Mercurius
Legend
I'm curious... how many other people in this drow discussion are black/african-american? I'm asking because I'd be curious in hearing another african-american/black take on the drow. I honestly find it a little hard to discuss things like this with people of other races when their stance tends to boil down to... get over it, or it shouldn't matter. Just being honest...
I'm not black, but I would like to address this. I totally agree with where you are coming from, and it isn't a matter of political correctness, as some would have it, but plain and simply sensitivity to others, and that too-rare capacity to understand the view and experience of another.
In this case, it is rather absurd for a non-black person to essentially say "It doesn't bother me, so get over it." I'm not saying anyone in this thread is actually, or overtly, taking such a stance, but there are tones of it. I think the important thing is to have the conversation, to talk about and share different perspectives in a spirit of open-mindedness and sensitivity, and simply because we're all ignorant about something and it is a good thing to become more aware of that which we don't experience.
As for my view on this, I don't think the idea of "cursed to have black skin" is inherently racist but certainly *is* quite problematic. I personally wouldn't be offended by a "cursed to have white skin" (or olive-ish, as I'm half Italian), but then again I haven't had to deal with a racial heritage in which people have been persecuted for having olive-white skin for centuries, nor did people of my ethnicity/race/culture have to use separate bathrooms just a few decades past. I think it is easy for non-black people (or, non-female, non-gay, etc, in different ways) to have no clue about the effect that sort of heritage has on one, or exactly why it is problematic for a young black kid encountering D&D for the first time to hear about the evil elves who were cursed to have black skin. But I don't have to tell you that!
So when it comes to drow, it isn't just being PC to question whether this is an, if not inherently racist idea, then at least a problematic one that requires some sensitivity. If I was Hollywood and/or WotC, I for one would not be interested in incorporating the "cursed to be black" idea into a major motion picture. But I also wouldn't shy away from drow-as-darkskinned, but simply come up with a different explanation, or change them altogether. For instance, in my campaign world there are two "evilish" (or at least not-nicey nice) elven sub-races. The drow equivalent are more pale grey skinned, while another--inspired by Elric--is almost albino. There is also a black-skinned sub-race, but they are very rare mystics that spend their time in high mountain towers contemplating the mysteries of the universe.
I didn't change any of this to be PC, or to be honest to be culturally sensitive, but because I thought it all sounded cool!
ya know, I keep coming back to this thread hoping for more info from the gamehole con, more info on what Chris Perkins said about the OGL and I find is a thread about drow not being PC and so on. Is that fair to the rest of us?
Well, online forums are created for and by the participants, so if there's conversation going on it means that participants are interested in said conversation. Maybe you aren't but clearly others are, and it is just as much their forum as it is yours.
In other words, you can't please everyone and, more so, you can't expect every conversation (in an online forum) to cater to your interests and needs.