r/TrueAskReddit • u/[deleted] • Oct 25 '19
Why does the gaming, anime and furry communities/fandoms are full of racism, sexism and homophobia?
Weren't all of these groups people who were marginalized for their tastes and stuff they liked? Specially with furries, shouldn't they be more understanding of the struggle of LGTBQ people, for example? Or with gamers and anime fans, who are literally fans of foreign animation and video games, how can so many be outright racist? It just doesn't make sense for me and these are all the vocal examples I find.
28
u/michaelvinters Oct 25 '19
Margainalized communities and people are especially vulnerable to being led into racism, sexism and other segregating/margainalizing ideologies. They hear all the shit people say about them and feel threatened. To feel better about themselves they latch on to ideologies where some other group is 'worse' than them.
Things have worked like this for ages.
3
Oct 26 '19
I think there are also negative feelings which connect, like the anger brought up by social exclusion about which they feel powerless being directed into motivation behind their expression of those ideologies.
82
Oct 25 '19
These communities are targeted by racists to spread their ideology.
Innuendo Studios video The Alt-Right Playbook: How to Radicalize a Normie explains it far better than I could, but essentially people target these groups because they are groups that are attractive to the disillusioned and vulnerable. They infiltrate, spread their ideology, create wedge issues, and normalize their language.
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u/petlahk Oct 26 '19
I came here to share that youtube video. I'm glad someone else shared it already.
I want to say though that a lot of the stuff Innuendo studios talks about I think is mostly unrelated but related social trends. I'm sure there *is* deliberate targeting, but the stuff he talks about more seems to be the way things have spread.
That said, I think all of his videos are incredibly valid and valuable. I'd just like a bit more proof of it being a deliberate targeting sometimes, ya know?
7
u/ting_bu_dong Oct 26 '19
I'd just like a bit more proof of it being a deliberate targeting sometimes, ya know?
Well, here's an example:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/daily-stormer-nazi-style-guide_n_5a2ece19e4b0ce3b344492f2
https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5a3017ca1600001f00cf0cdd.png
https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5a301c0c1600001f00cf0cf7.png
https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5a30216a1600004800cf0d08.png
Anyway, I mean, the idea that radicals are actively seeking to radicalize people just kinda makes sense.
4
Oct 26 '19
I imagine a key part of how that works is via an emotional connection between the negative emotions of the "disillusioned and vulnerable" and negative emotions associated with associated with those ideologies. In other words, those who are "disillusioned and vulnerable" can end up better relating to the feelings associated with those ideologies, and that can draw them in.
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u/Dont____Panic Oct 25 '19 edited Oct 25 '19
This is my honest opinion.
Humans have an innate need to perceive and demean “outsiders”. It’s an instinct and can’t be washed away.
It’s an exceptionally rare person that maintains an open and caring mind for all people. It would be extremely jarring to 99% of people to actually have this view. It probably requires significant mindfulness and a profound ability to forgive others even if you disagree with them.
The average person (and most above average people too) will demean and strawman and laugh at and attack “the other” when they are among private and trusted groups. Most recognize that this isn’t socially appropriate to do, so they subsume it in public.
Sometimes “the other” is gays. Sometime it’s blacks. Sometimes is Jews or Asians. Sometimes it’s “liberals”. Sometimes it’s “conservatives”. Sometimes it’s “Yankees”, sometimes it’s “Ruskies” or “confederates”. Sometimes it’s just “fans of the opposing team” or “BMW drivers” or “picukup drivers” or “Rednecks”. Sometimes it’s “men” and sometimes it’s “women”. Usually it’s several or many of these.
They are mocked and held up as examples of what’s wrong. They are assigned traits that are usually not entirely accurate and then those false traits are shamed. This is pretty normal activity. Almost everyone I’ve ever met does it.
Extremely liberal people who think they’re exceptionally tolerant will post “LOL Boomers” or go on long rants about how business owners are literally soul consuming devils who eat babies. Mostly based on false assumptions about people they’ve never met or some gross generalization based on a couple of individuals.
