Belkar Bitterleaf, confirmed speciesist?

[Precure]

Did anyone else notice how different he acted towards Serini? It's like he's a completely different person. This confirms my longtime suspicion that Belkar's terrible treatment of other people stems from his speciesist worldview, despite of his claims of revenge killing of his childhood bullies.

[King of Nowhere]

the last panel is a punchline. aside from that, he's got one comment, which is not at all different from how he normally acts

[Precure]

the last panel is a punchline. aside from that, he's got one comment, which is not at all different from how he normally acts

Seventh panel also hits different compared to how Belkar usually reacts to that sorta thing.

[Metastachydium]

We've kind of always known that?
(Also, I don't think we've ever seen him kill or otherwise harm a halfling. Hm.)

[BloodSquirrel]

He's a little calmer than he used to be... but that's been a thing since UD. I'm pretty sure the "You're a halfling?" line is because she sounded like a troll, and for a while they were only hearing her speak.

[Metastachydium]

she sounded like a troll

I mean, she still sounds like a troll (and in more than one sense of the word too).

[KorvinStarmast]

Did anyone else notice how different he acted towards Serini? It's like he's a completely different person. This confirms my longtime suspicion that Belkar's terrible treatment of other people stems from his speciesist worldview, despite of his claims of revenge killing of his childhood bullies.

That seems to be a great deal of mental effort taken to project the least charitable odor onto Belkar's generally malevolent personality.
This is the kind of lazy thinking that ... hmm, to close to a real world issue, not going there.

Belkar has (apparently, based on a few in comic cues) been putting up with humans being massively insensitive to the differences between halflings and humans for what appears to be all of his adventuring life, and perhaps before that. Uncivil Servant does not clear much of that up, and his uncomplex murderous tendencies that had him in jail in OtOotPCs didn't delve too deep into the why, just the what.

Another example of cross species/race (the D&D thingy) he makes (and that's in addition to the BRitF strip provided a few postst up) is about basic physiology.

Your thinly disguised 'must be racist' line is both unfounded and needlessly reductionist.

With very few exceptions, Belkar's body of work throughout the series is as an equal opportunity hater and murderer. (One exception he did make was for an attractive rogue/sorceress/bard in Greysky city named Jenny)

@Metastachydium
I like what you did there vis a vis troll. :)

[Mike Havran]

We've kind of always known that?
(Also, I don't think we've ever seen him kill or otherwise harm a halfling. Hm.)

No, but we did not get to see his high school afterparty

That said, of course he will be more friendly less violent towards halflings, simply because he has more in common with them than with other species.

[Bookwyrm13]

To slightly misquote V, I find it to be entirely in keeping with what I know of him.

[Precure]

As seen in the last strip, Belkar is still acting very different towards his own kin.

[Psyren]

As seen in the last strip, Belkar is still acting very different towards his own kin.

He's acting differently in general. I think that has more to do with his overall character development than any special feelings towards the old halfling who threw potpourri in his face.

[The MunchKING]

Interestingly, I remembered there was a short guy who looked like he could be a halfling in the Thieves Guild attack on Belkar's room. When I looked, yup he had the hairy bare feet. Belkar jumped over him, and despite that guy stabbing Belkar, Belka killed the other guys and let the Cleric kill the halfling guy with Inflict Serious Wounds...

[Precure]

He's acting differently in general. I think that has more to do with his overall character development than any special feelings towards the old halfling who threw potpourri in his face.

Minutes before:

"Kill! KILL!"

https://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1239.html

[skim172]

If we're gonna play this game ... then obviously Vaarsuvius is the speciesist. From the moment we met them, V's been demonstrating little but contempt for others on the grounds of their inferior intellectual capacity. Sure, we thought it might be just because of their general haughty, self-important personality - but notice V only behaves as such towards non-elves? I mean, V's only had interactions with non-elves - thus my point cannot be disproven, and therefore I am absolutely correct.

Sure, it might be that Vaarsuvius just doesn't get along with Belkar - but maybe it's because V hates short races. V was extremely disrespectful to Durkon - and it took a cosmic-level shattering of their self-image to eventually apologize. Even now, as their comrade gasps for air, believing he had been poisoned, Vaarsuvius has to just get that little verbal jab in, just to spite Belkar. Sure, you could say it's just because the comic has to have a punchline - but I demand you prove to me that it's not a sign that Vaarsuvius has deep-rooted anti-halflingist beliefs.

I demand that you prove to me all the negatives and evidence of all the absences, to my arbitrary and self-defined standard.

[Precure]

If we're gonna play this game ... then obviously Vaarsuvius is the speciesist. From the moment we met them, V's been demonstrating little but contempt for others on the grounds of their inferior intellectual capacity. Sure, we thought it might be just because of their general haughty, self-important personality - but notice V only behaves as such towards non-elves? I mean, V's only had interactions with non-elves - thus my point cannot be disproven, and therefore I am absolutely correct.

Sure, it might be that Vaarsuvius just doesn't get along with Belkar - but maybe it's because V hates short races. V was extremely disrespectful to Durkon - and it took a cosmic-level shattering of their self-image to eventually apologize. Even now, as their comrade gasps for air, believing he had been poisoned, Vaarsuvius has to just get that little verbal jab in, just to spite Belkar. Sure, you could say it's just because the comic has to have a punchline - but I demand you prove to me that it's not a sign that Vaarsuvius has deep-rooted anti-halflingist beliefs.

