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Comment by toyg | Hacker News Reader

At what point trying to label something as racist ends up backfiring?

For people born toward the end of last century, the stereotypes you mention barely register at all. I only know them for having studied Weimar at undergrad level, but tbh the only stereotype of Jewishness, for me and my peers, is of well-dressed New Yorker professionals and LA executives using funny words.

Without comments as yours, I honestly would never have thought of late-1800s caricatures of Jews when looking at a Ferengi. You are effectively re-popularizing something that is utterly dead in the mainstream.

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You’re kind of advocating the “let’s all pretend the past didn’t happen” theory of easing racial tensions by never mentioning slavery, etc.

It’s a viewpoint, but I’m very skeptical.

IMO it is perfectly reasonable to contextualize a fictional race by the creators and the time it was created. Intentional ignorance and choosing to ignore reality never sit well with me. I’m more in the “those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it” camp myself.

No.

A Character Type is different than a Caricature, which is Specifically when one is representing a Specific Person or Peoples.

When there is no such intent and is not based explicitly in such prior art, such characters are just that purely imaginary characters with zero bearing on real world racism.

Enough with the bs.

This is a strange take that seems best described as "raciphobia". It's not "bs" to ask whether or suggest that a creative work was inspired by a stereotype.

There's the creator's intent which can't really be known. Then there's the observer's interpretation which is equally valid.

We can know in this case: It wasn't, back when the Ferengi were first created their civilization was more like a cross between conquerors and pirates than anything else. Their current depiction evolved slowly over the course of TNG.

The creators intent can be known When They've Explicitly Discussed It.

You're Presuming based on your Prejudices aka Pre-Judging.

If history tells us anything, it's that keeping past offenses and injustices alive and on top of everyone's mind is how you get centuries of bloody wars, with each generation trying to "get justice" for what the other side done to their parents. Rinse, repeat.

"Eye for an eye makes the whole world go blind", and all that. Surely there is a better way.

You appear to be suggesting that because you weren’t aware of something that means it isn’t mainstream. I was also born towards the end of the last country and I’m very aware of the stereotypes we’re discussing here. So we’ve got two conflicting anecdotes.

Add me (born 1990) to the list of people who immediately recognized Ferengi as playing into how racist people would stereotype Jewishness. "Utterly dead in the mainstream" is pushing it somewhat.

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