You've gotta' be kidding...

Jackhass · Post by **Jackhass** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 8:39 pm

Okay, so a new human character was introduced in today's strip...which can be read here.

http://thezoo.comicgenesis.com/d/20051207.html

Anyways, I log into my email tonight and I've recieved this gem (which it should be noted wasn't sent by anyone on this board as far as I know). This person's name and email address has been removed to protect the ignorant! Here's the main meat of the email...

hi, I've read your comic fora while now and i think it's pretty good.

In todays comic though you havea character that is obviously of arab discent. i'm not racist and I don't have anything against them but I feel that including a person of this type in your comic must be a atempt to get political. i read your comic cuz it's funnyand well drawn, not for politics. I'm afraid i'm going to have to stop reading your comic until this political stuff comes to an end, sorry.

So yeah, a couple points here...

a) I wasn't specifically trying to make the character look like any particular race.

b) Her race doesn't matter to the storyline at all and won't ever be an issue. I'm certainly not getting "political" here.

c) What the hell?

Anyways, yeah...that's the most interesting "fan" mail I've got yet. What were some of your better ones?

Escushion · Post by **Escushion** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 8:47 pm

I don't think she looks specifically Arab, but I'd say from that area of the world.

It's this kind of crap that makes me worried sometimes about what I'm doing with different characters of sexes and genders. Then I remember that I don't give a damn and stay true to their personalities. Only race elements that come up in my comic are human/non-human.

That's strange though... But you know what they say: The reader brings more to what they read than the writer. Any political elements that individual sees in it when unintended are being brought by the person's own mind.

Kirb · Post by **Kirb** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 8:50 pm

Jackhass wrote: i'm not racist and I don't have anything against them but I feel that including a person of this type in your comic must be a atempt to get political.

racism n.
Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

This person, regardless of what he says, is racist. Nobody in their right mind would automatically assume that when a character with middle-eastern backround is introduced into the comic, means there are subliminal political messages hidden behind it. He's an idiot.

However, this is not the worst fanmail I've seen. I trust you saw the thread with my creepy wiccan stalker. I'd take an idiot over a stalker anyday.

Col · Post by **Col** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 9:00 pm

Someone's got a fan with a stick up his/her ass.

TheSuburbanLetdown · Post by **TheSuburbanLetdown** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 9:05 pm

What a penewhack. Yeahduff has a good story like this. I'll let him tell it if he sees this thread.

I have a lot of "ethnic" names in my comic, and it surprises me that I have not received a single comment about that.

DJMayhem · Post by **DJMayhem** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 9:20 pm

Col wrote:Someone's got a fan with a stick up his/her ass.

RemusShepherd · Post by **RemusShepherd** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 9:23 pm

She has dark hair and a hooked nose. No other distinctive features. That could be italian (my first thought), jewish, american indian, arabic, or just about anything. Bah. Your fan is oversensitive.

I just introduced a girl with a hooked nose in my comic. Wonder if I can inspire some hate mail...

MixedMyth · Post by **MixedMyth** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 9:55 pm

Oh man! That's a real beauty, that is! We need a thread to consolidate the most hilarious (and by that I mean tragic) mail we get.

KODAMA · Post by **KODAMA** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 10:46 pm

You mean the new character isn't Korean?!

D: omg. That totally confuses me.

Humbug · Post by **Humbug** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 10:53 pm

Huh, is this guy totally serious?

Pillywiggin · Post by **Pillywiggin** » Wed Dec 07, 2005 11:44 pm

*blink*

What, no hijab???

Jackhass · Post by **Jackhass** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 12:00 am

That's strange though... But you know what they say: The reader brings more to what they read than the writer. Any political elements that individual sees in it when unintended are being brought by the person's own mind.

Exactly...his biases couldn't be more obvious despite the fact he claims he has none.

The has dark hair and a hooked nose. No other distinctive features. That could be italian (my first thought), jewish, american indian, arabic, or just about anything. Bah. Your fan is oversensitive.

Yeah, like I said...I wasn't aiming at any particular race. My goal was really only to make a girl character who was attractive but in a slightly non traditional way...she came out looking vaguely ethnic, but I didn't think there'd be any issue with that. Thankfully I don't think there will be with 99.5% of people...I hope.

Mr.Bob · Post by **Mr.Bob** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 12:24 am

Tell him to screw off.

Sincerely · Post by **Sincerely** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 12:36 am

I would've thought Italian as well, if I'd actually paid attention to the character's race. And her mother and brother don't look middle-eastern in the slightest, so that begs the question...

One of my characters is Japanese-American, the rest are white (except XI, who's technically a neo-caucasian mix). Why am I not getting any crazy mail about the lack of Latinos in my story which takes place in Southern California? Not fair.

Congratulations, you looney dancing sheep!

Dutch! · Post by **Dutch!** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 12:45 am

If anything I'd say she was Hispanic (did I spell that right? We don't tend to have that sort of ethnic minority down here). And that's only if I had to say she was any sort of race at all.

Fair dinkum, somebody needs to have a laugh at the world, I think.

Speaking of comments and so forth of similar stupidity to this...here's the only one I've ever really received, although it's sort of pointless and memorable at the same time.

'I don't think I'd want to read a strip that tries to make school look positive'

Hmm. I'm still wondering why the person would bother sending a comment like this if he wasn't interested in reading in the first place.

Just goes to show that people are generally stupid, and the rest are politicians.

Muncho · Post by **Muncho** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 2:24 am

Probably just an idiot trying to see if his email will have any effect on your strip.

Ignore him

Keffria · Post by **Keffria** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 3:41 am

Hmm, yeah, that's pretty damn stupid. Just ignore him. Or else bait him, and get into a spectacular e-mail flame war, which you will post in this thread for us to laugh at.

Honestly, I would never have noticed that she looked vaguely like someone "of Arab descent" unless somebody pointed it out to me. And even then, it's pretty iffy.

Jackhass · Post by **Jackhass** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 3:42 am

Probably just an idiot trying to see if his email will have any effect on your strip.

Heh, the only way it would possibly change it would be if I were to intentionally put more ethnic looking people in it to piss him off. But I won't.

Rkolter · Post by **Rkolter** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 4:47 am

You HAVE to respond to this letter.

Include addresses for White Power, the KKK, and any other whackjob racist groups you can find. Send each group a $1 donation in his name.

Let him know you've submitted a small donation in his name as a gift, to show how much you appreciate him and his advice.

He will get their literature FOREVER. And be put on a hundred other groups mailing lists. As well as at least one FBI watch list.

Glarryg · Post by **Glarryg** » Thu Dec 08, 2005 6:11 am

Typically when somebody says "I'm not a _________," that's exactly what s/he is. If you're really not something, it'll be obvious by the way you act or speak; you shouldn't have to tell people.

Glarryg

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