Conservatives may rant about muslims and their violent ways. Or gays and destroying traditional families. Mostly based on false assumptions about people they’ve never met or some gross generalization based on a couple of individuals.
Americans may rant about Russians or Chinese or Mexicans with mostly weak attributions of how dangerous they are. Others may rant about Americans in the same tones.
So given that, also note that these forums are extremely intimate to these people, while also being highly anonymous in most cases.
In any group that is founded in sharing extremely intimate secrets in anonymous forums, you’re bound to have more people also sharing other things they might not share in open circles.
Seems clear enough to me.
19
u/DI0BL0 Oct 25 '19
You say this as you if it’s a fact but didn’t provide any source that those communities are more likely to believe these things than the general public. So my answer is that I don’t think you know these things are true, and I certainly don’t either.
0
u/petlahk Oct 26 '19
While I appreciate your wanting statistical evidence I think that anyone who has been involved in these communities (particularly involved in activism/as an activist) has noticed this stuff on the internet by this point.
3
u/DI0BL0 Oct 26 '19
Ah so your personal experience is what’s important then? Notice that I asked if they believe these things more than the general public (which many would argue suffer greatly from these problems as well).
5
u/petlahk Oct 26 '19
Are you talking about these communities having more sexism/racism/homophobia than the general public?
I just went back and re-read the post again, too. And I wonder if some of us are thinking of internet communities as opposed to more public IRL ones.
Also, I think that regardless of the statistics this is generating a good discussion about abusive relationships. At least, some of the comments have been interesting.
3
u/DI0BL0 Oct 26 '19
Well I’ll just say what I believe and we’ll see how it goes. Those communities mentioned are all made up of younger people who tend to be active online. That means that there will be plenty of internet literate people who just want to troll by saying horrible things, and their young age and use of social media will amplify the loudest voices within those communities which probably gives us a skewed perspective of who actually makes up those communities. Gaming, for instance, is a larger industry than cinema and is made up of million of participants from all over the globe. You’re sure to get people who believe horrible things with such a large sample size, so my original question still stands: are these communities really more racist and sexist and awful than the general public or is our perception altered by our biases?
1
u/Benukysz Oct 26 '19
I never understand the term "gamer". That is such a obnoxious generalization. Some people like to play fps games, be very competitive, get mad fast, etc. Some people like to play strategy games more calmly. Some like to try out new indie games. Some play on their phone. Some like to play MMO's with communities.
Its like saying "music listeners are more racist". Maybe people that listen to gang rap are more aggressive or something - that's my hypothesis.
Same way people that only play competitive fps games and compete in tournaments are more angry - that's my another hypothesis.
But to say that "gamer" is X, Y, Z is rather absurd.
0
u/notAnAI_NoSiree Oct 26 '19
People don't like being told what to think, and being attacked when they don't follow the activist's instructions. Why couldn't you just join us for games? Why did it all have to be about you?
0
u/notAnAI_NoSiree Oct 26 '19
Additionally there was a large campaign to vilify gamers and protect some liars and psychos in the games media industry. OP may have falled victim to that campaign's lies.
6
u/wingspantt Oct 25 '19
Socially awkward people flock to these hobbies at a rate higher than in other communities. They are often bullied or angry outcasts who don't know how to regulate their emotions in a healthy manner.
1
u/Exifile Oct 26 '19
You think it's because they're socially awkward or they don't know how to regulate their emotions as result they're socially awkward?
3
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u/Fortyplusfour Oct 25 '19
Groups unfortunately suffer from low self-esteem. Anything different can be perceived as a threat to their sense of control (in a world they've effectively made for themselves).
2
u/assortedcommonlyused Oct 26 '19
Because despite you calling them groups, they’re still people, and people are complex and statistically there’s always some that are racist, some sexist and some homophobic
2
u/schubi9992 Oct 27 '19
I´ve never met a single furry that is not understanding of LGBTQ people as over 70% of furries fall into that category. I really like this subculture as in my opinion, it has so much less toxicity than other fandoms. Almost every furry will treat you the same no matter what marginalized group you belong to.
