and creatures and things can and DO have very racist or sexist symbols. Not all of them, to be sure, but there’s a few undeniable facts.
One example (of many) are things like Orcs, Goblins and the "savage humanoids". These are definitely a placeholder for "primitive, savage tribals." They way they’re used in the classic fantasy setting. I’m not talking about folklore goblins from the fairytales, they’re treated differently. I mean the Tolkienesque hoards of bloodthirsty evil mockeries of Humanity. I became aware of this /after/ I’d started YAFGC but I’ve always tried to Humanize my "monsters". These things must be carefully used if one is trying to relay any kind of message, be it conscious or unconscious.
I just think it’s dangerous to dismiss the notion of the unconscious message just because it wasn’t noticed or intended. It’s real and it exists.
But thank you for your kind words. I’m pleased and moved that you wrote to me and I hope to hear from you again and often.
It doesn’t matter what you say, write or draw.
If someone wants to hate, he or she will find some strange interpretation in your words or work, you never had thought about.
Go on. You have adressed your opinion to the current situation in America. That is more than enough.
I don’t often comment, but I do like your candor in explaining yourself. I’m black myself, and while I have been watching the literal and figurative firestorm raging across the states, I’ve followed your comics long before it came to a head. Not from the very start admittedly (I started reading maybe sometime around 2012-2015, an absolutely wonderful binge) but long enough to enjoy the character development of all your characters; Eric, Lewis, and Glon in particular. Nothing has come across as cringy or insensitive, regardless of what’s going on in the real world. In fact, in spite of everything that’s going on, I’m happy to see Ranna get her just deserts.
Thank you IronDino! All comments mean a lot to me, but from you it’s particularly meaningful.
so is that her own sword magically adjusted to the size of the wielder?
Nope, Eric I brought his own.
https://www.yafgc.net/comic/3275-eric-ii-the-bringer-of-joy/
Do the forums no longer work? I’ve been out of the loop for awhile now, and last posts across all boards were 2019
They’re pretty screwed up and I haven’t had a chance …or the emotional security… to attempt to fix it yet.
Gotcha. Let me just say then, Strip 3340; Seeing BK get bitch-slapped across the horizon actually made me laugh out loud (no offense to your great eyeball self).
Hahah! Awesome thank you!
Dude, you been working on this storyline for over half decade, anyone who’d try to accuse you of anything concerning this due to a tragedy that happened a week ago is just an idiot looking for attention
Thank you Titan!
I know that and you know that. But newbies to the site might just see a white man beating on a black woman. I need there to be context at the very least.
When working on a TV show (as I have done for over 30 years) you have to remember that every episode /could/ be someone’s first. And similarly, every single strip I draw could be someone’s introduction to YAFGC. I won’t go back and change the one’s I’m not so happy with, but I can add the message of context to try to mitigate possible unhappiness.
Rich, I honestly wouldn’t have made the connection, because unlike some people online, I keep a clear line between fantasy and the real world. Ne’er the two shall mix.
Think of us like cats living schizophrenic lives. One half indoors in a safe environment, the other outdoors in a world of violence. I don’t go online when I’m outdoors. It’s a completely different life.
Thank you Aaron.
There are a lot of people who don’t keep the two separate. And more importantly, those who don’t know that /I/ keep the two separate and might assume that I’m happily normalizing white men beating on black women. I’m not and I don’t want it to be normal. As I’ve posted above a few times, I need to post the context to those who are seeing this as their first YAFGC strip.
THIS STRIP IS NOT THE MESSAGE! I’m saying. It’s part of a much larger message that I hope you’ll find inclusive, compassionate, and uplifting.
Thanks for sticking with me for so long, Aaron. It’s really appreciated.
I think the 100 foot God helps to remind me it’s not normal 😀
Neither am I saying that there aren’t good morals that can traverse the divide from fantasy to reality but I filter out anything that is bad and only take in the good. The second I saw the first strip I knew it was all good and it has remained consistently good all the way from the beginning.
A few strips ago you mentioned the gods take on the apparent physical aspects of the mortals viewing them, which is why Ch’Thier was drawn "white" when interacting with the recently deceased Baron. So, as Raana is now very much interacting with King Eric, why not just draw her "white" for a few strips just to make the point?
She can only do that in her spiritual/afterlife form. This is her physical body which is very definitely black. Which when I think about it, may actually be contradicted by a much much earlier strip which flashes back to Ch’Thier in Thierra for one panel before I’d decided the gods were black.
