I Don't Unnerstan

The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.

--Morpheus The Matrix 

GURPS: Basic Set 4th Edition Revised p. 518-519 says:

Loyalty
We offer no "loyalty table" for enslaved individuals; the GM must use common sense. The orcs' victims will escape or revolt at any opportunity, except for those too will-broken to make a move. The Janissary will shout, "Traitor!" and try to arrest anyone who attempts to "free" him.

GURPS: Basic Set 4th Edition, Vol. 2, Campaigns p. 518-519 says:

Loyalty of Slaves
Determine a slave’s loyalty per Loyalty of Hirelings (above). However, slaves are less predictable than hirelings. After determining the slave’s initial loyalty, roll 2d on the following table to determine a loyalty modifier:

• 2-7 – No modifier.
• 8 – He was enslaved for some crime, and resents it: -1 to loyalty.
• 9 – As above, but -2 to loyalty.
• 10 – His previous master was very cruel. If he is treated with kindness during the first week, apply +2 to loyalty; otherwise, no change.
• 11 – He has a fanatic hatred of slavery.  If treated well, he may like his masters as people, but will still escape as soon as possible. If treated badly (or even “average” for a slave), his loyalty drops to 6.
• 12 – He has the Slave Mentality disadvantage (p. 154), and considers himself truly the property of his owner. His loyalty is automatically 20. You need never check loyalty; he will not demur, even if given orders that condemn him to death.

Make loyalty checks for slaves as for any other hirelings. Modify loyalty by +1 or +2 if they are in a situation where they have nowhere to run! 

And I wonder why this change was made.  Their whole point about the changes they make to slavery is about how it's dehumanizing and the players should be the heroes who oppose the very idea of it, but this is a table of very human responses to being enslaved in most places.

Making me work it out on my own as the GM does work, and I've been doing it that way since forever because I never looked for this table.

Still, how does this table convince someone that slavery is OK? 

The old version says:

Legal Complications
When slave-holding PCs enter an area where slavery is illegal, they must either dispose of their slaves or pass them off as free servants.

Possible anti-slavery attitudes include: legal to own slaves, but not to buy or sell them locally; legal for non-citizens to own slaves while passing through, but illegal for permanent residents to own them; or illegal to own slaves at all.

A creative GM may impose other laws and customs regarding slavery.  For instance, it might be legal to enslave members of some social groups or races, but not others. There might be ways for a slave to earn his freedom – some societies might even permit slaves to own property and buy their freedom. 

Eliminating the players owning slaves meshes with the idea of them as the heroes, but the rest is decent, generic, campaign guidance.

The new version is much shorter.

Social Complications
No one from an even vaguely egalitarian society likes those who enslave others or profit from it; they will react at -1 or worse. Enslavers are usually overtly Callous (p. 125).

Where the practice is illegal, they have Social Stigma (Criminal Record) (p. 155), and are treated as if they had Sadism (p. 152) – even if they don’t.  Exception: The masters of zombies, golems, IQ 3 tentacle beasts, and similar “pets” instead suffer the usual reaction penalties of necromancers or keepers of horrors, and may even inherit the creatures’ penalties!

I like this verbiage.  Adding it to the original would have been better, I think, than dodging the idea that slaves can be broken to the point that they have come to completely accept their lot even if they aren't happy about it. 

I Will Say It Again

I don't mind immigrants.

An immigrant is someone who has decided to move to a different nation and become a citizen of that nation.

They adopt that nation's language and culture.

They change from a them to an us.

The thing I rail against is not immigration.

While it might not rise to the level of colonization, we do have enclaves of foreigners who have no intention of adopting our language or culture.

Most of these people have not entered the nation legally, and there's a significant number of people who entered legally but did not return home once their visa expired.

But adoption of culture and language is important.

Hell, I'm even willing to compromise on the language part if they're doing our culture well enough.

That I have to make this post is an indication that people who hate America have managed to shift the language so that immigrant doesn't mean what I've indicated, but anyone who's managed to cross the border.

The best you can call a small number of them is "expat."  But expats enter legally and keep a low profile. 

Let's Be "Racist"

The more I dig into the problem, the more convinced I am that much of "racism" is conflict of culture and not any actual failing of any particular string of genes.

Are blacks stupid?  Are whites smart?

Probably not.

But to make a bad analogy:  How far are you going to get using Apple Basic to program an IBM?

It's not going to work.

Western Civilization is a framework of values.  Use that framework and you're guaranteed a level of success and comfort within it.

Perhaps not great wealth, but you will not starve.

There are some cultures which cannot work within that framework.

There are some which almost work within it.

Because Western Civ is a culture of education and science, it tends to accumulate wealth and advance technology.

That wealth has allowed some "almost" cultures to exist within it.  It's propped up more than a couple non compatible cultures too.

The people in these cultures are currently successful in spite of their native culture, not because of it, thanks to the largess generated by The West.

The problem is they think they are successful because they've been told all cultures are equivalent.