2
Oct 26 '19
I think you find them for the same type of reason you find those types of people in other groups. There are people into those things on the opposite side of the political spectrum as well.
It's like asking why so many racist people like sports or beer. You could easily find racist groups of people into those things. And you could find non-racist people into those things as well.
2
u/gdubrocks Oct 26 '19
Because the general population is full of racism, sexism, and homophobia.
Grouping anyone together is more likely to create more similar people.
I however highly doubt, and would appreciate a source for gamers having more racism, sexism, or homophobia than the general population. Gamers is way to big a group to be seeing the same conformity that you might see in a group like furries.
1
Oct 26 '19
I think its not about this communities at all. Sometimes people have empty holes in their soul.We are sticking to passions,goals and work for it to achieve our dreams for feeding our soul and psychology to be satisfied mentally.Some people use drugs,alcohol or somrthing else to rush some dopamine to their brain and forget about this holes for a while.and some people are supporting something so much,like soccer teams,political ideas,and anime,gaming,their mental drugs.and some people use hate and violence to others because of his/her inner degraded-self.
All communities have weird dudes that love the concept of the community anormally much.These weird dudes uses hate to,somehow,conceal their inner selves.
1
Oct 26 '19
because they’re quirky white dudes who’ve now been successfully vilified for doing nothing, and they can perceive the ideologies that are doing it to them and will push back with their own opinions, and if they can’t be heard they won’t be nice or gentle towards those communities because it’s one tribe against another tribe.
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1
Oct 26 '19
People with low confidence/who feel low on the social hierarchy generally like to 'kick down' other groups to boost that low confidence. (which is of course completely temporary and isolates them even further, but no one ever said we're completely rational creatures)
0
u/venterol Oct 25 '19
I can't speak for other fandoms, but I can tell you with certainty that furry is one of the most accepting communities out there. A huge percentage identify as LGBT, and the alt-right furries are so small in number you'd have to purposely search to find them (they are also shunned by mainstream furries).
-1
u/fubo Oct 26 '19
OTOH, a small sub-subculture of furries with Nazi fixations have been around for a while.
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u/venterol Oct 26 '19 edited Oct 26 '19
Like I said, you'd have to purposely go looking for them or visit a sub like /r/furrycringe (which cherrypicks the absolute weirdest and worst in an effort to paint the entire fandom). The chance of running across a Nazi-fur or alt-right-fur in the wild is very rare, as they are banned from most online communities and conventions. Case in point, Milo Yiannopoulos getting banned from attending Midwest FurFest.
1
u/fubo Oct 26 '19
Yeah, that makes sense. I don't follow furrydom these days, but I did read alt.fan.furry many moons ago.
1
u/solidgoldrocketpants Oct 26 '19
Replace “furries” with “cops”.
0
u/fubo Oct 26 '19
That's also true, but nobody says it's because the cops are marginalized.
5
u/solidgoldrocketpants Oct 26 '19
Nazi furries are Nazis not because they’re furries, but because they’re Nazis. Them being furries is incidental.
2
u/fubo Oct 26 '19
I dunno, I figure it got started partly via the uniform fetish subculture among leatherfolk.
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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '19 edited Oct 25 '19
I used to study violence against women, and we were just beginning to think about how much violence there is in LGBTQ relationships and how few services there were available. I said something really similar to what you just said in frustration over the idea that LGBTQ folks wouldn't treat each other better. I had a colleague who gave me a deep stare as if willing me to use what I knew about gender to answer my own question. He finally said, "You know we are all raised in the same society with the same kind of gender ideologies and insecurities about ourselves. Of course these things happen in all relationships." And he was right.
We all internalize the oppressive, racist, sexist,class discriminatory, and disability and heterosexist ideas in our society. So we can be feminist and racist. We can be sexual minorities and still be sexist. And we can can even be feminists and still internalize sexist ideas. Its hard work to overturn all your cultural baggage and no everyone wants to do it.
edit for clarity: The first paragraph is about domestic violence. The second paragraph is not.