eSports has a racism problem

[SummerMadness]

eSports has a racism problem/

Imagine that your kid is competing in a professional video game tournament. You open the online streaming service Twitch to watch.

It's not long before you notice the flood of racist comments quickly filling the stream's chat window. You have to make the video full screen just to avoid the hateful things being said about him.

That's exactly what happened to Terrence "TerrenceM" Miller's parents during the DreamHack Austin "Hearthstone" tournament in early May.

The worst part? Miller says these kinds of experiences are "nothing new."

[...]

When asked whether he thinks racist comments are coming from deeply prejudiced individuals or whether they're just seeking attention, Miller says, "I think it’s somewhere in the middle. I think they are doing it just for attention, but thinking racism is funny is the same thing as being racist."

Yep, nothing new, I remember when I used to play games, racism and sexual harassment were rampant. At that time disparaging the LGBT community was considered the norm, homophobia was supposed to make you angry. Many of us eventually normalize the experience to "nothing new," but it's also the reason many of us have little issue when we eventually walk away from gaming.

 

[Ana the Ist]

eSports has a racism problem/
Yep, nothing new, I remember when I used to play games, racism and sexual harassment were rampant. At that time disparaging the LGBT community was considered the norm, homophobia was supposed to make you angry. Many of us eventually normalize the experience to "nothing new," but it's also the reason many of us have little issue when we eventually walk away from gaming.

I used to play the original Dota on blizzards' server back in the days of warcraft 3. The only reason I mention it is, if you bother to look into it, it's widely regarded as the worst competitive online gaming community around. As a result, I can say with complete honesty that I've probably been called the n-word more than most black people will be in their lifetime.

I think it's a combination of the anonymity and competitiveness of the community that results in this kind of behavior. People feel protected by the anonymity and are willing to gain any advantages they think that they can gain. If that means throwing your opponent off their game psychologically by insulting them in the worst way imaginable....then that's what they do.

That's not an excuse for this behavior, of course, just an explanation for it. To be fair, most servers try to monitor and police this sort of thing...but it's so prevalent that most times it's just easier to ignore then try to report 10+ people every night.

To be completely honest, I'm guilty of it as well....most gamers I knew are. When I played, I kept to the personal rule of respect and manners as long as my opponent did the same. However, if my opponent began to engage in "trash talk"...then anything and everything is on the table and all bets were off.

 

[nightflight]

I remember all the slurs and epithets when I would play Candy Crush. People are brutal!

 

[MehGuy]

I don't see the big deal. The other day it was let out that a gamer was short, suddenly a bunch of women started short shaming him. Is this a problem too? Or should he just suck it up and fat shame the women. (And yeah I'd bet many of the women mocking him were they themselves fat.. lol).

Only way to deal with things like that imo. Also I think with the rise of hypocritial sjwism, people are more tempted than ever to rebel and make racial like comments.

 

[SummerMadness]

How TerrenceM's amazing Dreamhack Hearthstone run was marred by Twitch chat racism

One of the Twitch moderators trying to fight the torrent of racism during the broadcast was Carling "Toastthebadger" Filewich, who wrote an article after Dreamhack titled "Enough is enough". In it, she argues that part of the problem lies with how major events like Dreamhack approach the streaming component.

"Tournament organizers spend countless hours trying to get every little detail just right for their event… Very little, if any, consideration goes into what happens once the broadcast reaches the public… Ultimately the blame is on the people that were spewing hatred with messages that I can’t even bring myself to say out loud. But the Dreamhack team was not prepared. They didn’t have enough moderators, they didn’t have the right ones, and they didn’t fully use the tools available to them. They were content to allow Twitch chat to be Twitch chat, and never anticipated that people would sink as low as they did."

I think a good point was made in this article, the group running the event is largely to blame for being unprepared and unable control the vitriol. Anonymity is a huge driver, but that goes in hand with the moderation, I personally never understood trash talking, I think the best thing to do is keep beating the people attacking you. Nonetheless, the idea that being female. black or LGBT means you should "suck it up" says a lot attitudes about personal responsibility, and shows a strong degree of hypocrisy. "I'm racist because other people don't like racism, it's their fault!"

 

[Ana the Ist]

How TerrenceM's amazing Dreamhack Hearthstone run was marred by Twitch chat racism
I think a good point was made in this article, the group running the event is largely to blame for being unprepared and unable control the vitriol. Anonymity is a huge driver, but that goes in hand with the moderation, I personally never understood trash talking, I think the best thing to do is keep beating the people attacking you. Nonetheless, the idea that being female. black or LGBT means you should "suck it up" says a lot attitudes about personal responsibility, and shows a strong degree of hypocrisy. "I'm racist because other people don't like racism, it's their fault!"

Really? You never understood trash talking?
I get that for some people it's a big deal...so that's why I always kept it for those who seemed to enjoy it.