The gigantic problem is that all cultures are not equivalent.

It didn't used to be a problem.

Once upon a time there was a vast, and brutal, education program running in America which took people from other cultures and got them up to speed with Western Civ.

It was called "The Melting Pot."

If you ask a teacher today, they will describe something sitting on a stove making a stew-like mixture.

That wasn't the original meaning.

It was a crucible.

The good from the outside culture was burned out and absorbed into the, stronger, alloy of American culture.  The bad, the slag, was discarded.

Our long, festering, issue in America is and has been actively preventing black people from assimilating into American culture.

This is where there's genuine racism.

But you didn't need to be a racist to see that a slave assimilated into western culture wouldn't be a good manual laborer.

But!  BUT!  BUT!  Western civilization, with its idealism and embracing of freedom and liberty had slowly been coming to the idea that slavery is wrong.

What better way to convince yourself that it was still OK to keep that peculiar institution going than to promote the idea that the slaves were incapable of being equal members of American civilization?

An idea promoted so well that the very people most oppressed by the concept have bought into it so fully I despair at the task of fixing that lie.

The idea that it's their genes and not the subculture is something that creeps into, otherwise, rational people's thoughts.

Why?

Because membership in this subculture requires one to be of the no longer enslaved race.

How does this subculture react to its members coming to the same conclusion as I have?  It curses them and tries to drag them back in, like crabs in a cookpot keeping others from escaping if they are doomed.

It's ingrained.

The good news is that it wouldn't take but two generations to unfuck.

BUT! (again with the buts)

We have to decide to fire up the melting pot and let it work its brutal magic.  And make no mistake, it will be brutal.

At the end, though, we could have black skin have no more meaning than having auburn hair or green eyes.

We've come so very close more than once.

Every time it's been actively sabotaged by "people" with strong incentives to keep the status quo.  People who have convinced themselves that blacks are incapable of being full members of society because of genetic failings.  Gee, that sounds familiar, Mr Crow!

While we're on the topic of bigotry and why I think that the concept has merit:

Italians, Irish and Catholics.

They were subjected to as bad (some even say worse) discrimination and abuse than any free-black person endured.  In some cases, being Irish was worse than being a black slave.  A slave, being property, had some value to their owner.  Irish laborers were considered disposable.  If one were to die, you'd shrug and get two more off the dock.  YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO PAY FOR THEM!!!

But the Irish went from filthy Micks to identifiable surname in about two generations.

TWICE!

Italians, same thing.

Catholicism took JFK to assimilate, but that had more to do with the idea of obeying The Pope than a real hatred.  Americans used to be distrustful of someone who had extra-territorial allegiances.

We know, in our hearts, that it's possible.

PS: Reading the history of a couple of places in Africa convinces me even more that it's a culture issue than anything else.  Rhodesia might be another example of where it was actively prevented from happening.  The white government repeatedly stated that the black population was "not ready" for full enfranchisement.  That they lacked the education to handle the responsibility of the vote.

Well, Zimbabwe kind of underscores what they said would happen if majority rule was implemented before such education was disseminated.  But, then, Communists never did value education when there was a population to subjugate.

Not Anymore

I'm trying to get a few phrases in Dakota for this slowly progressing novel I'm making.

I'm in contact with a very nice former cav-scout who speaks it and we're talking history.

And being honest.

I've said that I wanted to get things right with the culture and to not be offensive towards the Sioux.

He's like, "tell the truth, our peoples did what they did."

The line that really sticks is, "We're not really those people any more."  He's indicating that he's more different from the people he's descended from than he's different from me.  Distinct from my culture in many ways, but more American than Indian anymore.

Wow!

It makes me look at the people Americans were in this time period and the same thing has happened.

The past truly is another country.

Overheard At Special Olympics

"Volunteering" for Special Olympics gets you community service credits for high school.

A friend's daughter reports listening to her fellow students raging and saying, "White Power ain't never seen no Black Power!"

I just want to give you the complete list of black victories over "white power".

1. Isandlwana.

2. ...

Thus concludes the list.

Talking to her about this a bit more and she had more detail about what they thought would win the day for blacks.

It amounts to riots, handguns and blunt instruments.

Well, allow me to sing the song of my people.

Rifles and artillery.

Pushed far enough and given sufficient belief that the ground cannot be retaken....

Go for it, I says.

Cultural Appropriation

I am making Cuban Pernil Asado!

Appropriate to the political situation I'm using Goya's Mojo Criollo.

I started this way too late, it needs hours to marinade and about an hour and a half for the Instant Pot to do its magic.

So what I'm really making is Lechon Manana.

Cracker Day!

Since we can't celebrate Columbus any more...

Today has been labeled "Indigenous People's Day" by the SJW community.

Fine.

Then today we celebrate the folks who were actually born in Florida, as opposed to the carpet-baggers and snowbirds.

It Rocks

That picadillo recipe I accidentally linked to?

It rocks.

If you like Cuban food, you should like this.