The Order of the Stick is RACIST!

[Dawnstar]

I enjoy reading the Order of the Stick, with its expressive stick figures and quality storylines. However few realize that underneath the D&D rules humor and innocuous pop-culture references lies a sinister message of racism and white supremacy!

The main cast or PC's in Order of the Stick are the first demonstration of bias against minorities. Vaarsuvius, Durkon, Elan, and even Belkar (when his Wisdom is raised (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0058.html)) have spellcasting ability. However Roy, the black man, has no magic whatsoever and is the party's big dumb fighter. The message is clear: White is power, and the black man is only good for laboring for the white man's benefit.

Haley is also not a spellcaster, but there's speculation that she's not entirely human, and may have abilities yet to be revealed. If not, her being non-magical is simply sexism to go with the racism, where blacks and women must submit to white men. Haley was mute for many strips, where only gobbledygook came out when she tried to talk, which is a clear statement that women should be seen and not heard.

Note Roy's love interest Celia is a very pale skinned and white haired fairy, implying that a brother can only achieve happiness if he becomes more like the white man.

The funniest and most badass character in the comic is Xykon, a skeleton, where a skeleton is of course purely white. Roy has been dead for much of the comic, killed when he tried to face Xykon. This insidious message suggests that a brother shouldn't try to protest the injustices placed upon him, where if he does try to stand up to The Man, he will be put down.

The few times NPC's of color are in seeming positions of power, they are evil. Consider the three characters in the Soul Splice. Gononron, Terror of a Thousand Planes and Jephton, Spawn of Hatred are both white men. Haera Bloodsoak, Destroyer of Hope is black, and is even mentioned as being the most powerful of the three. However these are the most evil souls in the lower planes, implying that the only thing the black man is best at is being a criminal. Note Haera is also a necromancer, meaning she gets her power from undead like skeletons (i.e. white power). Her subtitle "Destroyer of Hope" again suggests that the black man should accept his lot in life and not hope for better.

The most recent strips have Vaarsuvius gleefully killing a black colored dragon who tried to stand up to him over past injustices, followed by committing genocide against half the black dragon race. Before that he exploited the black dragons by stealing their treasure and killing a young black dragon when he got in the way. The similarities of this with the history of the black man in society hardly need mentioning.

Subtle racist messages can be seen throughout the comic. Consider recent strip http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0635.html from the other week. Note the choir in the last panel. The top row consists of two pale white men, implying the upper tier of society is fully white. The one black man is on the bottom row in the very last position, clearly indicating the black man's position is as low as can be.

For the sake of diversity, I implore readers to be aware of this biased imagery, so they aren't subconsciously influenced by it. I have a dream, that my characters will one day play in a game world where PC's will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their alignment. :smallsmile:

PS: Happy April Fool's Day everyone! ;)

[spectral]

I was almost going to fall for this one, then i noticed the date.. aprils fool.. good one :smallsmile:

[Illven]

If you're not joking only a quarter of the black dragons died

[Bastian]

:smallsmile:

Epic, M'lday, epic indeed.

You just made my day :smallwink:

[Estelindis]

High-larious. Good job. :smallwink:

[Killer Angel]

Subtle racist messages can be seen throughout the comic. Consider recent strip http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0635.html from the other week. Note the choir in the last panel. The top row consists of two pale white men, implying the upper tier of society is fully white. The one black man is on the bottom row in the very last position, clearly indicating the black man's position is as low as can be.


I contest this!
It's the pedophiles choir, the majority are white men, so this means that White is Evil.
And the white V. has just sells his soul to Evil for the sake of power!
Roy (black) has died fightin' evil (Xykon, who's white), and his soul has gone to heaven.
The conclusion is only one: Black men have a moral edge on White men... You'right, the comic IS racist, but not the way you see it. :smallwink:

[RMS Oceanic]

Celia has pale skin, and white hair. She's also bossy and close-minded.

What are you implying about Albinos, Rich? :smallconfused:

[Scatman]

Oh my god..

It's all so clear now. Gotta fight the white man!

[DraPrime]

And for a second I thought this was serious. Great job :smallbiggrin:

[Starscream]

The Giant is clearly anti-midget.

The only main dwarf character drinks too much and defines his entire role in life by worshiping someone much bigger than he is.

The only main halfling is a homicidal maniac whose alignment is measured in kilonazis.

