Talk fest Tuesday: Racism

They say that an author writes from their own experience. This makes sense to me since the second most prominent theme in the game is one of racism (or specism if you prefer). 

On the face of it, the "ism" in the game is quite simple: predator versus prey, with the twist being that the prey animals are actually the dominant species through the use of religion and other systems of control (which I mentioned in my previous post). 

Predator versus prey is an old motif. One could accuse me of copying Zootopia even, were it not for the fact that I wrote the original story in 2015, and besides prejudice is a common enough theme. 

But, growing up in South Africa has coloured my views somewhat on what racism is. It's not a simple black & white thing. It's layers of control and assumptions in our society which keep people in check. Keep them at their strata in life. In my view, it's the failure to tolerate grey which characterises racism.

For example, in South Africa, the "nice" white neighbourhoods would have a buffer zone between them and the "not-so-nice" black areas. These buffer zones were usually populated by people who did not quite qualify for the ruling class but were not relegated to the subjugated majority either. In the case of South Africa these were Indian, mixed race and other  nationalities. 

In Lunar, the privileged "ruling class" are represented by the rabbits. They created a religion which eventually helped keep the masses in check. The vulnerability of the rabbits in this situation mimics the precarious position minorities in power typically find themselves in. 

The lower class are represented by the cats who experience all the negative consequences of living in a lower socioeconomic group. 

Similar to our own experience of cats, they are smart, wilful, cunning and draws to the cold hard facts of science. Far less likely to bend the knee to the crown or be drawn by the allure of religion. The cats, inclined towards splendid isolation, therefore have no choice but to accept their lot in life as the the perpetually subtly oppressed.  

In particular, prohibition of catnip and the black market caused by this keeps many cats under the long hind paw of subjugation. The parallels with our real world are a little ham-fisted and need some work, but the either ends of the spectrum are not all that interesting.  

Who then is stuck in the middle? Who are the species that enable this power dynamic? 

The canines are an interesting bunch to me. Despite being firmly in the much historically derided predator category, they are fierce loyalists: loyal to the crown and loyal to the systems that keep the power structure as it us. The phrase that goes through my head the most when I think of the dogs in my story is "Uncle Tom": that epithet reserved for those who betray their peer group in order to be subservient to those in power. 

Cats, on the other hand, are no such creatures. 

I find it interesting that without the "loyal muscle" of the canines, the ruling class made up of rabbits and other prey animals could never have found themselves in a position of power. In South Africa, the government stoked historical differences between rival tribes (Xhosa and Zulu) in order to keep both sides subservient. By stoking the near-instinctual hatred between cats and dogs, the prey animals can keep them fighting and distracted from the inequality in their society.

One might ask where the foxes fit into all this (I know I certainly do). Here we find one of the ideas that really sticks into my mind when I think of race, especially in the South African context. What happens when you're not black enough to be black, but not white enough to be white? Put in the Lunar context: what if you're not enough of a predator to be a cat but not loyal enough to be considered a dog? 

In South Africa, race was an identity imposed on others, not an identity people got to choose. The foxes do still have a choice. Some of them might choose to side with the canines to keep the status quo, whilst some with the oppressed cats. Either way, the foxes will never be accepted onto either side.

Another question that needs to be considered is what about inter-species relationships? Every relationship you're able to enter into in the game is an inter-species relationship, after all. Let's set aside the question as to whether or not inter-species relationships are even biologically possible. Let's assume all that stuff could work. How would they work at all in this society where species can be such a divisive thing?

Under apartheid, interracial relationships were strictly forbidden. To some degree, they were even considered an affront to nature itself. People in mixed-race relationships would often be arrested or beaten. I like the idea that the "forbidden love" Red represents to most of the characters aboard the ship is not due to same-sex attraction, but inter-species attraction, which is a big no-no in their culture. 

As Blue says: 

a little bit in column "A", a little bit in column "fox"