Also: while that might mitigate the single message, the greater message would definitely be harmed if I whitewashed Ranna to assuage my guilt. Ranna is a powerful black goddess and I won’t take that from her. She’s evil, it’s true, but Ch’Thier is a powerful black goddess as well and she’s good!
I’m an old white guy. This is a positive minefield for me and I’m trying to feel out what’s best.
I think one of the greatest expressions of equality in fiction is allowing every character to express themselves fully and faithfully, and actualize their full potential as beings, to the best of their abilities. Part of the burden of allowing characters free agency, in their stories, is accepting that they will do what they wish, with that agency…and sometimes, it makes the "parents," so to speak, cry. Part of what I love about your depiction of diversity of all sorts in YAFGC is that…you allow XYZ people, for every value of "XYZ," to be *people*.
I cannot begin to tell you how happy it makes me, for example, that Cadugan is an introvert, even as his life and story serve to reflect on same-sex love and relationships. Cadugan is not *simply* a great gay character. He’s a great character, period, *and* part of a great, warming, nuanced and very bold narrative about sexual orientation and love.
I see no trend of people with darker skin being more likely to be jerks in YAFGC. This particular one is simply a bit of a jerk, in my admittedly personal opinion.
Sometimes a guy beating up up on the avatar of an evil goddess is just a guy beating up on the avatar of an evil goddess. No worries.
Hahah Thanks Geek… um.. see that sounds like I’m insulting you. I appreciate that you know that Ranna is primarily the "avatar of an evil goddess". But without a lot of the background, the strip is still about a heroic tiny white man slicing the foot off of a very large black woman.
But again, I appreciate your input! 😀
Any individual scene, pulled out of context, can completely misinterpret the whole. (Your average WWII film could be easily confused as a film about brave Axis soldiers fighting off an invading army depending on what frames you see.)
Yes, an individual strip might make someone draw the wrong conclusions, but only if they were unwilling to make the least effort to find out what’s going on.
You have these comment discussions to clarify the point. That’s all a body can do.
Imma add my two cents!
*tosses two pennies into the bowl*
But seriously… Ranna is not from Africa. She is not from a plantation. She is not from Chicago, or Minneapolis. She is an alien life form on another world, whose physiology is so different that she consumes spiritual energy and magic rather than glucose and amino acids. People would REALLY have to reach to find a justification to be angry about her skin tone.
Also, I should note that the reason people are pissed is because of the cops committing violence against black VICTIMS. Bad guys aren’t victims. Ranna is not on her belly and crying for her mother. Ranna is a seriously dangerous and powerful villain who almost conquered the world; she might be a fool and a dummy, but she’s no victim. Just like that death goddess that Lewstrom used to work for.
In a D&D setting based upon traditional folklore concepts ‘black’ denoted evil – it (probably) had nothing to do with skin colour in the real world eg the drow are black skinned due to being based upon germanic/norse ‘dark elves’
I’m a white American woman, but I know that:
1. You are a kind and talented soul who wouldn’t do anything deliberate to hurt or offend any of your readers.
2. The story is fantasy & you have said recently that the twins are as their followers see them. I see Ranna as someone who needs some serious psychological help, and Ch’Their as the one to help her. Or Fang. ;-P
Anyone who can’t see that doesn’t deserve to read your comics.
I mean, she’s making you feel guilty about harming her avatar. A god of evil is truly insidious!
Also, real talk this is a fight of good against evil; not white against black. And as Ranna is not a victim of brutality via the Protective Militia? This is fine my guy.
You’re a good man, Rich. Regardless of who it is or the circumstances, the fact you took the time to call it out during these times is uplifting. Respect.
Also, I will unequivocally state that you have consistently written some of the best black characters, both good and evil. They are well-rounded and full of quirks and flaws and virtues, not a single one being a flat stereotype. You’ve made them beautiful, you’ve made them ugly, you’ve made them cruel, you’ve made them kind, but you’ve always made them out to be real people, and that means something.
Keep being you.
Black lives matter!
Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, this. So this. All the ‘this.’ Well said, Mr. Casual!
To be honest, I think that putting a black character in as a legitimately powerful villain does way more good than putting them in as pandering Mary Sues who aren’t allowed to do evil or come to harm. A good villain is the most important character in a story, since if they’re weak or bland then the story has no stakes or interest. The timing is abstractly inconvenient, but it’s hardly "normalizing" people of color being in positions of power if they have to be handled with kid gloves.