I demand that you prove to me all the negatives and evidence of all the absences, to my arbitrary and self-defined standard.

Maybe. If i remember correctly, they also committed genocide at one point. But not against halflings. In fact they even saved Belkar from Miko, even though he was a murderer. So I don't think they have anti-halflingist beliefs. They also were respectful towards Roy and Durkon, calling them sir and master, and person they care most is a human.

[KillianHawkeye]

and person they care most is a human.

Since when?

[Metastachydium]

Skim is a hundred percent correct! Let's take a look at V's interpersonal relations. The three people they are most fond of (spouse&children)? Elves. The only person they seem to respect without a hint of doubt or ambivalence (Aarindarius)? Also an elf. The easy target they left unmolested despite her obvious shortcomings (Veldrina)? Yes, that's right. An elf.
Now, one could argue that V respects Roy. But then, why do they join Belkar with obvious gusto in explaining how humans are cute but not up to the task (linked above)? One could also argue that they cherish Haley. But then, V has no qualms whatsoever about telling her that elves are unjustly kept from ruling the world undisputed, a position they would amply deserve (in Origin)!
All in all: yes, V is barely better than Belkar himself and whoever argues otherwise is liley also a most distasteful elven supremacist offended by the TRUTH!

[KorvinStarmast]

They also were respectful towards Roy and Durkon, calling them sir and master, and person they care most is a human.

Inky and their two kids are human? Who knew?

[TuringTest]

Even now, as their comrade gasps for air, believing he had been poisoned, Vaarsuvius has to just get that little verbal jab in, just to spite Belkar. Sure, you could say it's just because the comic has to have a punchline - but I demand you prove to me that it's not a sign that Vaarsuvius has deep-rooted anti-halflingist beliefs.

I'm pretty sure that's an anti-Belkar sentiment, not anti-halfling. We have seen it often throughout previous comic books.

[Precure]

Since when?

Inky and their two kids are human? Who knew?

No, but Haley is human.

[Metastachydium]

No, but Haley is human.

"Some of my best friends are lowly, mentally challenged humans!"

[Precure]

"Some of my best friends are lowly, mentally challenged humans!"

Is there a reason to believe they think that way?

[Metastachydium]

Is there a reason to believe they think that way?

Several reasons, in fact!

[Precure]

Several reasons, in fact!

None of those points are true though. So, you just admitted defeat.

[Metastachydium]

None of those points are true though. So, you just admitted defeat.

So V hates their family, doesn't respect their master, didn't badmouth humans in the Windy Canyon &c.? Now I'm terribly confused(, you most distasteful elven supremacist offended by the TRUTH!).

(Further, a proper flower never concedes defeat. A proper flower knows that plant creatures are INVINCIBLE!)

[Precure]

So V hates their family

Inky divorced them for their lack of care.

doesn't respect their master

No, but he's not the only person they respected as you claimed.

didn't badmouth humans in the Windy Canyon &c.

Only spitting facts.

[Metastachydium]

Inky divorced them for their lack of care.

Were they not fond of Inky and the children, Inky divorcing them for lack of care(=/=fondness) wouldn't have been so traumatic for V. (Also, I. wouldn't have divorced V if V hadn't stepped way over the line.)

No, but he's not the only person they respected as you claimed.

I also said without a hint of doubt or ambivalence. V doesn't think much of humans.

Only spitting facts.

Hah! The most tasteless elven supremacist reveals himself!

(And you didn't address half of what I've said anyways, khm, "[a]nd what would the problem with that be", khm.)

[Precure]

V doesn't think much of humans.

Yet you still provide nothing to support this.

[Metastachydium]

Yet you still provide nothing to support this.

I did provide evidence, you just discounted it all too easily (no, stressing the shortcomings of humans while disregarding their merits is not a sign of respect). Also, I think they remark somewhere that humans should just grow up and create a global unified government for themselves as the elves did.

[skim172]

You know ... now that I've gotten into this ... I'm actually starting see the logic in elven superiority. Think about it: elves live for hundreds of years - which means that the knowledge that they are able to obtain and compile in that time must be staggering. At best, a human scientist might have a 100 years of study, if they started as soon as they were out of the womb right up til they entered the grave. But an elven scientist could easily do that in a fraction of their lifetime. Think of the greatness they could accomplish - and that's just your average elf! In terms of just the huge amount of knowledge they must absorb, then every elf naturally should be more intelligent than every non-elf, simply by weight of their experience!

And let's not forget their physical attributes - great agility, excellent vision, tremendous hand-eye coordination, innate magical sense - and they get to have that for centuries! Even the best human athlete can't maintain a physical prime for longer than a couple decades. That's a blink of an eye in an elven lifespan.

I think I now support the ideology of elven superiority - just like confirmed elf supremacist Vaarsuvius.



(Although, it does then beg the question: If elves have such fantastically long lifespans, accumulated knowledge, and magical abilities, as well as being the oldest, most advanced civilization in Fantasy-land ... then why are they technologically on par with dumb smelly humans? Roy's teen sister just invented a psychic, blood oath-powered version of WhatsApp - meanwhile, V has to sell their soul to the underworld because the elves, with their immortal lifespans and their unending civilization, never got around to inventing the telephone.)