Lets be honest though, racism in e sports or online in general isn't specific to one gender or race or sex or group of any kind. Everyone gets heavy doses of hate from every race/gender/sex....that's why it largely gets ignored.

 

[MehGuy]

Yep, many men are probably hardwired to enjoy trash talking each other. Karen Straughan has some interesting evolutionary theories for it. Mainly that men like to toughen each other up. And that this side of masculinity should actually be encouraged and that boys/men shouldn't feel ashamed of it.

One of the other reasons I hate about modern feminism. Seems like they only look at how the feminine brain wants things without taking consideration of the masculine brained mindset.

I love trash talking, and being trash talked. Video games and the like wouldn't be the same without it. Many times insults among guys (and the few cool women who genuinely like and engage in it it) are viewed as friendly endearment. And when you trash talk you can't really hold back.

 

[MehGuy]

How TerrenceM's amazing Dreamhack Hearthstone run was marred by Twitch chat racism
I think a good point was made in this article, the group running the event is largely to blame for being unprepared and unable control the vitriol. Anonymity is a huge driver, but that goes in hand with the moderation, I personally never understood trash talking, I think the best thing to do is keep beating the people attacking you. Nonetheless, the idea that being female. black or LGBT means you should "suck it up" says a lot attitudes about personal responsibility, and shows a strong degree of hypocrisy. "I'm racist because other people don't like racism, it's their fault!"

What else can they do? Hypocritical feminists and social justice warriors can't censor everyday speech. If anything their vitriol is just making the problem worse.. Did everyone forget about playground politics in elementary school?

Before feminism I did not hear many rape jokes from other guys, now it's much, much, much more common.

My suggestion to black people is roll with the punches, have a good laugh and don't take it very seriously. Joke about your own race yourself, and have fun mocking other people for whatever reason you can. I listen to the Howard Stern show and they make racial jokes all the time, yet when someone spouts off real racist attitudes they're pretty quick to go after him/her. Most of it isn't real.

Sorry but the world isn't black and white like many sjws like to think it is. But sure it does help them feel like they're actually contributing to something in the world when they're not..

 

[Ana the Ist]

Yep, many men are probably hardwired to enjoy trash talking each other. Karen Straughan has some interesting evolutionary theories for it. Mainly that men like to toughen each other up. And that this side of masculinity should actually be encouraged and that boys/men shouldn't feel ashamed of it.

One of the other reasons I hate about modern feminism. Seems like they only look at how the feminine brain wants things without taking consideration of the masculine brained mindset.

I love trash talking, and being trash talked. Video games and the like wouldn't be the same without it. Many times insults among guys (and the few cool women who genuinely like and engage in it it) are viewed as friendly endearment. And when you trash talk you can't really hold back.

This is a good point and I didn't want to even bring it up because I figured it would get laughed at.

I also enjoyed it. Not only when someone came up with a particularly good shot at me, but if I got someone bad enough to make their friends/family or whoever was watching them laugh. Some people trash talk and then get upset when you give it back, some actually respect you more for standing up to them.

 

[SummerMadness]

Really? You never understood trash talking?
I get that for some people it's a big deal...so that's why I always kept it for those who seemed to enjoy it.

Lets be honest though, racism in e sports or online in general isn't specific to one gender or race or sex or group of any kind. Everyone gets heavy doses of hate from every race/gender/sex....that's why it largely gets ignored.

I have never seen anyone attacked because they were white or for being male. If there is any hint of a player being female, sexual harassment begins (if the server does not rules against that). If the person is Asian, Hispanic, then the ethnic taunts begin. The notion that someone is attacked for being a white male is pure fantasy. Most of the insults revolve around calling someone homosexual or crude sexual insults.

 

[MehGuy]

I have never seen anyone attacked because they were white or for being male. If there is any hint of a player being female, sexual harassment begins (if the server does not rules against that). If the person is Asian, Hispanic, then the ethnic taunts begin. The notion that someone is attacked for being a white male is pure fantasy. Most of the insults revolve around calling someone homosexual or crude sexual insults.

It's certainly a thing on tumblr. Lol.

The only difference is the hate seems more real on that end, lol.

 

[MehGuy]

And yeah I actually do see blacks/and other minorities go after whites in video games.

Like whites are boring, whites are too coddled, whites have no style etc..

All in good fun, but its not like they don't have any trash talking ammo to use..

 

[SummerMadness]

What else can they do? Hypocritical feminists and social justice warriors can't censor everyday speech. If anything their vitriol is just making the problem worse.. Did everyone forget about playground politics in elementary school?

If I run a gaming server, I have every right to remove offending players from my server, that is not censorship. I think more people need a civics lesson, freedom of speech is about the government censoring your speech, it does not require everyone else to accept the diarrhea coming from your mouth. Getting banned from a server for racism is not censorship.

