'Waypoint' Claims Racist Logo in Destiny 2 (Destiny)

by Funkmon , Thursday, September 14, 2017, 02:13 (2409 days ago) @ Ragashingo

The creator of Pepe the Frog killed him because he became a hate symbol. So while he may have done nothing wrong, you have to acknowledge that context if you choose to use or reference it. Totally agree about not forgetting about things prior to them being embraced by folks bent on hatred, but in the same context we can't forget about what other contexts they get used in.

I think you are right in that people can maintain their use in the old forms, so long as they are conscious of how they are externally perceive given newer contexts. And that is where one should be careful and understanding. Like everyone has agreed Bungie is being.

How is the public at large supposed to remember an original meaning of a work or symbol if we abandon it once a hate group gets a hold of it?

This is a great point, Raga, and entirely valid. It's also one I would support in a lot of situations. Make X Great Again as a phrase shouldn't be excised because of its associations. The toothbrush mustache is perfectly fine. In a black and white universe, I agree with you.

Unfortunately, there is a rich tapestry of shades and colours out there, and in a situation like this, a cartoon frog, or a coincidental glove design, things that have little effect on the public beyond their appropriations by hateful people, then maybe we can consider it better to just drop the symbol altogether.

In the real world, remember we often have to compromise with our principles for compassion, or for practicality, or for any number of reasons. It's really tempting sometimes to just be opposed to things because it upsets our ideals, and most of the time, that's fine and it doesn't matter. But if you're the designer who accidentally made the gloves look like a bad thing, you are faced with a problem. Take a hard line, which the community known for appropriating unrelated things for hate may take as an endorsement, or change the essentially meaningless design and denounce them, thereby keeping your product from aiding them in a racist mission?

I know what I'd do. I'd change those gloves in a second, even if I really liked the design. I think you would too. It's not worth it.