WWC Follower Asks:

My character is Ashkenazi Jewish and living in modern America (raised in New York, moved to the Pacific North West). He has magical talent, which presents itself in auto writing (speaking with spirits using himself as a conduit), and necromancy/death magic. I understand the Torah forbids it, and the Talmud acknowledges its existence, and read a previous answer you did regarding it. I intended to add this aspect to my character because prior to writing this magical talent, as the plot unfolded while I wrote, the character was already established as Jewish and I did not wish to erase that from him. His personal arc/story itself has a strong point of residual hauntings and healing from the past, which was how the mediumship came to exist.

At this point, I am writing it as he is learning his talent, and he intends to do as little harm to the dead as possible (he will not be reanimating people). In addition, necromancy can also work in this world as a form of animancy (using the soul) to do magic. My character is against taking that energy from others (as is it is common for necromancers to take the energy of the deceased by force), and instead will tap into himself, or utilize it if it is willingly donated by another person.

It possible to make this work?

Are there any severe taboos involved with the idea of using soul/life energy to fuel magic that I have missed in my research? What’s your personal threshold for this idea?

One very culturally Jewish way to handle it would be if he has to bulk up and eat a lot of nourishing Bubbe (“eat eat!!”) style meals when he’s gonna talk to the spirits or sheydim or whatever bc he’s using his own life essence to fuel the connection like “if i want to do this i need to eat 2 helpings of brisket first”.

That leans heavily into emphasizing that he is drawing on his own energy, maybe he has to eat enough food for himself and the dead person too, and not sapping the strength of another (an antisemitic trope)

-Shira

I absolutely LOVE the idea of him eating for the dead person, and I think it’s Jewish by vibes even if not drawing on something specific from text (that I know of). I definitely would be wary of any magic where the other souls are diminished by working with him even if he doesn’t do it intentionally, but it sounds like you’re already on that.

I wonder also if he might take upon himself the responsibility to recite Kaddish for the deceased people he works with, to make up for disturbing them–especially if rather than recite the prayer on his own, he attends a synagogue service or gathers a minyan (prayer quorum of 10 adult Jews) to recite the prayer “Correctly,” since, some very sweet Tumblr lore aside, Kaddish is one of those prayers not traditionally recited without a minyan.

-Meir

Depicting Real World Religions Alongside Constructed Religions

Maya asked:

Hi WWC! Thank you so much for this blog, it’s an infinitely wonderful resource!

Do you have any suggestions for how I can balance representation of real religions with fantasy religions, or should I avoid including these together? Does the fact that certain things bleed over from our world into the fantasy world help legitimize the appearance of real world religions?

I feel like I can come up with respectful ways to integrate representation in ways that make sense for the worldbuilding. For instance, no Muslim characters would practice magic, and both Jewish and Muslim characters would conceive of magic in ways that fit their religion (rather than trying to adapt real religions to fit my worldbuilding).

I also have some ideas for how these religions came about that fit between handwave and analogous history (though I realize the Qur'an is unchangeable, so I’m guessing Islam would have come about in the same way as IRL). BTW—I’m referring to humans, not other species coded as Muslim or Jewish. I may explore the concept of jinns more (particularly as how Muslims perceive fantastical beings), but I definitely need to do a lot more research before I go down that road!

Finally, I saw a post somewhere (*but* it might have been someone else’s commentary) suggesting to integrate certain aspects of Judaism (e.g., skullcaps in sacred places/while praying, counting days from sundown instead of sunset) into fantasy religions (monotheistic ones, of course) to normalize these customs, but as a non-Jewish person I feel this could easily  veer into appropriation-territory. 

*One of the posts that I’m referring to in case you need a better reference of *my* reference: defining coding and islam-coded-fantasy

[This long ask was redacted to pull out the core questions asked]

“Both Jewish and Muslim characters would conceive of magic in ways that fit their religion (rather than trying to adapt real religions to fit my worldbuilding).”

Just a note that while having religion be part of magic is a legitimate way to write fantasy, I want to remind people that religious characters can also perform secular magic. Sometimes I feel like people forget about that particular worldbuilding option. (I feel this one personally because in my own books I chose to make magic secular so that my nonmagical heroine wouldn’t seem less close to God somehow than her wizard adoptive dad, who is an objectively shadier person.) I’m not saying either way is more or less correct or appropriate, just that they’re both options and I think sometimes people forget about the one I chose. But anyway moving on—

Your decision to make the water spirits not actual deities is a respectful decision given the various IRL monotheistic religions in your story, so, thank you for that choice. I can see why it gets messy though, since some people in-universe treat those powers as divine. I guess as long as your fantasy Jews aren’t being depicted as backwards and wrong and ignoring in-universe reality in favor of in-universe incorrect beliefs, then you’re fine…

“I saw a post somewhere (but it might have been someone else’s commentary) suggesting to integrate certain aspects of Judaism (e.g., skullcaps in sacred places/while praying, counting days from sundown instead of sunset) into fantasy religions (monotheistic ones, of course) to normalize these customs, but as a non-Jewish person I feel this could easily veer into appropriation-territory.”