It’s just my opinion, so take it for what it’s worth, but until you said something, I had never thought of Ranna as "black" in any racial sense, if you can understand my poor attempt at explaining. It’s not that I don’t notice skin tone or different & distinctive facial features, I do, and I’ve had some art schooling so I notice things I didn’t necessarily before and think of it differently sometimes, it’s more that I just don’t really think about it or assign importance to it. Character matters more than appearnce to me.
I’m not going to lie, as a single guy, if I see a woman I find physically attractive, I’m generally going to pay more attention, but I’ve actually thought about this recently and determined that there seem to be some general characteristics that I find attractive in a face, which is typically what I notice first, and not so oddly, they’re pretty much on track with the ancient Greek "golden ratio" (also called "divine proportion"), which basically states that we, as a general rule, find people with highly symetrical facial features to be the most attractive.
To put this in context so I’m actually on-topic, most of the characters in the comic, most likely by unconscious design, have very symetrical features. Ranna and C’Thier are both physically appealing to me on looks alone (minus the horns and wings), but because Ranna is such a nasty piece of work, I find her repellent. It has nothing to do with her skin tone and everything to do with how she behaves.
I understand that the first impression you’re trying to make with this page in particular is to be positive, but I agree with other stated opinions here, that if they want to be offended, they will find a rationale for it regardless of what you say in your author’s notes or the comments. The worst cases won’t even read your comment, or worse, will read it and then call you a liar, but the best cases will praise you for your work and thank you for the entertainment. Most will probably fall somewhere inbetween.
TL;DR The point is, you can’t control how another person will perceive your creative efforts, no matter what words you attach to it, you can only present your work and hope that it conveys the message you want to convey. That you show a consciencious effort to tell your story so that it is enjoyable for as many people as possible is commendable, but ultimately your body of work speaks for itself and you cannot control it’s meaning to others once it has been shared. As I always tell artists, comic-makers and authors, your bravery for sharing your work online humbles me, and I wish I had it in me to do the same. Thank you for sharing, Rich.
Deities can change their form at will. Appearing "black" is literally skin-deep for both Ranna and Ch’thier. Carry on, and bring your story to the end YOU want it to have.
Rich, you are to be commended for adding that note to the comic. It’s an unfortunate bit of timing that this particular strip was posted during the chaotic events currently happening in the USA.
Anyone who does happen to read this comic as his or her first exposure to YAFGC, and even after reading your comment and doesn’t pause to at least find out more about you’ve been creating for for over 10 years and 3348 comics, is making a big mistake.
As t!, Rancourt, and many others have already said, you’re a good person, who is doing the best he can to be respectful of all people, regardless of gender, race, sexuality, species, etc. You’ve also created a vast wide world of characters of all types and morals. You have never made how a person behaves dependent on what they look like. You have also done a great job of making your characters well rounded in personality and motives.
Thank you for being such a good person, Rich, and thank you for all that you do for us.
The pooka nailed it. 🙂
We love you, man. What mistakes you may make, if any, will be the mistakes of a sincere, respectful person trying his best, and as we all do, learning as he goes, growing continually in the process.
You’re right to recognize that, as an older white guy, this is a minefield to navigate, and requires additional sensitivity, consideration, and care. But by the exact same token, *it is difficult ground to navigate*. That cannot be forgotten, and while impact is important even when intent was good, you own limits as a human being, your inability to see all ends clairvoyantly, your potential capacity to make mistakes…are all legitimate, too.
What mistakes you make, again if any, will be sincere ones. You will learn from them, and grow from them. Meaning not the slightest bit of marginalization of the huge, ugly sociopolitical nightmares that prompted this, your goodwill and your diligence, however imperfect they naturally are, count for a lot.
Anyone taking offense at this particular page hasn’t been paying attention. If they’ve read from the beginning, they would know the context of this scene. This is about the powerful abusing those less powerful. For that, any color will do. Your awareness of the issue is to your credit – thank you for the explanation but I think we all understand.
I’m very awkward with words and probably putting my foot in my mouth here, but…
ANY sorts of stereotypes are harmful. If black characters were always made the heroes, people would eventually get fed up with that and intentionally start making black villains. It’s like how the "light is not actually good and dark is not actually evil" narrative is very popular these days, or how you’ve been putting twists to the Disney stories. It’s also why making every character in a story gay would harm gays in the long term. And I’m sure you’ve seen the backlashes some stories suffer if every cool character in them is the same gender – regardless of which gender that is.