And both goblins and sylphs were upgraded to medium size simply to keep the cast "medium-centric"

Clearly the shorter you are the more the comic hates you.

[Rotipher]

I would add that individuals of compact stature in this comic are consistently portrayed as psychotic (Belkar), criminal (Hank), abrasively manipulative (the Oracle), and/or disposable (Yikyik and Yokyok). Ergo, this comic is guilty of egregious discrimination against the congenitally diminutive, and Rich's house should be picketed in protest by little people!

Edit: Rats, someone beat me to it! :smallfurious::smallwink:

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

I've noticed that Goblins in this comic are often portrayed as weak mooks whose only function is to be slaughtered by The Man. Come fellow Goblins, the balance of power is shifting, and we shall be on top! Viva la revolution!

[Morty]

I've noticed that Goblins in this comic are often portrayed as weak mooks whose only function is to be slaughtered by The Man. Come fellow Goblins, the balance of power is shifting, and we shall be on top! Viva la revolution!

The funny thing is, Redcloak is fighting for this exact idea.
Also, good job. If it wasn't April's Fools, I might have taken it seriously.

[King of Nowhere]

You may add Miko in the reasons for sexism of oots.
Also, this comic shows hobgoblins (orange skin) to invade a good city and try to mess with the fabric of creation. This is clearly discriminating against native americans. Yeah, I know their skin is not orange, but that's because of the lack of details and poor implementation of the comic.

I'm also going to say that if I die accidentaly I'll never rest easy without knowing how oots ends, so my arcons will cite Rich for damage.

[Cizak]

OMG!!!!



...



I fell for it x(

[Warren Dew]

However Roy, the black man, has no magic whatsoever and is the party's big dumb fighter.

Reinforcing this point is the fact that Roy's father only got to be a powerful magic user by laboring until his hair turned - you guessed it - white!

[Silverraptor]

Ha ha. April Fools! Nice one. Now the question is whether or not the moderaters will allow it?

[Lissou]

That post was so funny. Congrats, I hope some people fall for it.
It does prove what my literature teacher said though... You can prove anything and its opposite when studying someone's work, especially if they were prolific.

[MReav]

Yeah, we can totally add Miko to the sexism. They portray how women can't be independent, they go completely crazy when forced to go on long trips in isolation, unlike Sir Francois and Thahn.

[Felixaar]

PS: Happy April Fool's Day everyone! ;)

Thank Steve for white text.

[Mannryu]

Damn it, I fell for this so hard at first I left cracks on the floor! I was about to start argue a bit when I realized which day today is!

Well done, indeed :smallbiggrin:

[EmeraldPhoenix]

(I know this is a joke, but I'm going to get super ticked anyways because I'm bored as hell and arguing is fun.)


I enjoy reading the Order of the Stick, with its expressive stick figures and quality storylines. However few realize that underneath the D&D rules humor and innocuous pop-culture references lies a sinister message of racism and white supremacy!

Really. Mmhmm. show me.


The main cast or PC's in Order of the Stick are the first demonstration of bias against minorities. Vaarsuvius, Durkon, Elan, and even Belkar (when his Wisdom is raised (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0058.html)) have spellcasting ability. However Roy, the black man, has no magic whatsoever and is the party's big dumb fighter. The message is clear: White is power, and the black man is only good for laboring for the white man's benefit.

Roy CHOSE to become a fighter. And if you look at the Cast of Charecters (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/ootscast.html), Roy has a college degree. Plus, your point is utterly ridiculous. You're saying that Rich portrays Belkar, the evil psycotic halfling, as better and smarter than Roy. Durkon is afraid (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0150.html) of (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0344.html) TREES (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0583.html).


Haley is also not a spellcaster, but there's speculation that she's not entirely human, and may have abilities yet to be revealed. If not, her being non-magical is simply sexism to go with the racism, where blacks and women must submit to white men. Haley was mute for many strips, where only gobbledygook came out when she tried to talk, which is a clear statement that women should be seen and not heard.

WHITE MEN? WHAT WHITE MEN? Belkar is a halfling, Vaarsuvious is an elf, Elan is the biggest idiot and EVERYONE KNOWS IT, and if you've decided that's all irrelevant for some reason, must I remind you that Durkon is dark-skinned, too?


Note Roy's love interest Celia is a very pale skinned and white haired fairy, implying that a brother can only achieve happiness if he becomes more like the white man.