That was probably us, as Meir and I both feel that way. What would make it appropriative is if these very Jewish IRL markers were used to represent something other than Judaism. It’s not appropriative to show Jewish or Jewish-coded characters wearing yarmulkes or marking one day a week for a special evening with two candles or anything else we do if it’s connected to Jewishness! To disconnect the markers of us from us is where appropriation starts to seep in.

–Shira

To bounce off what Shira said above, the source of the magic can be religious or secular–or put another way, it can be explicitly granted be a deity or through engagement with a specific religious practice, or it can be something that can be accessed with or without engaging with a certain set of beliefs or practices. It sounds like you’re proposing the second one: the magic is there for anyone to use, but the people in this specific religion engage with it through a framework of specific ideas and practices.

If you can transform into a “spirit” by engaging with this religion, and I can transform into a “spirit” through an analogous practice through the framework of Kabbalah, for example, and an atheist can transform through a course of secular technical study, then what makes yours a religion is the belief on your part that engaging in the process in your specific way, or choosing to engage in that process over other lifestyle choices, is in some way a spiritual good, not the mechanics of the transformation. If, on the other hand, humans can only access this transformative magic through the grace of the deities that religion worships, while practitioners of other religions lack the relationship with the only gods empowered to make that magic, that’s when I’d say you had crossed into doing more harm than good by seeking to include real-world religions.

Including a link below to a post you might have already seen that included the “religion in fantasy worldbuilding alignment chart.” It sounds like you’re in the center square, which is a fine place to be. The center top and bottom squares are where I typically have warned to leave real-world religions out of it.

More reading:

Jewish characters in a universe with author-created fictional pantheons

–Meir

creatingstories asked:

I’m writing a fantasy book and one of the main characters is an half Japanese-coded character. But he is also a half elf too so he has some magical characteristic, like clear eyes, but just because elf has some specific characteristic ( to be clear elves are not coded to any existing ethnicity, they have just specific fantasy characteristic ).

I do not want it to seem offensive. In particular I read the article about the “green-eyes Asian” and the “colored hair asian”. I do not want to give him particular features to make them stand out to readers so that they’re marked as ‘special’ and not like the ‘other East Asians, as you said in the article. He is a major character and has an extremely complex arc.

Submission has been abridged for clarity.

Still green eyes in my book unless you can tell us how the clear eyes relates to magical characteristics and the magic systems of the story. It’s changing eye color for an Japanese-coded character to demarcate their uniqueness in some way. OP can either give up on Japanese coding, provide us with further info, or just give the character regular colored eyes that turn clear when using magic abilities to more explicitly link the magical ability to the ~ Special ~ eye coloring.

- Marika.

Announcement: Please consider this the final Ask on East Asian characters with light/green/blue/etc. eyes, as Marika has presented a clear workaround for this trope in the case of fantasy worldbuilding.

@the-lighthouse-lit asked:

Indian Hindu Raven character

Hello! So my thing is only a fanfic but it’s my baby and I want to make sure it’s well done. The fic is a Teen Titans High School AU and I wanted to make the character Raven, who was always coded as Hindu (especially in the 80’s), actually Indian and Hindu (specifically half-Indian, but raised entirely by her mom, who’s 2nd gen Tamil, Shaivite—this is because Raven’s dad is canonically the Devil so I’m just gonna make him white).

First off, the story’s magic realism, and though it’s a High School AU, Raven’s still magic. I’ve been wondering if it’s alright that, alongside her being a practicing Hindu and me showing her praying, meditating and celebrating holidays, she also practiced more mainstream Pagan occultism, specifically tarot and stone divination. I wrote it this way because it seems natural to me that, as an Indian American who’s into magic, she’d pick up things around her that seem interesting even if it’s outside her tradition, the way I did growing up (I’m a white Catholic Latina). To be clear: all magic works for her no matter the origin, if that changes anything. Plus, as a superhero story, this world is a Fantasy Kitchen Sink: there’s aliens and fairies and demons and time travel.

