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Rhetorical Incoherence at Play:
 How White Computer Game
 Players Write and Talk About
             Race

            Bryan-Mitchell Young
       PhD Candidate Indiana University
         popularculturegaming.com
                @jccalhoun
Message board posts responding to the pic
  (it is important to note that only a few of the 58
           posts in this thread reference race)




 “Anyone notice a key thing to
  that picture? 1 token black
    guy in all of the LAN.”
“Uh oh. Is he gonna die?”
Even though this comment is a joke about
racism
  – It still highlights racial tensions in USA culture
  – Portrays the man as passive victim


After this there were 2-3 more joking posts
about the lack of racial diversity at the event.
“And damn, do any of you guys ever get
any sun? Nevermind, I already know the
       answer to that question.”
Previous statements about the lack of racial minorities
received joking comments.

This comment did not:


“To be fair, it's only just recently gotten
warm enough to be outside for any
real length of time.”
White Gamers Talking about Race

“and as far as the minorities
go, I don’t know exactly what –
I mean, you know, other
people play games too. I mean
everyone plays games, but…”
Me: So the LAN parties are mostly
made up of White people. We are
in Indiana so that shouldn't be
surprising. But do you have any
idea why they are so White?
7 second pause
Sphinx: what do you mean by
that?
Me: Well I've looked at the
demographics of either Bloomington or
just IU in general and you think there
would be. [2 second pause] If it would be
reflective, if it would be the same as the
make-up of IU Bloomington there would
be a larger presence of people who
weren't White. African-Americans. Things
like that and there there's not. Any idea
why there isn't?
Sphinx: I would say that is just mostly
because of [2 second pause] where [1
second pause] we are located. I [1 second
pause] guess I never really thought about it
too much. And it might be. I've never been
to like a big con or anything like Blizcon or
anything like that so I can't speak to that. [5
second pause] I would say the majority
reason is because it is Indiana so. I don't
know. [1 second pause] I couldn't I can't give
you a really good answer for that.
When I asked, “Why are most of the
  people at the LAN parties White?” the
        answers I received were:
• Incorrectly stating it was because there weren’t many
  racial minorities in the area
• Economic explanations
• Cultural explanations

• What they have in common is that they are
  all about the lack of racial minorities not
  about the (over)abundance of Whites
Commonality Between Writing and
       Talking about Race
Discomfort.

Even though the the written comments use
humor and the spoken ones use incoherence
they are both signs of discomfort and different
ways of dealing with it.
Cycle of Fear and Silence
1. Well-intentioned Whites don’t talk about race
   partially because they “don’t want to sound
   racist.”
2. Therefore they don’t have experience talking
   about race.
3. So when they do talk about race they are
   frequently inarticulate, naïve, or unsophisticated
   and therefore more likely to say something that
   can be interpreted as racist.
4. So they become more afraid of sounding racist
Conclusion
In White, Dyer argues that although it seems
as if White people do not talk about
Whites, the reality is that most of the
time, “White people speak about nothing
but White people, it's just that [they] couch
it in terms of 'people' in general.”

I argue that conversely when White
people actually do talk about race they
talk about anything but White people.

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Rhetorical incoherence at play consoling passions 2012

  • 1. Rhetorical Incoherence at Play: How White Computer Game Players Write and Talk About Race Bryan-Mitchell Young PhD Candidate Indiana University popularculturegaming.com @jccalhoun
  • 2.
  • 3. Message board posts responding to the pic (it is important to note that only a few of the 58 posts in this thread reference race) “Anyone notice a key thing to that picture? 1 token black guy in all of the LAN.”
  • 4. “Uh oh. Is he gonna die?” Even though this comment is a joke about racism – It still highlights racial tensions in USA culture – Portrays the man as passive victim After this there were 2-3 more joking posts about the lack of racial diversity at the event.
  • 5. “And damn, do any of you guys ever get any sun? Nevermind, I already know the answer to that question.” Previous statements about the lack of racial minorities received joking comments. This comment did not: “To be fair, it's only just recently gotten warm enough to be outside for any real length of time.”
  • 6. White Gamers Talking about Race “and as far as the minorities go, I don’t know exactly what – I mean, you know, other people play games too. I mean everyone plays games, but…”
  • 7. Me: So the LAN parties are mostly made up of White people. We are in Indiana so that shouldn't be surprising. But do you have any idea why they are so White?
  • 9. Sphinx: what do you mean by that?
  • 10. Me: Well I've looked at the demographics of either Bloomington or just IU in general and you think there would be. [2 second pause] If it would be reflective, if it would be the same as the make-up of IU Bloomington there would be a larger presence of people who weren't White. African-Americans. Things like that and there there's not. Any idea why there isn't?
  • 11. Sphinx: I would say that is just mostly because of [2 second pause] where [1 second pause] we are located. I [1 second pause] guess I never really thought about it too much. And it might be. I've never been to like a big con or anything like Blizcon or anything like that so I can't speak to that. [5 second pause] I would say the majority reason is because it is Indiana so. I don't know. [1 second pause] I couldn't I can't give you a really good answer for that.
  • 12. When I asked, “Why are most of the people at the LAN parties White?” the answers I received were: • Incorrectly stating it was because there weren’t many racial minorities in the area • Economic explanations • Cultural explanations • What they have in common is that they are all about the lack of racial minorities not about the (over)abundance of Whites
  • 13. Commonality Between Writing and Talking about Race Discomfort. Even though the the written comments use humor and the spoken ones use incoherence they are both signs of discomfort and different ways of dealing with it.
  • 14. Cycle of Fear and Silence 1. Well-intentioned Whites don’t talk about race partially because they “don’t want to sound racist.” 2. Therefore they don’t have experience talking about race. 3. So when they do talk about race they are frequently inarticulate, naïve, or unsophisticated and therefore more likely to say something that can be interpreted as racist. 4. So they become more afraid of sounding racist
  • 15. Conclusion In White, Dyer argues that although it seems as if White people do not talk about Whites, the reality is that most of the time, “White people speak about nothing but White people, it's just that [they] couch it in terms of 'people' in general.” I argue that conversely when White people actually do talk about race they talk about anything but White people.