Israel and Israeli settlers aren’t the way they are because of Judaism. That’s how settler colonialism and settlers are. Even people who are political radicals, who have experienced oppression as an ethnicity themselves, etc. can become twisted into believing and doing horrible things as Settlers. Look at the Irish in Ireland vs Irish American settlers politically. Australia ended up with a disproportionate amount of human rights and workers rights activists in its initial groups of settlers (as convicts), it lead to nothing in the face of joining settler colonialism. Colonialism routinely makes monsters of the colonizers.
Scapegoating Judaism just lets other settler colonies off the hook for similar brutalities.
You could spend a lifetime thoroughly researching SWANA cuisine and fashion to authentically and respectfully incorporate it into your worldbuilding as accurately as possible and it means NOTHING to me if you don’t put even half of that energy to throw your support behind real life SWANA causes. I’m not treating anyone like a champion of our people before I’ve heard their stance on “controversial” topics that concern us - and if they abstain from commenting to protect their brand, then their use of elements of our culture is less than nothing to me; it’s abhorrent.
And on that topic, I wish we could stop treating SWANA representation by white creators as though it were some sort of charity work. If anything, THEY benefit from it the most. Our culture is so rich and intricate that by incorporating it into their work, its value goes up immensely. Unless they want their work to be the same old tired rehashed eurocentric stuff, they had *better* put in the time and effort to look into inspiration from outside of their comfort circles, because I’m certain the average reader has had their fill of Fantasy England and Fantasy France, or at least I hope so.
Of course the problem is that more often than not, SWANA representation is riddled with orientalism and fetishization or stripped from its connection to actual SWANA people and overwritten to perfectly accomodate the prioritization of white people into it over us, that when the representation does actually have some tether to reality and to us, despite that being the bare minimum, we want to cry with gratitude, and that makes me so sad. I get it, I REALLY do. I am also overcome with excitement when I simply hear a word in my language in a piece of fiction that I enjoy. These joys are so rare to us that we can’t help but revel in them. I don’t fault anyone for that. I just look forward to the day our response to seeing ourselves gets farther from ‘Thank you’ and closer to ‘You’re welcome’.
I’m sure all of this applies to many other marginalized cultures as well. I’m just speaking to what I can personally attest to.
Very disheartened that Critical Role are basing their entire campaign setting on various SWANA cultures and fans are rejoicing little things like using Arabic for some of their lore like naming the bird-people Eisfuura (which, for the record, would be like if I named centaurs in my fantasy setting “horses”, but I digress.) and yet we haven’t heard a word from them in support of Palestine. It makes me feel sad that they are happy to include our cultural elements to broaden and adorn their settings, and yet shy away from “controversial” topics that would ruffle the feathers of some of their fans in a time where everyone with the slightest semblance of influence or audience and claims to be an ally should use it to its fullest extent. I hope they’ll speak up soon.
The fact that they’ve been silent about Palestine, all while being chummy with Neil Druckmann and happily proceeding with their current campaign that is hoisted upon Arab culture and uses Arabic words casually is nauseating.
And don’t get me started on this orientalist garbage:
I would call upon their fans to hold them accountable but I know for a fact half of them are too busy fawning over white men and the other half is too busy patting themselves on the back for fawning over white women instead.
If they could channel 5% of the rage and energy that they exude whenever something interesting happens on the show for once or whenever their bland ships hit a rough spot into this instead then I would rest easy knowing this would be taken care of, and yet here we are.
[ID: tweet by nicky @LouBegaVEVO: “you look at a toblerone package and think “there’s no way it’s that shape” and you’re right, it isn’t that shape. it’s in a way weird shape, a far more fucked up shape than you could ever have anticipated” /end ID]