Before feminism I did not hear many rape jokes from other guys, now it's much, much, much more common.

I make rape jokes because someone else made me do it, I am not responsible!

My suggestion to black people is roll with the punches, have a good laugh and don't take it very seriously. Joke about your own race yourself, and have fun mocking other people for whatever reason you can. I listen to the Howard Stern show and they make racial jokes all the time, yet when someone spouts off real racist attitudes they're pretty quick to go after him/her. Most of it isn't real.

When someone is constantly saying and typing racial slurs into their console, I don't think it's not real. And what you're saying is, "Hey minorities, we can't hold these people responsible for themselves, so don't respond." Like I said, you're telling marginalized groups that they should accept being taunted by racists, bigots and misogynists or don't play at all.

 

[MehGuy]

If I run a gaming server, I have every right to remove offending players from my server, that is not censorship. I think more people need a civics lesson, freedom of speech is about the government censoring your speech, it does not require everyone else to accept the diarrhea coming from your mouth. Getting banned from a server for racism is not censorship.

Yeah you have every right to remove whatever material you want on your own server, although other than sjws I think many peop;le will migrate elsewhere..

And yeah it's censorship.. how isn't it? Lol. Censorship is more than just on the government level..

I make rape jokes because someone else made me do it, I am not responsible!

What? Many people are more than happy to take responsibility for their rape jokes. I"m just saying that many seem to make them these days to stick it to the regressive left and that if you want to really lessen them the best method is to stop talking about how much they offend you. Lol.

When someone is constantly saying and typing racial slurs into their console, I don't think it's not real. And what you're saying is, "Hey minorities, we can't hold these people responsible for themselves, so don't respond." Like I said, you're telling marginalized groups that they should accept being taunted by racists, bigots and misogynists or don't play at all.

No I'm not, I'm giving them methods to respond that won't blow up in their face. Making a big deal about it will just make it worse for them. I'm also letting them know that they probably shouldn't actually take it personally.

You can think it's not real or not, I have plenty of friends and acquaintances who do and I know in their personal life they're quite off put by real racism. Its just a cool and edgy thing to do, especially as sjws yell louder. You're just making it more appealing for people. Lol.

 

[SummerMadness]

This event will have better moderation next year, all the people whining that they can't be racist and sexist are free to start their own tournament. It will fail miserably.

 

[MehGuy]

Yeah like some of the atheist conferences that once used to be lively until it got infected with sjwism and now is pretty much a ghost town. Lol.

Honestly why would it fail miserably? Did Howard Stern's off color show fail miserably? Oh wait.. it was one of the most successful programs of all time.. averaging about 20 million listening at it's peak..

Lets not be naive about human nature here..

 

[SummerMadness]

Yeah like some of the atheist conferences that once used to be lively until it got infected with sjwism and now is pretty much a ghost town. Lol.

Honestly why would it fail miserably? Did Howard Stern's off color show fail miserably? Oh wait.. it was one of the most successful programs of all time.. averaging about 20 million listening at it's peak..

Lets not be naive about human nature here..

Their non-existence shows they're pretty much not a market. But you can live in Candyland if you please.

 

[Ana the Ist]

I have never seen anyone attacked because they were white or for being male. If there is any hint of a player being female, sexual harassment begins (if the server does not rules against that). If the person is Asian, Hispanic, then the ethnic taunts begin. The notion that someone is attacked for being a white male is pure fantasy. Most of the insults revolve around calling someone homosexual or crude sexual insults.

Wow...and there's a total dismissal of my experiences. For the record, I've never heard of anyone insulted for being a lesbian...but I wouldn't dismiss the claim.

I've been called just about everything you can call a white person...had my heterosexuality and masculinity challenged repeatedly. I'll be honest, it's not like I kept a tally point system of who was doing it most, blacks, hispanics, women, men...but it happens all the time.

 

[MehGuy]

Their non-existence shows they're pretty much not a market. But you can live in Candyland if you please.

Non-existence?

The Howard Stern show lost a lot of viewers when it moved to satellite. During it's prime it was pretty huge.

During the 80s and especially 90s and early 00s it was king.

Although believe it or not, Howard Stern has gotten a lot more politically correct which I'm sure is gonna cost him even more viewers. Lol.

 

[SummerMadness]

Wow...and there's a total dismissal of my experiences. For the record, I've never heard of anyone insulted for being a lesbian...but I wouldn't dismiss the claim.

I've been called just about everything you can call a white person...had my heterosexuality and masculinity challenged repeatedly. I'll be honest, it's not like I kept a tally point system of who was doing it most, blacks, hispanics, women, men...but it happens all the time.

How was your heterosexuality and masculinity challenged? Are you suggesting that people made fun of you for being sexually attracted to women while you were online gaming?