#blacklivesmatter - A multi-ethnic deck

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Roka 1584

It was Sam's first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace. (The Two Towers)

Living in Switzerland, I only learn through the media what is happening these days in the US. And still I'm shocked. Shocked by the Pictures of George Floyd. Shocked how Rassism is still a reality in the 21. century. Shocked how unstable a country looks now, that pretends to have everything under control towards the outside. Shocked that many members in this community and other people I'm connected with by the internet live in such a country. I'm not telling you that in everything is fine here in Europe, and I am worried about the rise of right-wing populism all over the continent. But I wasn't aware how bad things are at the other side of the Ocean.

The portrayal of the Haradrim and Easterlings in The Lord of the Rings have definetely racist Elements. But overall, Tolkiens vision for the World (in the 1940s!) seemed to be a better one. He showed us how folks of different races had to stand together to make this worl a better one. That is nowhere else portrayed better than in the friendship between Legolas and Gimli, an ELf and a Dwarf, two races that lived in conflict for centuries. And in the passage above it becomes clear than not even the Haradrim are cold blooded Monsters but human beings. Their introduction as playable characters in this game gives them even more depth and makes them more relatable.

Maybe we are like Sam glad that we don't see the dead faces. But Rassism is happening right before our faces. We can no longer look away. We have to stay up, wherever we are, for the rights of other people. Together, we can make a difference.

12 comments

Jun 06, 2020 GrandSpleen 1398

Thanks for doing this. Trying times right now.

Jun 06, 2020 banania 1813

Thank you just for the title. You should play Belegost or Framsburg and start "looting"!

Jun 06, 2020 Shiro1981 1

There's an anecdote about Tolkien I like within this context. The Hobbit came out when the Nazis had the power in Germany and the publisher that was working on the German version sent a letter to Tolkien about changes to fit the Nazi ideology. I don't remember what the changes they suggested were, but Tolkien belittled Hitler and told them they'd better not give him reasons to be ashamed of the German origins of his surname. It makes me think that he's still a great source of inspiration when it comes to humanity, many years after his passing.

Jun 06, 2020 Arianese 7

Just played this deck in one of the Harad quests. It was fun and worked very well. Love the thought behind the theme. Great job :)

Jun 07, 2020 Swordthatwasbroke 723

Black Lives Matter, but lets make sure we dont become like the dwarves and the elves at the Lonely Mountain, killing and looting instead of standing together.

Jun 07, 2020 AlasForCeleborn 678

All lives matter, especially those that are most in peril. Treating anyone, white or black, with less than the respect they deserve as a fellow human being is an injustice; to treat the poor as less than the rich is a cruelty. In times like this, after the vile killing of an unarmed black man, it is too easy to fall to infighting, to try and seize the Silmaril of justice for ourselves, whatever our skin color may be, failing to recognize that by uniting we can all claim the Silmaril.

Don't think of this as white vs. black or police vs. African Americans; as Gandhi recognized in India, recognize that the perpetrators are as much the victims of racism as those they persecute are. They lose happiness, harmony, and resources in their racism just as those they oppress do. In order to defeat racism, we need to recognize how it hurts both sides, just as Sauron's turning of Harad against Gondor harmed both sides. In order to truly defeat racism, we need to reframe the conflict, not as one race against another (which merely allows racism to survive in a mutated form) but as all humanity against the evil that seeks to chain them, as all races struggling against the racism which seeks to enslave all.

I apologize for any offense given; there was no intention of doing so, and I would appreciate notification of any offense given so that I may rectify it as best as I can. To all, black, white, and every wonderful color in between, peace, and remember, as Tolkien said, the Shadow might be dark, but it is only a passing thing. This evil, too, shall pass, but it is up to us to banish it and to bring about what good we can from it. As the Kinslayings taught the Elves the dangers of infighting, so let racism teach us the perils of judging others unfairly.

Jun 08, 2020 Roka 1584

@AlasForCeleborn I don't feel offended by your command, maybe haven't expressed clearly enought in the first place. I agree with you that all live us matter on the bigger scale of things. I don't want to encourage an us vs them (thinking that the dual party system is another part of the Problem) but that we all have to overcome our prejudices. For exemple myself, a white, cis-heterosexual male Christian, had to face the issue that others saw in me a potential opressor. We all have to come together and see each other as human beings, to overcome the enemy that lives in ourselves (another thing that Tolkiens excelently points out in his stories).

However I used #Blacklivesmatter because it doesn't mean that only black lives matter and that they are the only ones that suffer from racism, but to point out the injustice that happens towards them right now. We have to regocnize this issue and treat them more fairly to get one step closer to a better world, not only for them, but for all human beings.

Jun 08, 2020 banania 1813

Capitalism is the problem. It thrives on poverty, inequality (racism being a part of it), division, individualism promotion and planetary resources preying. All for the 1%.

Jun 08, 2020 AlasForCeleborn 678

@Roka, I apologize; I had what I thought was a good response to your wonderful post, but Ringsdb bugged out on me and I didn't have it saved.

I am immensely thankful for your clarification of #Blacklivesmatter, not because I experienced any confusion about your use of it but because I feared that others might misconstrue your loving message as a message of hate for their own ends, as Sauron misled the Numenoreans to their demise. With your clarification acting to your message as the Faithful did to their island home, I am confident any attempts to misuse this deck's message will be quickly thwarted.

Jun 09, 2020 GrandSpleen 1398

I can’t imagine anyone having legitimate reason to suggest #blacklivesmatter means anything other than what Roka has said it means. This is the way everyone who supports it uses it.

Oct 24, 2020 nelloianiro 995

I dont understand...

Oct 24, 2020 Roka 1584

@nelloianiro What are you not understanding? What the purpose of this deck is? Not to be rude, but did you the read the description? Or any News in May 2020? I created this to remind myself and others that Tolien's works and this game portray a better option to live with (ethnical) different people then in our system of white supremacy, by cooperating instead of opressing the other.

But thanks for asking and bringing the topic back to the front right before the elections :)