Racism vs Racial Insensitivity in Esports

[u/ituralde_]

[EDIT 2] adding more explicit commentary because reading comprehension is hard.

The esports community has failed at this distinction and it has caused a lot of drama and consternation.

Racism is believing awful things about some group. [EDIT] Think of this as a measure of Character.

Racial insensitivity is saying something about a group that is offensive. [EDIT] Think of this as characterizing someones actions. You could also call this "racist actions", describing the actions a person took. I chose the phrasing to make a distinction between actions and character, not to pretend that this made the actions not racist.

[EDIT 2] The phrasing doesn't matter here and it's a shame I can't edit the title because people are caught up on this. The important distinction (again) is character judgement vs actions. Neither racist actions no racist character are something the community should tolerate. The distinction only matters in that someone who does not want to be known as racist will be willing to reform their racist or otherwise offensive behaviors when given the opportunity. That's why it's important to remember that, when it comes to Actions and Character:

These are not the same thing.

Both are incredibly important. Impact is more important than intent; it's important to be cognizant of how your actions are interpreted by the world around you. [EDIT 2] This means that being racially sensitive is a terrible thing and merits the punishments that have been getting given out.

That said, it's similarly inappropriate to always assume racism in the presence of racial insensitivity. [EDIT 2] This means that not everyone who says something awful and punishment-worth is doing so out of outright racism. Young, dumb kids say and do dumb shit for reasons above and beyond being a terrible person.

The important behavior we want to teach to players and fans is that sensitivity matters, and we undermine that by accusing everyone who makes a mistake on the sensitivity front of being immediately racist/homophobic/etc.

Racial and other insensitivity is and should continue to be punished by the Overwatch league and its constituent teams. The important result of this should be that lessons are learned, not that players are crucified.

Take a look at EQO's case - he made a mistake. For a lot of us, it's an obvious mistake but clearly not one he thought of. Both he and the Philadelphia Fusion made sincere responses to the mistake. This is a perfect example of how this shit should be handled. We as a community should also treat it as such, and while we should be harsh on players who do make these mistakes, we should also encourage these young people from various backgrounds to learn from such mistakes. Let them be examples to their fans, don't bury them in negativity.

This is really important.

[EDIT 2] For clarity since this has been all over the comments, EQO not only fucked up bigtime through his actions, he made it worse by trying to play coverup. The good response absolutely was at the behest of some authority figure in the Fusion, and that's exactly what we should expect of organizations in the league. We, as a community, should take a trust-but-verify approach - give the Fusion credit for their swift response and give EQO the benefit of the doubt that this was a lapse of judgement, but also keep an eye out that the final statement was sincere.

Take a look at XQC for another example.

In full disclosure, I don't like XQC. I don't like the majority of his fans. I'm probably naturally biased against him.

However, I don't think he's a racist, and I sympathize with the guy who is broken over being saddled with this label by the powers that be.

He made a mistake. Sure, he hasn't really shown that he understands this but at the same time, how the heck could he? He's being told he's racist which isn't something he's capable of identifying with. He doesn't share the beliefs he's being accused of, so how could he get anything from this?

He's not a racist. He made a huge fuckup and has been hounded by the community as if he's evil. He's not evil, he fucked up. He displayed poor judgement, that doesn't make him a bad person - it makes him human.

[EDIT 2] I thought this was clear from context but the important distinction is that he doesn't see him as a racist and continuing to accuse him of that worldview doesn't help anything. His actions WERE racist. You could say he was "acting racist" or "being racist" in reference to his actions if that terminology fits it better. Does he have a racist worldview? Only insofar as he clearly doesn't understand why it's important to be sensitive about how you show up publicly.

XQC isn't the first and EQO won't be the last to make these mistakes. So let's learn a lesson as a community and give these players the window to improve themselves and how they show up in public. Condemn the action, not the person - give them the window to reform. Let them acknowledge the difference between intent vs impact and use these examples to teach the community about why this matters.

Demonizing the people only undermines the opportunity for a lesson to be learned by the players and the community as a whole.

