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<blockquote data-quote="Yaarel" data-source="post: 8864778" data-attributes="member: 58172">The term &quot;race&quot; is generally unhelpful for D&amp;D.Of its meanings:• It is scientifically wrong• It is antiquated (and typically racist)• It is archaic convoluted legalese (such as the US census bureau)None of its meanings is actually useful for gaming.Mainly, D&amp;D originally used this term &quot;race&quot; because it is antiquated. It sounded pseudomedieval, in the sense that some medievalists around year 1900 also used this term when referring to the medieval period. But this same usage is intrinsic to reallife &quot;racism&quot;, especially when applied as a pseudoscience.In the US census, the usage of the archaic legalese &quot;race&quot; means one of five American melting-pot ethnicities. For example, where Italian and Polish are separate ethnicities in Europe, in the US these and others historically tended to mix together to form a distinctive White American ethnicity. Likewise, where Mali and Gabon are different nations, in the US these and others historically tended to blend together to form a Black American ethnicity. Generally, a Pan-Europe American ethnicity and a Pan-Africa American ethnicity.Black American is a distinctive &quot;ethnicity&quot;. It is distinct from Jamaican, for example. US citizens of African descent may or may not self-identify with the ethnic culture. Likewise, a Black community can include members of European ancestry, such as spouses as well as kids who grow up in it.Even in the archaic legalese of the census bureau that is peculiar to US history, the term &quot;race&quot; is increasingly meaningless. The US government officially recognizes exactly five &quot;races&quot;: White, Black, Native, Asian, and Pacific Islander. But each of these categories is problematic. For example. The Native tends to prefer the term Indigenous, while tending to self-identify as distinct tribes. The White includes the &quot;Mideast and North Africa&quot; or &quot;MENA&quot; who will in the future be counted as a separate &quot;race&quot;, and who can include Jewish Americans. Asian includes India and China who no one ever views as if a same &quot;race&quot;. Meanwhile, Latino is officially counted, but is officially not a race, and may or may not overlap the official races. Plus there is an additional &quot;Other Race&quot; category that is counted but remains unofficial.Meanwhile the term &quot;Brown race&quot; is gaining frequency in demographic discourse, as a political category, for ethnicities that are neither European nor African.The historical forces that separated US citizens from each other − namely slavery and segregation − are vanishing. Americans increasingly mix freely. Increasingly an American ethnicity emerges that comprises a tapestry of different kinds of heritages, forming an inclusive national identity.In other words, the US legalese is arguably the only &quot;neutral&quot; use of the term &quot;race&quot; left, and even it seems an unfixable mess.For D&amp;D, the term &quot;race&quot; seems the most unhelpful and the least self-explanatory jargon possible.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Yaarel, post: 8864778, member: 58172"] The term "race" is generally unhelpful for D&D. Of its meanings: • It is scientifically wrong • It is antiquated (and typically racist) • It is archaic convoluted legalese (such as the US census bureau) None of its meanings is actually useful for gaming. Mainly, D&D originally used this term "race" because it is antiquated. It sounded pseudomedieval, in the sense that some medievalists around year 1900 also used this term when referring to the medieval period. But this same usage is intrinsic to reallife "racism", especially when applied as a pseudoscience. In the US census, the usage of the archaic legalese "race" means one of five American melting-pot ethnicities. For example, where Italian and Polish are separate ethnicities in Europe, in the US these and others historically tended to mix together to form a distinctive White American ethnicity. Likewise, where Mali and Gabon are different nations, in the US these and others historically tended to blend together to form a Black American ethnicity. Generally, a Pan-Europe American ethnicity and a Pan-Africa American ethnicity. Black American is a distinctive "ethnicity". It is distinct from Jamaican, for example. US citizens of African descent may or may not self-identify with the ethnic culture. Likewise, a Black community can include members of European ancestry, such as spouses as well as kids who grow up in it. Even in the archaic legalese of the census bureau that is peculiar to US history, the term "race" is increasingly meaningless. The US government officially recognizes exactly five "races": White, Black, Native, Asian, and Pacific Islander. But each of these categories is problematic. For example. The Native tends to prefer the term Indigenous, while tending to self-identify as distinct tribes. The White includes the "Mideast and North Africa" or "MENA" who will in the future be counted as a separate "race", and who can include Jewish Americans. Asian includes India and China who no one ever views as if a same "race". Meanwhile, Latino is officially counted, but is officially not a race, and may or may not overlap the official races. Plus there is an additional "Other Race" category that is counted but remains unofficial. Meanwhile the term "Brown race" is gaining frequency in demographic discourse, as a political category, for ethnicities that are neither European nor African. The historical forces that separated US citizens from each other − namely slavery and segregation − are vanishing. Americans increasingly mix freely. Increasingly an American ethnicity emerges that comprises a tapestry of different kinds of heritages, forming an inclusive national identity. In other words, the US legalese is arguably the only "neutral" use of the term "race" left, and even it seems an unfixable mess. For D&D, the term "race" seems the most unhelpful and the least self-explanatory jargon possible. [/QUOTE]

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