What Type of People did Bioware Base Mass Effect Aliens On?!

Before we begin on this very touchy subject, let me preface anything you read here by saying this. I am basing my findings on experience and speculation, when which combined do not make a good product. This opinion piece/editorial does not represent the views of talkingaboutgames or any of its representatives. This is my attempt to make sense of some truly well written alien races. Don’t blame me, blame Bioware for making me think this way. Also you can blame society for teaching me these stereotypes. Some of it’s humorous, some of it is not.

[Xbot360]

OMFG is an understatement!

[zeal0us]

Reapers being white people and Batarians being AL-Qaeda LMAO.

Guess from this prospective the Mexican pissed Al Qaeda off by destroying their star system. Hey guess AL Qaeda had weapons of massive destruction after all. Bush was right all along.

[GiggMan]

Democrats is a race??? I'm confused....

[Gaming101]

The Hanar are always polite when speaking - I take it the person who wrote this has never been to France or intereacted with any French people lol

The only reason Shephard is known as "loco" is because the guy who game him that nickname as an offhand joke was Mexican.

Sounds to me like the author was Peurto Rican, as he himself seems to continuously note that PR's hate people from the Dominican. He also doesn't seem to know his history, as white people definitely weren't the first people to have slaves, and as far as I can tell Africans aren't extinct either, you'd think he would have said "Mayans" for the Protheans.

[Vaud-Villian]

@giggman just as much as French is a race

Article clearly states "types of people" which is not limited to race, nationality, political alignment or soda preference.

[crxss]

lol what da fuk kind of article is this??

the sheer quality of SoldierX's work is remarkable....................

it's sh!t like this that makes the endings seem good.

[ThankYou_KindSir]

Give me the author's full real name.

[ThankYou_KindSir]

If anyone knows the article's author, give me his full real name.

[Simon_Brezhnev]

Reapers part made me LMFAO. Will probably get a lot of disagrees but idc. LMFAO

Prothean part is right on the spot.

[pixelsword]

I read it... it was meh; I read much funnier stuff, maybe because if he didn't try to blame others for his own thoughts it might have been funnier (it just smacks of weak-mindedness) but whatever.

Ironically, I do agree about the part about the Protheans because before slavery the African Americans are most related to the group of Moorish Hebrews which ruled Europe for 500 years; just like the Protheans had a galactic empire.

[Simon_Brezhnev]

I figured u would agree with Prothean.

[RedDead]

French - no spine

lol
An article made on Stereotypes.

[kneon]

Just remember that without support from the French the USA would probably have remained a British colony.

[mynameisEvil]

Please explain how. I must've missed that little bit in my history classes throughout school, but I don't remember the French really doing anything with the US.

Don't misinterpret me, please. I'm not being a smart-ass, I'm legitimately asking you to explain because I don't remember the French helping.

[kneon]

Their main assistance came from their navy, providing supplies and harassing the British ships.

They did also land troops but I don't recall if there were significant numbers of French ground troops.

But perhaps their biggest contribution was as a result of being one of, if not the first country to recognize the US independence in 1778. There was a US-French treaty signed that basically said they would help each other out against the British, I can't remember the details. Shortly after that the British declared war on France forcing them to split resources between two wars.

Had the British been able to focus solely on the US and had the US not had the assistance of France it could have turned out very differently. At a minimum it would have gone on much longer.

[NegativeCreepWA]

And we returned the favor by keeping them from speaking German. We took our time too help, but then again so did they.

[joebeta]

Oddly, some of it makes sense.

[Xbot360]

I'm sure it is written as a joke. But damn some of this stuff is spot on...Lol no spine!

[A LIVING LEGEND]

passive aggressive former south american COD players with a grasp of english insults....

[--]

Racism = Mentally inferior.

[NegativeCreepWA]

And so is lack of humor.

[Xbot360]

I lol'ed doesn't mean we are mentally inferior just racially connected.

[Fylus]

Agreed. I mean, I am definitely not racist, but I'll laugh at almost any racist joke.

[hkgamer]

Yup, everyone does, but if it is very racist, then you just make that disgusted face for hearing such joke but laugh on the inside.

