Is Starbound potentially racist?

Words have very specific meanings and connotations. Racist is, well, very negative. People react to it negatively and go offensive/defensive. I'm a firm believer in people using their heads, and ethnocentric is not a hard word for people to work around. Ethnicity+central=ethnocentric meaning centered on an ethnicity, in this case humanity. It's simply the most apt word I could think of on short notice that works better than racism.

 

It's does and your right,but some people tend to lean toward negative a lot. It seem that op may have slightly painted the situation that way to help make his point.

 

I dare venture that humans where more harmonious with nature much longer ago, not now. And not in the future.

Utopia is a myth of the human mind, because it will be different for each individual. Therefor will never be agreed upon. It will have to be forced, or brainwashed.... both of which will be resisted.

 

Are all the technologies we create any less natural than a bird's nest, or a beaver's dam? No they are not. All that humans create is simply an extension of a natural thing, a production of nature. we cannot be fail to be "harmonious with nature" because we are nature.
On another note, Utopian society can exist, we simply don't have the intelligence as of yet to come to a unified understanding of it as a species.

 

Yes! Apes, birds, plants, fish, and bodies of energy all need to have their drinking fountains and bathrooms separate from humans!!

 

I LOLed, and then realized you where serious....

Humans where far less of an impact to nature long ago. How many species are endangered or extinct from the past 500 years or so due to direct, human intervention? What about scarcity of resources, ecology impact, weather phenomenon, ect.?

A beaver dam is not a the same as the Hover dam. Scale matters.
Humans have even made hybrid elements, through refinement, fusion, ect.... but no other creature can do that.

Utopia has nothing to do with intelligence...

 

I think you bring up an interesting detail. I do not think that 'racist' is the right term though. After all, humans have had plenty of horrible experiences killing each other in every way that is described in the other race's lore. It just happens that in our story the reason we moved out of Dodge was because of a massive tentacle attack.

 

Let me say this now, I don't want to start any sort of hostile argument, just good natured debate. Even if the side I chose this time is a wee bit ridiculous, I think I can defend it.
First, we need to identify what we each believe the definition of nature is, so we don't argue over a definition. In my eyes, nature is anything that could happen in the universe.
Secondly, "scale matters" the Hoover dam (1,244 ft wide) is dwarfed in size compared to the largest beaver dam (2,790 ft wide) plus, the beaver dam is a frickin' city, not just a power plant. Humans have made many species go extinct over the years, but we're getting out of that habit.

Humans have also contributed to weather phenomena, global warming, desertification, and other tragedies; but consider natural -- yes natural -- disasters, and extinction events, over 98% of documented species are now extinct, due to those events. I think that trumps any paltry number of species humanity could drive to extinction.

Once the human race becomes intelligent enough (Or wise enough) to drop this "Us versus Them" mentality, utopia will become a reality; however, that day may never come.

EDIT: If you're a theist, you may believe that humans are different than any other animal, in which case I will not debate this anymore; I hate trying to uproot deep-rooted personal beliefs.

 

I'm not hostile, so no worries there mate.

I am confused about what you are wanting to debate, however...
Is it this? " I dare venture that humans where more harmonious with nature much longer ago, not now."

And I view nature as Ecology, not all encompassing space. Nature is a continued balance, supernatural is the abrupt change in that balance. That's my view.

Yes, 98% are extinction events, but what of that 2%? Is there any other creature that has caused another to go extinct?
"but we're getting out of the habit" LOL, really? Have you been to Africa? Or the Amazon? Just today I saw a story of a supposed extinct bird that birdwatchers saw (I think in Europe) that hadn't been seen for 20 years. It died when it hit a Human wind turbine... Ironic, no?

You seem to understand why Utopia won't exist. The us vs. them is hardwired in all of nature... and intelligence can't fix that.

 

The intros could also just be at the specific point in each races timeline that they were pushed spaceward. The fact that at the time the human race was at a point of proposed "peace" doesn't mean that they are completely peaceful at the time. The intro is just showing the event as to why they abandoned the planet.

 

Wouldn't that be species-ist?

 

Damnit, I went off topic again... I suck at debating.

 

I just hope all the races are incredibly racist. Screw peace and harmony, we've got civilizations to 'splode!

@OP: Perhaps the humans are oppressing the other races. Lord knows, we've shown time and time again to be incredibly proficient at it.

 

Once again....

 

I think you're digging too deep OP.
My guess is that the humans were trying to create an ultimate life form by combining each race DNA material and boom - they've created that tentacle monstrosity which sucks human brain and harvests Floran plant hearts just to feed itself MUHAHAHAHAHHA !

 

Everything can be racist when people go out of their way to grasp at straws for things to act indignant about. Show how noble you are by pointing out the injustices you invented in your head, it makes you a better person!

 

I can almost feel the dark energies of Tumblr seeping into the forums cracks.

eghk

 

Considering that none of the playable species exist, why does it even matter if we discriminate against them?

 

Yeah. Kind of what I was referring to.

That would be the 'grasping at straws for something to act indignant about' I was mentioning.