In order to be TRULY fair, you have to make both good and bad characters of all races, genders, orientations and whatever else… and in doing that, creating strips that would be considered outrageous out of context is unavoidable.
It’s not your fault the timing happened to be so unfortunate. You couldn’t have predicted that.
Also, treating characters differently just because of their skin color is BY DEFINITION racism – and it doesn’t matter if you follow the stereotype or go against it.
Yes, this!
That looks like a very nasty cut to the ankle. Surely that has gone through some bone.
Actually, if he would hit exactly the ankle joint, he might avoid any bone …
Isn’t the ankle at the back of the leg?
Or is that just the Achilles Tendon at the back?
The ankle is the bone joint and the surrounding area on all sides. The tendon is at the back only and I think joins onto the foot. You can tell this when lifting your foot it stretches the tendon at the back of the leg.
Even though have the two lumpy-bumpy bones, got confused with the Tendon (and thought the front bendy part had a different name)
I guess we should have taken anatomy classes at school. But Rich will know because anatomy is part of the study of the human body that is needed to draw people properly. Like the lines in the abdomen that indicate internal organs and muscles. To draw the body properly requires considerable anatomical knowledge.
I did study anatomy, but not medical anatomy. My lessons were in form, volume, dynamic and shade. We touched briefly on muscle groups and some names, but we focused mostly on what everything looked like and how it interacted. We didn’t get diagrams and anatomical models, we had biological models naked and draped over couches and boxes and posing. Heh… Soooo, I wasn’t sure what that particular part of the leg-to-foot was officially called either, I just guessed.
I understand your reluctance at this point in human history but please dont.
Good and Evil are beyond colour – this is what you are depicting in your strip.
Been following for a long time and you have nothing to apologise for.
Oh, don’t worry. There are no anti-racist protests going on right now. The violent parties all think <i>some</i> race should be the "master race." They just disagree on which one.
That’s not what’s going on at all. Is this a joke post?
Believe it may have been sarcasm
Then it was really poorly timed sarcasm.
I can understand why people don’t want to get swept up in it. It’s like never ending. I don’t even know what racism is about. A dictionary definition explains nothing. It is irrational.
It may not be an approved belief. But it is what is going on. It is not a joke. It is not sarcasm. It is an observation.
Just as I said the last time this happened: ALL Lives Matter!
When you start singling out a single ‘colour’, no mater which one, you are just making it worse
Racism isn’t just ‘white against black’, it is also ‘white against slightly-less white’ or even ‘brown against other shade of brown’ (remember Rwanda?)
I saw an episode of "Live PD", just after this whole mess started, and it showed a white female officer perform the exact same move, except it was on a white guy. The move is a valid police tactic, specially if alone and dealing with a larger suspect, to control them while they attempt to put the handcuffs on them
Accidents happen, and it is up to the _courts_ to decide if it was ‘accidental homicide’ of a police suspect or premeditated murder and that the victim had been intentionally targeted. Do we even know why he was being arrested?
Forgery was the supposed crime. I think it was more along the lines of counterfitting (spelling?)…
Thank you, the news never mentions that
Counterfeit is the spelling you are looking for 😀
Oh, and that "Live PD" was showing scenes from 2017, so that move has been part of US Law Enforcement for some time
Why am I not suprrised to hear this bullshit from you, Guesticus.
A guy named Jared Price posted this message on Tumblr and it sums it up for me, so I’ll quote him instead of attempting to point out your blind spot.
“If you are a Christian, and can’t hear #BlackLivesMatter without feeling the need to resopnd with a criticism that “All Lives Matter”, then crack open your Bible and hit up Luke 15.
Don’t have it handy? Let me summarize.
There are 100 shee, but one goes missing.
Jesus leaves the 99 and goes after the one.
The 99: “But… what about us? Don’t we matter?”
Of course the 99 still matter, but they’re not the ones in danger.
The one is.
I’ll say it again, #BlackLivesMatter.”
And it doesn’t matter if you’re Christian or not. The point is the black community IS being targetted and victimized by white supremacy in your country. AND MINE. You can dig around for factoids (or make up your own if you’re so inclined) and side with the cops if you want to but the point is: Black people are being arrested more, the violence and aggression towards them is disproportionate, and /if/ they’re more inclined towards crime /statistically/ than it’s because us white people put them in that position.