[Virus201]

I guess I would be a Drell-Vorcha hybrid.

[Kamikaze8]

This is incredibly racist...even if it is supposed to be funny. Seriously "no one wants [Dominicans] around"

[Lord_Sloth]

Tired of white people always being "those slavers" by everybody's definition when, in fact, most black slaves were sold to us BY OTHER BLACKS! Slavery and warfare STILL run rampant overseas. Get with the times, people! You can't always blame the white guys!

[InTheLab]

Whites have only had it bad for what, the last 20 years? Prior to that, they got away with some of history's worst atrocities. What's 20 years of white guilt compared to hundreds of years of f***ery?

[Lord_Sloth]

I never f***ed with anybody and holding grudges for actions that happened before you were born against people who also weren't born is very stupid.

Irish and Scotish are whites and look at all the s*** England gave them! Every race has spent some trouble with slavery and being dominated by another country.

I have no guilt for I've done nothing wrong. Why should I be held accountable and made the target for something like this?

[MaxXAttaxX]

It's 2012.

Why would anyone feel guilt for something they didn't do?
And why would you act resentful for something that never happened to you?

[NegativeCreepWA]

It's a stereotype we deserve, along with many others. IMO people that are offended by stuff like this are the problem, have a sense of humor. Do you get mad every time a black comedian cracks white jokes?

[Fylus]

Sloth, if it makes you feel any better, there was once a time where black people held Jewish/white people as slaves in Egypt.

[humbleopinion]

Speaking of Jews, I was expecting the article to compare them to the Quarians, given how they were expelled and lived in exile for thousands of years, keeping their tradition and wishing to get back to their original home. But I guess that doesn't let the writer use the Shylock punchline.

[specialguest]

The Hebrew/Israelite during the time of enslavement by Egyptians were not "white". This is fact. Seriously, do some research.

[Fylus]

@Specialguest, I know they were actually black. I didn't however figure Sloth would know that; in fact, very VERY few people know it what with Hollywood films and such telling them that the original Hebrews of that time were white.

I only said what I said as kind of a joke argument to Sloth's comment.

No need to get over-offended.

[JRoyale]

The Egyptians enslaved the Nubians. Seriusly dude if your trying to prove a point have some historical fact in it.

[Fylus]

@JRoyale, the Egyptians only temporarily enslaved the Nubians. And though there is no hard evidence besides the Bible that the Jews were enslaved by Egyptians, there is also no hard evidence disproving it either.

[JRoyale]

thank you.

[InTheLab]

Don't know why you're taking what's meant to be a joke so seriously. Lighten up dude. No one is blaming you for eliminating Native Americans, 400 years of slavery in America, Jim Crow and Separate but Equal, Apartheid, the Holocaust, and the persistent effects on the descendants of these events.

No one is blaming you.

As for your other point about things that happened before I was born....Some pretty foul incidents happened during my lifetime and I'm only 31. While not as bad as something like slavery or the Holocaust, some of the things I've experienced growing up in one of the most racist state in the US (MI)shaped my views on race for the worst. It wasn't until I started hanging around other races that I realized we're all just people and our actions are our own. I don't blame you for beating up Rodney King and hopefully, you don't blame me for stabbing Nicole Brown Simpson.

At the same time, we can't allow ourselves to forget what's happened throughout history. Speaking of history, you are correct in that most Africans were sold into slavery by their leadership. I'm sure they knew all about the 3 month boat ride to the Americas that was responsible for the death of millions of Africans. Traders would often dump "excess" cargo overboard to avoid heavy taxes, or dumping slaves that were too sickly from sleeping in piss and shit for months overboard and counting them as a loss. Surprising what gets left out of history books nowadays.

[ShinMaster]

Nice list. Careful though, it made you sound passive aggressive.
Anyway, almost all of that is part of American history. Not all white people are American. So I guess this only applies to a fraction.

Just remember that black people wouldn't have progressed to where they are now without white people trollololololol

Seriously though, not saying we should forget or ignore the past, but I find it rather regressive to point out and blame races INSTEAD of the individuals solely responsible for those acts.

[Spydiggity]

it figures you're getting disagrees for speaking the truth. lets face it, most people today just aren't smart enough to know their history.

even with google at their finger-tips, they'd rather just be ignorant.

