Valve Responds to Racism Accusations

[Erana]

The Confederate flag is not a symbol of racism, dammit!
Sure, there are some idiots, like klansmen, who misuse it, but they also misuse the crusifix, too!
The Confederacy itself wasn't about white supremacy, either! A lot of states wanted to keep slavery, but the essence of the war was about a different governmental mindset: The North wanted the states wanted a federal government with all the power while the Confederacy wanted the states to be independent, almost to the point of being their own individual countries.
Irk! Exaggerating morons!

That is such southern propaganda! The war was not about states having individual freedom (it sounds pretty to say) but you are right that it wasn't just about racism either. The war was about controlling slavery. The north hated that the south was using slaves for their plantations because they actually had to pay workers to work in their factories. Follow the dollar. The south was very prosperous back in the day because of the slave trade. They knew that if they had to pay field hands to do the labor, they would not be nearly as profitable. So all the people in power started wanting to secede so that they could continue using their cheap labor to continue making money. Read "Lies my Teacher Taught Me."

Nearly all war is driven by war. If someone didn't know that by now, well... I envy their blissful ignorance.
The thing is, that's like saying most of the conflicts in the Middle East are driven by people trying to control the flow of oil.
That is also common knowledge.
Many of the rich men in power at the time were trying to change the government -giving each state gaining autonomous power- so that they could continue to stuff their pockets. What we're saying, essentially, doesn't conflict with each other.

 

[HentMas]

thats just plain stupid, hey if there are Mexican Zombies i would be cool with it, i mean, it´s not that bad, they just added a different race to the mix

if it was a group of african american survivors shooting their way trough a white Zombi horde, that would be racist

 

[Erana]

The Confederate flag is not a symbol of racism, dammit!
Sure, there are some idiots, like klansmen, who misuse it, but they also misuse the crusifix, too!
The Confederacy itself wasn't about white supremacy, either! A lot of states wanted to keep slavery, but the essence of the war was about a different governmental mindset: The North wanted the states wanted a federal government with all the power while the Confederacy wanted the states to be independent, almost to the point of being their own individual countries.
Irk! Exaggerating morons!

it always bothers me when people say this. No matter what a person wants the symbol to mean or what it means to them. It is indeed a racist symbol. What it represents now is far from what it used to represent. It isn't on the majority to decide what is offensive and not offensive. If I am black and the confederate flag offends me because of the racial ties that the confederacy had and because of the way it has been adopted my modern racist and a bunch of my black friends find it offensive too....then guess what it is a racist symbol. Sorry that you can't use it as a southern pride thing or as a symbol of freedom from the strong arm of the government at the same time but that is the way the world works.

Honestly I am not black but it offends me greatly when people sport the confederate flag. It is common knowledge that the confederate flag is seen as a racist symbol and if a person rocks it then they should be aware of what kind of message they are putting out there. Offensive behavior and symbols are decided by the people it offends. Many people that are not white are offended by the confederate flag and see it as a racist symbol...there for it is a racist symbol and anyone that would say something as ignorant as they need to get over it, or they are wrong, or something else along those lines just shows how ignorant they are of issues that are still very much a live in our society.

Like I said before, the Confederate flag is like the Crucifix or even now that I think about it, like the Swastica: not bad at heart, but victims of hateful appropriation. Should Hindu people never use the Swastika again, because of Nazis? Since when is it "common knowledge" for someone to sport the Confederate flag? Its a symbol of Southern pride, nothing more, nothing less. Some people who wish to show their pride in this manner actually believe in the sick idea of white supremacy, but its kinda cruel of you to assume that someone proud of their roots is racist.

Of course, I'm a bit bothered by the fact that you just said, "That's just the way the world works." That's a bit arrogant to say about anything, isn't it? And then calling me "ignorant" because I don't agree with you on an inconcrete matter...

 

[Yeager942]

Oh, so shooting a white zombie is okay but shooting a black isn't? Now that's racism.

Double standard ftw

 

[EMO_of_LiGHT]

The media is over reacting as always, just like the Mass Effect vs. Fox News thing. Historical acuracy isn't racist. And how is shooting black zombies racist? Should the developers make the virus infect everybody but African Americans? That would probably be worse than this.

 

[RouxBelle]

Being a native resident of Louisiana and making regular visits to New Orleans all I can say about that statement is; Do you really expect to go to New Orleans(or any major city for that matter) and NOT see black people?