So if you’re planning to start dismissing everything by bringing up racist bullshit, then fuck off or I’ll ban your stanky ass again.
What country do you think I am in where you believe white supremacists are victimizing and targeting anyone?
Wasn’t ‘siding with the cops’, was calling for calm and to let justice prevail
Right, I forgot, you’re a fucking troll in New Zealand. Whatever. Either way, fuck off and shut the hell up.
We don’t have white supremacists here
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/418107/no-doubt-racism-exists-in-new-zealand-police-maori-law-expert
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2005/S00092/new-zealand-sees-increase-in-racist-anti-chinese-attacks.htm
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12314709
https://www.thatsus.co.nz/my-daily-experience-of-racism
Did I not just say "shut the fuck up?"
…I won’t be surprised if he says something to the effect of "no, the word between "the" and "up" was different the first time".
Sorry.
Wait, NotRichard is Guesticus?
Indeed he is. The little turd-blossom was banned for being a thorn in my side, and then created a second accound and re-entered the fray, pretending to be a totally different person. Unfortunately he couldn’t stop being his irritating self so it didn’t take too long for some of us to get (a) a clue and (b) proof that that’s exactly what happened. Tired of the entire crap-storm I left it providing he behaves himself and so far he hasn’t incurred my wrath enough to ban him a second time. But some people think I’m too generous and forgiving. Personally I chalk it up to me being lazy.
Wait… by "valid police tactic," you mean the knee to the back of the neck? Yeah… SO VERY WRONG.
For so many reasons… not the least of which is the statements from not only retired cops, but also MMA instructors, about how once they’ve been handcuffed/tapped out YOU STOP APPLYING THE PRESSURE.
Also, the police actions since then have really clarified as to how "valid" their behavior was. In some places we have seen protests remain peaceful; in others things have exploded into violence. The peaceful protests have taken place in locations where the cops have been respectful, or even joined in the protests and agreed how wrong, vile, and disgusting the murder of Michael Flynn was.
The places where things have gotten violent? Those are the places where the precincts are run by real life Dirty Harry’s. Where the cops have initiated the use of force and escalated the situation. And they’ve even been caught deliberately instigating in order to divert attention from the torture-murder of Michael Flynn, and how this has been a repeated occurrence over the DECADES.
Yes, once the cuffs are on, they are supposed to release the pressure, which is what the lone female officer did in ’17. If they don’t, then they need to be brought to justice
Yeah, that plus the "knee to the neck" thing is NOT valid, is NOT taught, and when they do it it’s because they’re NOT following what they were taught. They’re emulating bad habits they picked up from the other bad cops, because a few bad apples SPOILS THE BUNCH.
We all have different conditioning. Says a lot about mine that the only thing I thought looking at it was:
"Fingolfin!"
Thinking this probably doesn’t end well.
Rich, I seriously doubt that anyone in their right mind who has read YAFGC would ever think your work is racist.
It’s not your fault that the world is going crazy (again) right now.
P.S.: I think you’re awesome.
I have never even thought about racial problems in Yafgc. I did not even think about that Ranna was even black before your text. Also it’s just a comic with lots of diversity and strong character builds.
I support you 100%. Don’t let color of the skin dictate the story, just use your imagination and creativity as you see fit. That’s the way to be the least offensive if everyone are included as evil and good.
As many, many other people have said, Rich – while the very shallowest reading of this comic may give uninformed readers the bias you fear, those of us who have been around for longer know far better. Your work is delightful, thought-provoking, honest, and above all, full of well-written, enjoyable, respectful diversity.
Alina Pete from Weregeek wrote her comics about this as well. She draws drows purple now. And in her universe, they are not ultimate bad race. They can be nice and good people too. Black ultimate evil race no more.
It always good to ponder about these things and change when needed.
I live in Richmond, Virginia. Lots of peaceful protests, some violent activities including buildings being set afire, and police acting both peacefully and way out of proportion to the situation.
The thing to remember is that in all of the above I mentioned there are people of every color doing these things.
A much wiser man than me once said that we should judge people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.
Ranna is evil. Has nothing to do with her skin. Eric is good. Has nothing to do with his skin. They are characters you have created, and you have done a fabulous job making them what they are. But it is their personality that shines through, not the skin color.
