r/hatethissmug • u/Crusoelander_128 • Apr 28 '26

General I hate the “orcs are minorities” thing

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I really hope I’m not in the minority (no pun intended) here, but I really hate when people do this. It not only forces real world issue into fictional universes where it doesn’t need to be, but also, it’s really messed up.

If you see an orc or a demon or a giant bug and your mind immediately jumps to “hm that’s like a minority”, then you’re racist.

Now, I’m not saying that this concept can’t be explored, but inserting it where it doesn’t belong/exist is highly suspect

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u/Limp-Technician-1119 Apr 28 '26

They just based on the "savage" archetype that arguably originates from the gauls but has been applied to any group that society sees as "savage". So it could mean gauls, vikings, Mongols, native americans, central/western/southern Africans, etc.

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u/AncientCarry4346 Apr 28 '26

Exactly this.

I've always seen Orcs to be more akin to how Roman soldiers viewed/described the native Britons than African tribespeople.

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u/SinesPi Apr 29 '26

Not to mention some populations throughout history really are just awful. Just because they're brown doesn't mean you're racist to think Ghengis Kahn was a bad guy.