Know what I expect to see in LFD2? I expect to see zombies, lots and lots of zombies, with the occasional zombie jazz musician with his saxophone rammed through his mid-section running towards me. Also expect to see dlc or mods to put t-shirts on characters that are the infamous "Mayor Nagan and the Chocolate City". If you don't know what that is I suggest you head to google and join in on the laughter.

I can't wait to shoot my way through zombie hordes in the french quarter and river walk, I wonder if there will be a section where you get to shoot zombies from a moving trolley....

I am also from Louisiana..and i couldn't agree with you more. =)

and this guy is an idiot...no matter what Valve does someone will find something to complain about.

 

[Stylish_Robot]

That's the nice thing about the world, always something to ***** about. Fat Princess might make women too fat but we can't say they're too skinny either, people have no problems with indian people saying "how!" and throwing spears yet we're politicians and personally I think african americans just like to make problems if anyone even mentions black people. Black comedians like Chris Rock say the "N" word all the time, go to South Central L.A. and everyone will say it to their buddies yet Michael Richards says it and he's racist yet white people can't say it but "oh, the n word is racist and people are not allowed to say it" yet we allow it to be said anyway...by black people. I'm all for gender, race and culture equality but this kind of thing gets me p'd off

 

[Mantonio]

Why is it that these days not putting all non-white races on a pedestal seems to automatically make you a racist?

There are black zombies? SO *$%&ING WHAT?! IT'S SET IN NEW ORLEANS! It has black zombies and white zombies! If it was set in China I'd expect it to have Chinese zombies, and yet suddenly because a game company has the audacity to make the undead baddies anything but exclusivng white, they're racist? You're the racist!

I'm sorry, but this sort of thing just makes my blood boil.

 

[Dr Pussymagnet]

Things like this are why I don't read the Houston Chronicle anymore

 

[Dogstile]

oh no, call of juarez can't use the confederate flag in a time of confederacy

oh no, left 4 dead 2 can't use black zombies where you would find them

the idiots will be idiotic, lets ignore them

 

[salbarragan]

The Confederate flag is not a symbol of racism, dammit!
Sure, there are some idiots, like klansmen, who misuse it, but they also misuse the crusifix, too!
The Confederacy itself wasn't about white supremacy, either! A lot of states wanted to keep slavery, but the essence of the war was about a different governmental mindset: The North wanted the states wanted a federal government with all the power while the Confederacy wanted the states to be independent, almost to the point of being their own individual countries.
Irk! Exaggerating morons!

That is such southern propaganda! The war was not about states having individual freedom (it sounds pretty to say) but you are right that it wasn't just about racism either. The war was about controlling slavery. The north hated that the south was using slaves for their plantations because they actually had to pay workers to work in their factories. Follow the dollar. The south was very prosperous back in the day because of the slave trade. They knew that if they had to pay field hands to do the labor, they would not be nearly as profitable. So all the people in power started wanting to secede so that they could continue using their cheap labor to continue making money. Read "Lies my Teacher Taught Me."

Nearly all war is driven by war. If someone didn't know that by now, well... I envy their blissful ignorance.
The thing is, that's like saying most of the conflicts in the Middle East are driven by people trying to control the flow of oil.
That is also common knowledge.
Many of the rich men in power at the time were trying to change the government -giving each state gaining autonomous power- so that they could continue to stuff their pockets. What we're saying, essentially, doesn't conflict with each other.

The subtleties of language. Both sides say the same thing but which one is closer to the actual truth.

 

[aakibar]

you know as white i could call it racist that we are shooting white zombies and they do not have ethnic diversity. its a realistic aproach is this not what games are supposed to be about vague realism, and in the case for L4D2 scare the pants off you some times. utterly insane and over the top statement

 

[Pharas]

Maybe this wouldn't have helped if several news stations didn't showcase the fact that every other southern cowpoke was saying they wouldn't vote for a *n-word*

 

[elemenetal150]

The Confederate flag is not a symbol of racism, dammit!
Sure, there are some idiots, like klansmen, who misuse it, but they also misuse the crusifix, too!
The Confederacy itself wasn't about white supremacy, either! A lot of states wanted to keep slavery, but the essence of the war was about a different governmental mindset: The North wanted the states wanted a federal government with all the power while the Confederacy wanted the states to be independent, almost to the point of being their own individual countries.
Irk! Exaggerating morons!

it always bothers me when people say this. No matter what a person wants the symbol to mean or what it means to them. It is indeed a racist symbol. What it represents now is far from what it used to represent. It isn't on the majority to decide what is offensive and not offensive. If I am black and the confederate flag offends me because of the racial ties that the confederacy had and because of the way it has been adopted my modern racist and a bunch of my black friends find it offensive too....then guess what it is a racist symbol. Sorry that you can't use it as a southern pride thing or as a symbol of freedom from the strong arm of the government at the same time but that is the way the world works.