Become more like a white man...by liking girls? Now who's being racist? You're saying that only white men like girls? What, are all the black men gay or something?


The funniest and most badass character in the comic is Xykon,
THAT is a matter of opinion, not an argument of any kind.


a skeleton, where a skeleton is of course purely white. Roy has been dead for much of the comic, killed when he tried to face Xykon. This insidious message suggests that a brother shouldn't try to protest the injustices placed upon him, where if he does try to stand up to The Man, he will be put down.


Roy died falling off a dragon. A hundred feet up in the air. After a fight during which he faced impossible odds and knew it. That wasn't racism, that was stupidity.


The few times NPC's of color are in seeming positions of power, they are evil. Consider the three characters in the Soul Splice. Gononron, Terror of a Thousand Planes and Jephton, Spawn of Hatred are both white men. Haera Bloodsoak, Destroyer of Hope is black, and is even mentioned as being the most powerful of the three. However these are the most evil souls in the lower planes, implying that the only thing the black man is best at is being a criminal. Note Haera is also a necromancer, meaning she gets her power from undead like skeletons (i.e. white power). Her subtitle "Destroyer of Hope" again suggests that the black man should accept his lot in life and not hope for better.

She doesn't get her power from the undead, she has the power to CONTROL the undead. Big difference there. And if you're looking for hidden meanings, Consider this: Jephton's subtitle is Spawn of Hatred. He's white. Does that immediatly mean that Rich thinks all white men are the spawn of hatred? Of course not! Just to name one, Hinjo is white and Lawful Good! Don't make generalizations.


The most recent strips have Vaarsuvius gleefully killing a black colored dragon who tried to stand up to him over past injustices, followed by committing genocide against half the black dragon race. Before that he exploited the black dragons by stealing their treasure and killing a young black dragon when he got in the way. The similarities of this with the history of the black man in society hardly need mentioning.

I don't know where to start.

Vaarsuvious killing the black dragon was portrayed as evil.
He wasn't standing up for past injustices, that would have been killing V. No, he went straight for V's family. Why don't you consider THAT an evil act?
1/4 of the black dragon race, not 1/2 of it. You're making this sound twice as bad as it was.
If you'd remember correctly, V killed the dragon because it ate Haley (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0183.html). Not to steal the treasure. The treasure came afterwards.
Hardly need mentioning? Um, yes, I think they do, because I don't think slavery applies in any way, shape, or form here.



Subtle racist messages can be seen throughout the comic. Consider recent strip http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0635.html from the other week. Note the choir in the last panel. The top row consists of two pale white men, implying the upper tier of society is fully white. The one black man is on the bottom row in the very last position, clearly indicating the black man's position is as low as can be.

Oh, here's something you didn't mention: that strip you refer to? Those people in the choir? They're pedophiles. From hell. And-let me see-how many white people are there? 9. How many blacks? 2. There are less black pedophiles than white ones. Wow, you're right, it's racist to portray blacks as less pedophilic.


For the sake of diversity, I implore readers to be aware of this biased imagery, so they aren't subconsciously influenced by it. I have a dream, that my characters will one day play in a game world where PC's will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their alignment. :smallsmile:

PS: Happy April Fool's Day everyone! ;)

Do you even PLAY D&D?


Ok, vent over. 'night folks.

[Laughing Dragon]

So ... I have a D&D buddy that won't read OOTS because it's drawn with stick figures. The next time I see him I will call him "stickist."

I really dislike dumb people. Does that make me a "stupidist?"

Is someone who does calligraphy a "type-ist?"

And ... If I would prefer most of the people I see to leave their cloths on, does that make me a "nudist?"

And ... If I stay out of the sun, does that make me "tan-ist?" And everyone who harrasses me about how pale I am is a "white-ist?"

And ... all of you who are groaning right now are ... "pun-ists!"

[Aaron]

Ha ha ha!!! Very funny!! What a great April fools joke!! :smallbiggrin: Sending spell for Dawnstar (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0466.html): the Order of the Stick is totally NOT racist. You only just joined the forums today, so you obviously don't understand much about the inner-depth of Rich Burlew's great fantasy world. I think you're reading WAY TOO MUCH into the OOTS.:smallannoyed:

[Vaarsuvius4181]

Nice april fools,lol

[Faleldir]

The Giant is clearly anti-midget.