African chiefs would trade guns for their own people, for example.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=africa...

[MysticStrummer]

"lets face it, most people today just aren't smart enough to know their history.

even with google at their finger-tips, they'd rather just be ignorant. "

Ironic, considering your statement above about democrats. Republicans are just as bad, if not worse. The more you really look at the situation, the more both parties seem alike. They are two sides of the same wooden nickel. Divide and conquer.

[Game13a13y]

This is why people like you have no culture, no traditional values, cause to you everything happened in the past doesn't count. Well, sucks to be you.

[chadachada123]

...Implying that a lack of "culture" is a bad thing...?

[Lord_Sloth]

Not wanting to be hated/blamed for something I didn't do=having no culture/values.

Good to know.

[mynameisEvil]

Yeah, it makes you think, doesn't it? Tribes in Africa would infiltrate other tribes, steal their people, then sell them. But who do the black people target when they feel like we owe them something? Not the people that sold them in the first place, no... the whites.

Oh, and let's not forget that there were black slave-owners that owned black slaves. Oh, and here's a little known fact: THERE WERE WHITE SLAVES, TOO.

It's pathetic that, in today's society, we're still holding grudges about things that happened years before the vast majority of us were born. As John Marston said, "People don't forget. Nothing gets forgiven." (Well, people 'forget' what coincidentally degrades their agenda).

As for the author talking about how white people are apparently just more racist than others, well, that's just stupid. Every race has a group of racists. There's racists anywhere and everywhere of every kind. Though, the media would like you to think that white people are just born and bred to be these massive racists. It's revolting that so many lies are told are so many people just blindly believe them

*sigh* I hate today's world... Seemingly nobody can spend 10 minutes a day just... thinking about things. It's amazing how much can be realized by using critical thinking skills.

EDIT: "It wasn't until I started hanging around other races that I realized we're all just people and our actions are our own." InTheLab, you are a smart individual. We ARE all our own selves and we alone are responsible for our actions, not our entire race.

[pixelsword]

@ Sloth

You kinda have the right idea, but the wrong peoples; it's understandable because you were probably taught by people who didn't have a good grasp of history themselves, but that's cool; who really has? Black-skinned people did indeed sold other black-skinned people, but they were not the same peoples.

The Black slavers you were referring to were actually Arabs. The most famous of the modern Arab slavers was nick-nammed "tippu tip" his real name was Hemedi bin Muhammad el Marjebi (I'm sure there's some more name lol) He was the most famous, but not the most ancient; as with the popular rise of Islam amongst Saracen slaves, Islam was carried by Saracen and Arab alike; and savaged through North Africa, destroying many Christian cities of people who wouldn't convert to Islam. The word "Fez" (the name of an Islamic hat) came from the Christian city called Fez in North Africa; the reason why a Fez is red is because the town was supposed to have been so thoroughly slaughtered that blood ran in the streets like a river and the Islamic invaders dipped their hats into the blood for some reason.

At any rate, conversions of African pagans, Christians, and Hebrews alike succeeded with varying success; most of it was to merely not get killed. You could tell a lot of it was not sincere as the development of "Moorish Chess" was played by Muslims and was strictly against the teachings of Islam (it is forbidden for Muslims to play Chess).

An interesting footnote: A Russian form of the word for black is pronounced "Arap".

:)

[SageHonor]

It's funny cause even those this is incredibly stereotypical there is some strong truth to it.

[CrzyFooL]

casual racism ftw!

[SoldierX]

Glad most of you are enjoying the article and not taking it too serious.

[GiggMan]

I like how you wrote the article and kind of took a jab at everyone with divulging your race. Also the captions under the pictures were a nice touch. I lol'd at Javik saying "My name is Kunta". lol

[Aikanek]

Good job sir, people take life way too seriously not being able to laugh at themselves. As a white male the reaper comment made me laugh the hardest, because well its true.

[SoldierX]

Thanks man.

[devilhunterx]

Since when are Indians a nomadic race?

[ginsunuva]

The Quarians all have Middle-Eastern FOB accents.

[banjadude]

lol, love the comment "you humans are all racist!".