Let's maintain our standards, but enable our players to rise above careless behavior to those standards. Let's not saddle them eternally with the baggage of a mistake made of youth, ignorance, community-driven habit, and/or carelessness. Let's not make accusations of a person's character when they yet have the opportunity to grow from a poor choice.

[EDIT] This has gotten way more traction than I ever thought it would, so I'd like to clarify a few things in simple terms.

1. The punishments were good and appropriate. I think the first reaction to negative behavior would be to stop it and punish. Only after should we look at how to rehabilitate bad behavior.

2. The distinction I'm trying to draw here is the difference between Actions and Character. I think a redeemable Character can perform reprehensible actions. In the case someone does something reprehensible, we shouldn't shut the door on them redeeming themselves if they choose to accept responsibility and reform. That's really all I'm trying to say.

[u/[deleted]]

You're overreacting. It's obvious how offensive what EQO did to many people. You think it's some kind of compliment that he made slant eyes? How out of touch are you?

Are you ok with someone mocking you for being different?

[u/Voidward → u/[deleted]]

Yes, I am the one that I'd overreacting. Clearly.

Is it obvious that what he did was intended to be offensive to many people? Is it obvious that he was ridiculing Asian people as a group by making slanty eyes? Or is it that people are stripping this of all context and reacting completely irrationally to this?

Yes I am OK with people saying things I don't like. It's called being a well adjusted adult.

Here, I have Ukrainian, Austrian, Russian and Tatar backgrounds. Have at it, do your worst. I love me some potatoes, I one of my grandparents could have been Hitler's best friend, and there's a good chance Stalin wiped out near a quarter of my relatives in the holodomor. Also, a quarter of my ancestry are borderline mongoloids. That's some good material, throw some ethnically charged insults my way I'll rate them on 1-10 scale, and if you actually manage to insult me, I'll give you a 9/11 rating. Good luck.

[u/[deleted] → u/Voidward]

Does intent matter? There’s almost no context in which what he did is considered acceptable. I take it people have not insulted you in the same manner EQO did all your life. What context could make it ok? You say it as if it could be a good thing.

Do I think he’s a bad person? Don’t know, don’t know the guy. He’s also already received his punishment. I don’t care about that. It’s people who think that he did absolutely nothing wrong. Am I personally insulted by what he did? No, but he really shouldn’t be doing that.

[u/reboticon → u/[deleted]]

Does intent matter? There’s almost no context in which what he did is considered acceptable

Except the context that he did it in should be borderline* acceptable because it was not mocking it was imitation. Someone said he was playing as well as a Korean, and he did the gesture and said Look at me I'm Korean. He was acknowledging that Koreans are the best in this game.

*by borderline I mean that I really do not think this instance should be offensive BUT I recognize that with the history of the gesture, it will always be offensive simply for existing.

Intent SHOULD matter, though. It certainly does in courts of law, and I don't see how anyone could interpret it as him trying to offend.

[u/[deleted] → u/reboticon]

I guess. I get what he was trying to do, but man, he really should have realized what he was doing.

[u/reboticon → u/[deleted]]

I agree, he should have, but I - at least, don't know about you - have a long history in the USA. He doesn't. So what is obvious as night and day to people who have lived in the USA, may not be obvious to people from other countries.

Here is an example I've been using. Thumbs up gesture in Greece means 'Up Yours,' it's the equivalent of our flipping the bird. If a Greek player gets signed and someone says 'great play' to him and gives him a thumbs up, should that player be punished for not knowing that what is a positive gesture in the US is an insult in Greece?

His punishment is lesser, so maybe they did take some of this into consideration. I just think that if a person makes a dumb mistake, clearly with no ill intent, a genuine apology should probably be enough.

I don't know, I feel like lately society has been moving backwards towards an eye for an eye, and that sort of thing eventually leads to the whole world being blind.

[u/[deleted] → u/reboticon]

Nah, I think his punishment is sufficient. I just think it's stupid that people are trying to act like he did nothing wrong.

Hopefully he learns.