Honestly I am not black but it offends me greatly when people sport the confederate flag. It is common knowledge that the confederate flag is seen as a racist symbol and if a person rocks it then they should be aware of what kind of message they are putting out there. Offensive behavior and symbols are decided by the people it offends. Many people that are not white are offended by the confederate flag and see it as a racist symbol...there for it is a racist symbol and anyone that would say something as ignorant as they need to get over it, or they are wrong, or something else along those lines just shows how ignorant they are of issues that are still very much a live in our society.

Like I said before, the Confederate flag is like the Crucifix or even now that I think about it, like the Swastica: not bad at heart, but victims of hateful appropriation. Since when is it "common knowledge" for someone to sport the Confederate flag? Its a symbol of Southern pride, nothing more, nothing less. Some people who wish to show their pride in this manner actually believe in the sick idea of white supremacy, but its kinda cruel of you to assume that someone proud of their roots is racist.

Also, which part of the world do you live in, anyway? Your experience with it might be coloring your views.

I'm not saying showing southern pride is racist in anyway shape or form. What I am saying is it is common knowledge that the confederate flag is used as a racist symbol and anyone who is using it in another way should be aware that it is a very likely scenario that it will be misinterpreted.

and where am I from....the south....to be specific southern Virgina,then Northern Virgina, spent most every summer in South Carolina growing up, now I live in Pennsylvania and see a ton of douche bags running around sporting the confederate flag and half of them couldn't tell you a damn thing about the civil war other then slaves or some bullshit that isn't the whole picture.

I AM proud of my southern heritage. I rock it out in the open all the time and tell all of the yanks that I live around how rude and different northern culture is on a regular basis (which it is). What I don't do is use a racist symbol to represent my southern pride in some delusional state of denial.

Is my "experience" with the confederate flag "coloring" my views......I would say yes because I live in the real world where I associate/ am friends with people that aren't all white, with people that have never been down south. I can say I understand the opposing point of view. It is that point of view that makes it a racist symbol no matter what it means to the people that rock the confederate flag but don't mean it in a racist way. Because of this interpretation it is and probably always will be from this point forward a racist symbol.

Like I said before anyone that says otherwise is running from the truth, they are living in a state of denial. The swastika is the perfect example. it used to mean peace and unity....but guess what....no matter how much I want it to mean that again. No matter how I use it and how many people I tell "no, when I use it I mean peace and unity like it used to mean" they aren't going to believe me, it isn't going to change what it has come to represent...the same goes for the confederate flag.

"nothing more, nothing less" if only it were that simple my friend

 

[Cliff_m85]

Ofcourse Valve is racist, it's obvious. The only thing that could really change my mind on that is if they release "Half Life 2: Episode 3".

 

[joystickjunki3]

This is utter nonsense.

 

[MrGFunk]

It's not going to be racist. A multinational games developer is not going to produce an overtly racist game.

Racism is not acceptable and rightfully died in the mainstream in the 20th Century.
Mass racism is underground and faceless or is restricted to racist groups propaganda newsletters.


Ignorant people are not going to be silenced but at least they are hushed.

 

[Lord_Panzer]

Dear Mr. Jefferson,

 

[Snotnarok]

Some of the zombies are african american...whoppie, some are white, some are spanish, some are asian, some are even in hazzard suits. This guy is the only one who cares, you're killing zombies not living black people, even if they were living, there's still a crowd of various races 2 of the playable characters are black so what am I missing? Sorry if this game doesn't depict your ideal vision of killing whitey but as I see it they're filling the crowds with all colors of the rainbow.

I guess Sonic is racist too killing all of those nasty *obots. That's right I said it *obots, I'm racists against robots. I think I lost sight of the argument at this point but yeah...