[Nunchez]

Yay for the Quarians! Funky clothes? What does that even mean? I'm sure I'm not wearing funky clothes lol.

[A LIVING LEGEND]

In the Lab stepped out of reality .
Alot of blood,alot of it white,alot of white,seeking to avoid bloodshed has found us where we are.
Some think it an easy road,others know it to be the hardest road of all.
They gave themselves willingly so that we might have today.You forget the great sacrifice......

[BDSE]

That article is loaded with racist and national stereotypes, it's not funny it's just offensive.

If you disagree you're a racist- simple.

[sjaakiejj]

The article, for as far as I can see, has racial/national stereotypes for almost every human being on the planet. As such, it doesn't single out one race, and the article is not offensive or racist at all. It also contains a disclaimer at the start of the article, so if you have a problem with stereotypes, that's where you should've stopped reading:

"Also you can blame society for teaching me these stereotypes. Some of it’s humorous, some of it is not. We must all be able to laugh at ourselves and I mean no disrespect (meaning someone is probably going to be disrespected) "

[BDSE]

No sorry, you can use the it offends everyone so therefore it's fair game defence. Your argument is lazy and intellectually bankrupt.

[sjaakiejj]

It's quite simple Arron, and a very valid argument. If everyone is treated as an equal, it's not discrimination, which is the case in this article. The author also acknowledges that everything after the disclaimer is purposely based on stereotypes, both racial and national.

If you can't laugh with stereotypes, that's your problem, but it's definitely not racist unless you fully support what you are saying. As such, saying "I hate black people" is racist, but making a simple joke like
"Q: Why is Stevey Wonder Smiling all the time?
A: He doesn't know he's black."
is fair game. You may not find it funny, but don't go around calling everyone who does a racist.

I'm Dutch myself, and I once saw a show which contained a show-reel of stereotypes, including one from the Netherlands. A man was seen engaging in a long phone conversation when the telemarketer promised him he'd save money. The Dutch stereotype there is that the Dutch are believed (according to the stereotype) to turn over every penny twice. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen, and it's no different from other stereotypes about other races or nationalities. They can be used in one of three ways: Offensively, with an intend to hurt, Ignorantly, in which the person is unaware that the stereotype isn't true, or Jokingly, in which the person is aware that it's not true.

[Mad_Mack]

This article is awful. Not just because its racist, but because it is really unfunny.

If you still find jokes about the French being cowardly or 'spineless' funny, then congratulations on being 13.

[zeph94]

Your french huh?

[DeadSpaced]

Why is this guy blaming all the problems on white people? I know some things happened a long time ago like slavery but some people opposed that stuff, which is why it's no longer legal over in the US.

[Aikanek]

Because we (im white and assuming you are) cause many of the problems in this world past and present. Doesn't mean you or I cause problems but lots of white people certainly do. Can't ignore reality...

[JRoyale]

your right get rid of the whites and the whole would would be rainbows and unicorns.

[TopDudeMan]

There is no one that this article does not piss off: therefore, it is not really discriminating against individual races. So, it kind of isn't really racist, since everyone's getting it.

[Game13a13y]

This guy just nailed it. I had the same feelings the whole time playing ME. Heck, the Quarians even talk with some Indian accent. Reapers = White People, the World New Order, anyone?

[violents]

I Thought it was funny.

and to all the people that say its so racist and full of stereotypes.

A. The article was kind of written as a joke if you cant tell.

B. There wouldn't be a stereotype if there wasnt some truth to it.

[BDSE]

Like the stereotype that all Americans are war hungry, stupid, fat, ignorant, bible bashing, backward, homophobic, inbred, racist imbeciles you mean?

You can't touch me on that one because "I'm just joking."

[Pintheshadows]

Oh joy, another member of the British Political Correctness brigade on the prowl telling other people what they should be offended by. Joy.

[Aikanek]

That is a good stereotype of America. There are a lot of people in America that think that way, but not all, thus it is a stereotype. Seriously though as an American I take no offense to that because although I feel I am none of those I am aware enough to realize a lot are. Either way laugh more, it makes life more enjoyable.

[chadachada123]

Considering you're pretty accurate about a good deal of Americans...