Some people have to make *everything* about skin colour though.
I agree the disclaimer was necessary, and you’ve laid sufficient groundwork to disprove any bias, for anyone who cares to look.
As for the strip itself…after Ranna’s "Where’s my sword?" comment, I was half-expected Nameless/She Who Might Be Arachne had picked it up, and smote her with it.
Got me again! And that looks painful…
Now needs to slice off the other foot! Then she’ll be de-feet-ed…
Oooohhh! Good one!
I think that’s what Eric I was ankling for. (I feel like such a heel for saying that.)
I was going to add my own reassurances to this, but what needed to be said has been said. Better than I could have probably done.
I was going to add a hypothetical question my circle of friends have been discussing, but decided against as it might send the wrong message or idea.
Rich you know the truth, you are a great author, who have the the ability to write intresting caracter, some of them are good some of them are evil, some are unselfish some are more selfish, and some have different amount of melanin….
Whatever you do, do not "self-censur" yourself, my favorit caracter is Lewstrom and the EPIC moment then he deny the evil godess and throws away the crown, imagen if you did not dare to make the set-up and have Lewstrom fail and do evil stuff becuse he was black… the world would have missed the incredibly gripping story of Lewstrom.
Keep up the good work, and ignore the peopel who get uppset in bad fate, and let us hope that US can reforme its police force and the guilty police get there punishment.
To be honest, the thing is mostly because the gods were worshipped by Lewstorm people who are either wiped out by plague or the invaders. Maybe God reflecting people.
No offense.
Sadly, I’ve been seeing racist people (or apathetic asshole) popping up in gaming community (ArchWarhammer, Sargon, Milo, and recently Gamza) despite being young secular and “rational” people.
Or 4chan.
I mean people reflecting the god, like people belief in god making the same features as its people (no word on iconoclastic culture).
t209 think what you are doing, you casual acused a number of youtuber of being rasists, do you even beleve it? Becuse you need to give yourself a way "out" by saying or apathetic asshole (that last one is a very subjective description and can include almost anything you want)
I watch ArchWarhammer time to time, so I give you a challange. Give me 3 exampel then ArchWarhammer is a raists in his youtube video, link the video at the corect time.
If you cant, you are only throwing shit at ArchWarhammer and hope somthing will stick…
Far be it from me to cast aspersions of ArchWarhammer videos which I’ve never seen….
…. but shouldn’t just one example of racism be enough?
"but shouldn’t just one example of racism be enough?"
Becuse one insident can be taken out of content, be a clumsy expression of Arch, be a bad fate interpretation etc
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I am willing to be proved worng… but you have to do more then just a callout.
Honestly, Rich, you’ve consistently shown minorities in a good light and given everyone "equal screen time" and "equal script weight". A major theme in your comic is that people are people, and details such as race, gender, sexual preferences and so on doesn’t matter.
So, when I see this strip, I see it in that light. I don’t see a white guy attacking a black woman, I see two key players in the plot having a plot motivated fight.
You are doing good. Keep it up!
As others have said, that you’re aware of these issues and addressing them makes a huge difference. Villians must be defeated, and black characters can be villians… as long as your heroes or main characters are not all coded as white. You’re
You’re not doing that. If you sooo want to counter that, then I would suggest adding more non-white coded characters in future arcs. I know that can be tough when d&d tropes are inherently race-essentialist, but you’re smart, observant, and empathetic – I trust you can do it.
Ach, backstabbed by autocorrect!
Thank you, Jim! Putting more non-white coded characters in my stories is my plan. I’ve got a neat trio planned for a future story who are all non-white!
Lolth’s listed so hopefully not dead.
Catching up on reading comments, and while i’m sincerely not trying to stir the pot, in response to comments about creators that are not the same as their creation, i felt it should be added that that is a great aspect of art: 1- the author is exploring beyond self, 2-is causing readers to do same, and 3- it would be racist and other -ists to only include characters that were what the author is.
also, somebody mentioned stereotypes of color by showing a group as all heroes being just as bad, made a friend of mine wonder if any of you know stories where albinoes are neutral or heroic? or not of caucasian descent? i know of 1, a character in a murder mystery series who is of african american parentage.
Saw your comment and had to reply. In my youth, I read a most excellent book called “the school for good and evil”. It features a supporting Antihero albino Character.
That's a really good point. …Where *did* her sword go?