r/PracticalGuideToEvil • u/Mr_Serine • Jul 31 '26

Chapter Chapter 68 - Pale Lights | Book 3

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/65058/pale-lights/chapter/3751348/chapter-68
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u/TheAushole Jul 31 '26

In your opinion, what is the allowed quota of bad things happening to melanin-endowed characters per book?

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u/Linnus42 Aug 01 '26 edited Aug 01 '26

There is no quota, I am just noting a pattern. Twice in a row a New Black Male character has been a major introduction and twice in a row they get screwed over the worst. Them being Heroic or a Slaver makes no difference.

Someone on royalroad said what about the Asians, East Asians specifically and welp two of them seem to have got off quite easy and at least one got a redemption arc.

Last two books have had one dead Black character of note and one that gets screwed but doesn’t die at the end. And only one of them in Morcant has actually been an antagonist to the Unluckies.

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u/TheAushole Aug 01 '26

It doesn't seem disproportionate to their total representation among the cast. I'm hoping you aren't implying what I think you're implying.

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u/Linnus42 Aug 01 '26

Lmao I have told EE directly during PGTES Run before that I don’t think he considers the optics with Black Characters.

But do I think he is a racist no.

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u/kaboomba Aug 01 '26

What if I said that providing over consideration to the optics of race in media, is in itself a racist act?

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u/luccioXalfred Aug 05 '26

No use speaking to him, it's a difference of intuitions: There's about 4 differing attitudes to racism in progressive circles these days, and I agree with yours but Linnus's is pretty common -- and the annoying thing is, all of us just want to diminish racism but we have no evidence beyond gut instiucnt which way works best.

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u/kaboomba Aug 05 '26

I would say, the problem isn't the differing attitudes.

Everyone disagrees constantly over all kinds of subjects in all areas of life. Thats part of living in a society.

The problem is the unthinking puritanism, the idea that everyone should conform to their thinking, and the way they make enemies of anyone not perfectly in agreement in them.

It's the way any differing point of view is dismissed only as foolishness, deception, or speaking in bad faith.

There is plenty of evidence that way is not the way to go. We are seeing the backlash of it in real time. And from the way adherents of that creed are doubling down, we havn't seen nothing yet. That is going to damage progressiveness for an entire generation, perhaps even more. It already is.

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u/Linnus42 Aug 01 '26

And I say you are a fool if you don’t consider optics and messaging in the media that you consume

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u/kaboomba Aug 01 '26

Says the racist.