...I have no problem with that stereotype being used in a joke article, especially if other countries are flamed just as harshly.

...Grow up and get a sense of humor, dude.

[NegativeCreepWA]

Thank you, we try hard.

The insecurities of people like yourself are why racism will always be a problem. In order to move forward people need too not forget about the past but get over it. Which will never happen with people like yourself throwing a fit over stuff like this.

[violents]

Did you even read the article? Americans weren't left out of the stereotypes.

Have you been to america? There are plenty of people like that and it doesnt offend me at all that you've noticed.

Honestly with the way people act in this country I wouldnt be the least bit surprised if other countries had those misconceptions about people here.

Oh and if you dont get bent out of shape about it the words have no power.

[violents]

why are all the british people so bent out of shape by this stuff?

limey crumpet munchers, put down your tea and take a few breaths before a couple of off color jokes give you a stroke.

[MilkMan]

What is this sh!t man?!
ERASE this "article".

[mochachino]

No surprise that so many gamers find this article funny or acceptable. These are probably the same people hurling racial, gender, or sexual epithets on Live and PSN.

[chadachada123]

Pretentious level: >9000

[liquidhalos]

The person that wrote this is a complete twat. Ive never had the displeasure of reading such bloody drivel

[liquidhalos]

okay i see someone disagrees with that, lets hear why you disagree champ.

[SnowBlu]

is the writer a redneck or something?

[LFC1EE]

I KNOW DUCK DODGERS LOL!

[austin128]

lol

[kesvalk]

damn that was one big racist article...

mexicans are hated by society?
white men are the bane of humanity?
"AL-QUEDA" is the religion, not Islam right?
calling French Spineless...

goddamn, even if this is a joke, it's a very bad joke...

[PersonaCat]

Don't know what the big deal is, I found this pretty hilarious. Sad that in this day and age, you can't crack a joke without people having their undies in a bunch. Lol at the guy who was trying to bash Americans like it was going to affect us :p Learn to laugh, you'll live longer.

[JeepGamer]

"Italians are very connected to faith and seem to be the most respected people on Earth"

According to whom? Dream on.

"White People, what can I say since the 1970′s you guys have been making great progress as a race, before then…slavery, racism, elitism just being overall dicks"

I'm not sure what race you are but hopefully it disowns your worthless racist rear end after seeing that. Stupid people come in all colors.

"Mexicans – The chosen people, it’s no wonder Shepard is known as “Loco”. All Aliens see the humans the way society see’s Mexicans as a problem.Why?, because they are expanding faster than other races."

I'll use your above opinion of whites for Mexicans, switch the races around, and watch as people start throwing a tantrum.

"Japanese – The way they operate just screams feudal Japan. Loyalty, Honor, Death before disgrace. The Japanese people and Turians are one in the same."

You couldn't be more ignorant of Japanese culture if you were trying. Turians are as blunt as a lead pipe and the Japanese are non confrontational and subtle.

"Jewish people are business savvy, it seems that every successfully business in the Citadel is run by the Volus. They are cheap bastards also."

So you're racist against whites, ignorant about the Japanese, have no clue what people think of Italians, and now you're an anti-Semite.

"Al-Queda, ya I know not all Muslims are terrorist, fact is 99% of them are downright law-abiding citizens, but just like the Baatarians it only takes a few to give all of them a bad name"

Because why should your ignorance be limited to what's real? Batarians practice slavery in ways both large and small. It's one of their intrinsic 'we're bad guys' traits.

[nissac830]

The word "slave" is traced back to "Slav," where in medieval wars Slavs -- particularly the blue eyed, blond haired women -- were captured and sold.
Though it's certain that the concept of slavery itself predated this usage, at least as far as the English language is concerned, the first "slaves" were "white" people.
In fact, not only were they "white" people, they were white Asians, with blonde hair and blue eyes. (For some reason, people tend to forget that Russia is a part of the Asian continent.)

[joebeta]

This conversation popped up on the last episode of the Post Game Report podcast. So if you want to really understand this whole article, take a listen -- iTunes -- and you will realize that this whole thing is dry humor at it's finest.

BTW: The author is Mexican, and lives in Brooklyn!