The *real* shame is that I do understand the Euro-centric fatigue in fantasy and the desire for other flavors - whether it's Asian or Middle-eastern established fantasy tropes remain as viable options...
The *problem* is the SJW morons have so demonized any and all forms of playing with cultural analogs outside of the European veneer, and have done so with such rabidness, that any attempts to do so are now suspect by us as consumers.
It's a hurdle to consider as a developer - because people get scared of being called racists by the actual racists, but as this is a cottage industry, it starts to look like you *might* just be burning money in order to get a kick in the balls by the usual suspects. (note - I say it starts to appear - this doesn't mean it's a reality).
Lastly - the only offerings apparently free of this reality that are high-production affairs (I'm sure I'm probably wrong about this somewhere so I'm speaking generally) are the shit being served up by SJW's themselves.
There is the added fact that it's very real that while some/many people feel a little Euro-centric fatigue, that the vast majority of players are *not* tired of Euro-centric fantasy. Much more the fact that "Euro-centric" fantasy typically means DnD fantasy which is not really fair to the entirety of the real European cultures that are largely ignored in the DnD Fantasy milieu.
There are some fantastic Euro-inspired settings out there that *need* more GM's pushing them. Symbaroum, The Witcher, are among two that come to mind. I believe with all my heart there is room for fun non-Euro content in DnD... but likely not outside the OSR, with the SJW's controlling the DnD brand.
But I say regardless of what the SJW zombie-hordes out there want, we should all be playing/designing/publishing/homebrewing whatever the fuck we want for those that want to have fun. I *dislike* the fact I'm so suspect of non-Euro themed settings nowadays because of the political lens everyone uses to inform their designs (whether on purpose or not in order to avoid the slings and arrows). We simply have to continue to find those souls willing to create high-quality games and support the shit out of them.
This. Pay attention, folks. When you grumble about everything being generic Eurofantasy, this is why.
Nothing less than abject kneeling before the woke altars will protect you if you try and stray off the beaten path. It's another mutation of the 'cultural appropriation' cancer.
Yeah, when wondering what caused this particular incident, and the cultural zeitgeist that it reflects, this stuff is relevant as hell.
Agreed.
There's a difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. Something like the deer skull headed cryptid on creepypasta pages called "wendigo" is blatant cultural appropriation of the name of a monster from Ojibwe religion that is completely different in its true form and isn't appreciated. I'm not gonna give you the complete history because there are books about it, but basically the real wendigo is a shapeless personification of greed and gluttony, particularly capitalist excess in modern contexts. In ancient times it was associated with winter and cannibalism due to the lack of food available then, but this aspect is no longer relevant in modern times when heating and food is widely available year round. Tribes of the Pacific Northwest used to hold potlucks where they would burn their possessions to symbolize how they don't let the wendigo corrupt them... naturally the settlers outlawed this practice because it conflicted with EuroAmerican values of accumulating wealth. Nobody appreciates the original monster or the message behind it, which is now more relevant than ever in our clickbait dystopia, while a bland lie with zero symbolism behind it has traveled around the world via internet. That's the tragedy of cultural appropriation.
SJWs confuse cultural appreciation with appropriation and ruin appreciation for everyone else. The world is full of cultures that go unappreciated outside of their own cultural bubbles. It's a huge loss for humanity
I'll take it a step further (and you may not agree).
People are not entitled to decide what degree someone appreciates a "thing". That is the heart of all of this nonsense. I'm TOTALLY guilty of it. We all are. The only difference is while I might call you a fucking monster for drinking Starbucks, and be vitriolic, I'm always doing in it in fun - because while I think you might not know better, I *know* I've been in that boat on a LOT of things.
Do I care that many Anime lovers todays have never watched Akira? Or that people now think there were tons of female ninjas around "back in the day"? Or that Chinese food here in America is actually Chinese? No. And while I know the nuance of all these things - that for that individual these things are fun and True(tm) it doesn't mean they *hate* what I know is larger in scope.
The problem with SJW's is they believe *they* know the One True Way about anything "Non-white" (whatever that means) and pretending to speak for entire cultures that aren't theirs (real or imagined) for the sole purpose of censoring anyone that believes different because they have pathologically attached their own unease at "The Others" upon anything and everything that differs from them.
This applies to gaming, movies, speech, anything that requires interpersonal communication. They make up these fancy terms to give themselves some legitimacy for their pathological views, and then of course, insist you use them too.
I want people to have fun. It's funny I see this even among OSR people too (Pundit does this a little bit) - where they will shit on books like Oriental Adventure or Al-Qadim for not being "authentic" enough to those respective cultures... BUT most of the time (and this includes Pundit) they have the good graces to put an asterisk on those views by saying "Well look, this is what we had at the time, we didn't know better." And this is very true.
I *love* Oriental Adventures. LOVE IT. YES because it's Black Belt theater. I'm Asian, and I don't love it *just* because it's "Asian". It's completely chuckle-worthy as American-circa-early-80's view of Asian cultures by way of D&D. Because if we're being **HONEST** D&D's take on "European" cultures is equally silly.
Al-Qadim is a wonderful Americanized Sinbad and Arabian Nights sendoff. Shitting on it, would be like shitting on MtG's "Arabian Nights" sendoff which was largely inspired by a single copy of 'Ramadan' from the Sandman comic (which alone is guilty of the same thing - but it's BEAUTIFUL in its presentation).
This mind-reading thing for the purpose of determining the intent of the author is fucking retarded. The bottom line should always be: is it fun? Do your players enjoy what you're presenting? Do you enjoy what you're presenting? If so - GOOD. Do More of That.
Otherwise we're gonna have to cancel Taco Bell for appropriating "Mexican Food" and McDonalds for desecrating "Irish cuisine" culture. (but we'll be watching you while you eat that Burrito Grande after a late night-binge.)