The only main dwarf character drinks too much and defines his entire role in life by worshiping someone much bigger than he is.

The only main halfling is a homicidal maniac whose alignment is measured in kilonazis.

And both goblins and sylphs were upgraded to medium size simply to keep the cast "medium-centric"

Clearly the shorter you are the more the comic hates you.

He's a rabid anti-nanite! Next thing you know, he'll be saying little people should wield oversized weapons and ride horses!

[The Pilgrim]

A few ones that got unnoticed:

- The two Lawyers, Mr. Jones and Mr. Phil Rodriguez. The hispanic parthner is a feeble minded guy whose role is to be constantly bullied by his white anglo-saxon superior and serve as scapegoat for the failures.

- The engagements between the Order of the Stick and the Linear Guild are full of those: Vaarsuvios, the pale skinned elf, wins over Zz'dtri, the dark skinned one. Haley (white) beats Sabine, who not only is black but also depicted as a promiscuous slut and the sexual toy of Nale, her white master. Durkon beats the dark skinned Gnome druid. Guess when it's the only time a member of the Linear Guild wins? when white Pompey confronts black Julia (http://http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0354.html), who runs out of magic missiles and is forced to flee to the protection of Cliffport white law enforcers.

- Finally and most blatantly... when have Xykon and Redcloack scored their biggest victory? When they marched against a city defended by Asian people. Geeezzz

[Shadowbane]

That made my day. Awesome!

[Puppeteer]

For a second I thought Spike Lee registered to this forum

[Mr. Pin]

That right there? That was the first truly funny thing I've seen this april fool's day.

[FoE]

OoTS is dead-ist! Have we seen one positive portrayal of an undead character? You know, just because they're life-draining abominations doesn't mean they don't have feelings, Rich!

[Lerky]

And for a second I thought this was serious. Great job :smallbiggrin:

it got me to:smallbiggrin:

[The Blackbird]

Oh, I fell for it:smallredface:. Nice.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

OoTS is dead-ist! Have we seen one positive portrayal of an undead character? You know, just because they're life-draining abominations doesn't mean they don't have feelings, Rich!

Nah, Rich has represented the undead as being the Anne Rice emo-whiner vampire (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0474.html) type. :smallwink:

[[TS] Shadow]

I actually fell for this; I didn't notice it was a joke untill halfway through the post. Well done, madam, well done.

[EmeraldPhoenix]

So ... I have a D&D buddy that won't read OOTS because it's drawn with stick figures. The next time I see him I will call him "stickist."

I really dislike dumb people. Does that make me a "stupidist?"

Is someone who does calligraphy a "type-ist?"

And ... If I would prefer most of the people I see to leave their cloths on, does that make me a "nudist?"

And ... If I stay out of the sun, does that make me "tan-ist?" And everyone who harrasses me about how pale I am is a "white-ist?"

And ... all of you who are groaning right now are ... "pun-ists!"

I'm against people who are against things. I'm an ist-ist.

[Branco]

YOU! BROKE! MY! SWORD!!
-Martin Luther King





Oh wait....

[Berserk Monk]

First off let me say that Dawnstar, I can not even begin to in any way, shape, or form flame this forum properly enough based on the statements and assumption you're trying to make.

As for black and other colored (sorry about using the politically incorrect word) spellcasters: Eugene Greenhilt, Dorkon Thundershield, Julia Greenhilt (a woman too), Leeky Windstaff, and probably some others.

[Zen_Heart]

You got me for a second, there. Nice job. :smallwink:

[Szilard]

I'm against people who are against things. I'm an ist-ist.

I used to say I'm a racist against racists...:smalltongue:

[Prak]

I was almost going to fall for this one, then i noticed the date.. aprils fool.. good one :smallsmile:

I almost fell for it just because I'm going to throttle the next person who seriously says something's racist just because the thing in question doesn't pander to their demographic or "insert another demographic here so I don't seem like a completely self centered dumb ass"

[Roland St. Jude]

I used to say I'm a racist against racists...:smalltongue:

I used to say that I eat cannibals.

[ref]

You got me. Good thing I read the post before replying! :smallsmile:

[The Giant]

I probably speak for all the moderators when I say that I came in here with my finger on the ban button.

Due to the fact that it is about to no longer be April Fool's Day, I'm going to lock it lest anyone take it seriously and reply in earnest (because that's exactly the sort of discussion we DON'T want to have).