Second question: one time they have to face a spirit who’s possessing a person and stealing the souls of kids, trapping them in a middle plane invisible to the material world. Raven’s in charge of magic so she’s at the forefront of this mission. The solution (and I’m being vague here as this is a spoiler, but if you want details I’ll provide them) involves astral travel, and I do have a good reference of that in the Yoga Vasistha, but I’m stuck on the other part rest of it. Originally I wanted them (Raven and her mom) to follow a ritual out of the Atharva Veda to essentially exorcise the spirit; but now I’ve researched more about what it takes to correctly utilize the Vedas, I’m not sure if I can imbue her with the authority to do it: could she be considered allowed to chant the mantra at 18 years old? Could she have mastered Sanskrit and been taught a pandit for years to the point where she can? Or should I stay away from the Vedas altogether? (I’ve gotten the sense that the Garuda Purana, which also has chapters associated with exorcism, is more accessible, but it’s Vaishnava literature and I don’t know if they could they turn to it since they’re Shaivite?)

I’ve also found folk Hinduism rituals I could follow (for example the book on Google Books called Indian Witchcraft, it’s mostly pages 40 and 93-94 if you look it up) but unfortunately I can’t find a reference that fits what I need from the scene (mainly the fact that they don’t know where the villain is in body, and all the rituals I found need the possessed to be there), and I think taking a part of the ritual to the letter and making up the rest would be really disrespectful?

Whether or not I involve the Hindu texts, do I need to stay away from mantras? If so, can she instead pray for protection? Can I set the action in a Hindu temple (before a Hanuman statue)? Can I invoke the idea that in the temple she’s protected, that the gods nudged the outcome in her favor, that essentially they did the work and saved the day? Should I treat it as an exorcism? Can I have her treat the villain as a pishacha? Or should I leave Hinduism out of it entirely, and invent a magic-based solution with a battle in the astral plane?

I’m sorry if this is jumbled, but basically I have three scenarios in my head: a classic rite out of the Atharva Veda, a completely magic-based solution, and a middle ground (where she’d battle the villain astrally but with her body under the protection of the temple).

Jewish characters in Polytheist settings

Branching off from this: I didn’t realize this until I found the two asks you answered on Jewish characters on polytheist settings, but if I do have that Hindu gods saved the day in this mission, that would mean Hinduism was ‘proven’ in a way no other religions in my work are (the other main characters are Jewish, Jewish, Christian Orthodox and Baptist)? And also one of my Jewish characters (plus the Baptist) are reluctant to solve the situation magically (not so much skeptic of the ghostly situation itself, more like they think they should investigate through material clues), while my other Jewish character is all in on the magic solution. Is there a way to mend this? Since I don’t think I can lower the divinity of Hindu gods as mods suggested for that other post as that would instead be problematic towards Hinduism? (For reference, the way it ends is the group splits up, and both groups end up having a hand in solving the mission.)

Fictional Alien Country, combining other country elements

Last question, about Starfire. Since she’s an alien in canon I wanted to make ‘Tamaran’ its own fictional country, like a Genovia or a Wakanda situation. Is it okay if I make up a country in a setting that has otherwise all real places? And it takes elements from different countries? It would be located somewhere between Russia, Ukraine and Georgia, formerly part of the Russian empire and now its own country, and mostly Orthodox Christian. The country would have Slavic naming conventions but their own language (as in I take some of the Tamaranean words from the TV show). (This country’s backstory never actually comes up, only I know about it. What comes up is her Slavicized name, her celebrating Christmas on January 7th, and speaking Tamaranean.) If there’s problems I’m thinking I’ll downplay everything and make ‘Tamaran’ a federal subject of Russia. Just for reference, I want to keep her redheaded and golden-brown-skinned, so she’s mixed in my story (ethnically Russian and Black).

Thanks a lot for everything you do!

Disclaimer: I (Abhaya) was brought up with the traditions of both my fairly devout Oriya Brahmin family and fairly devout Bhagnari family, as well as the religious teachings of the Chinmaya Mission and Shirdi Sai Baba. My answers come from my own experience and knowledge, as well as specific research I did on these concepts. There will be a variety of answers that come with this question, and answers will vary from person to person. This ask has been reformatted such that the questions can be answered individually.

The first thing you need to do is think about why you chose these individual aspects. Understand what is a reflection of your bias and experience, and deconstruct the reasoning behind your choices. Find what sticks out to you in your research and think about why you find it intriguing. Try not to cherry-pick the things that stick out to you if you’re going for realism and not coding.

On to the questions:

1. Can Raven do tarot and stone divination as a practicing Hindu? Justification: as a magic user who can perform all types of magic she would ‘naturally pick up on this’.

Answer: I guess? I know Hindu teenagers who got into tarot and astrology, though most of them were not particularly devout. I might emphasize that her usage of these methods is a way for her to perform magic in a specific manner. Reference this post [South Asian fortune teller] to find and avoid some of the common pitfalls of the ‘magical South Asian’ character. Naturally getting into something really is a matter of exposure and whether a person is in regular contact with this, or has the impetus to get into it. Talk about how she got into it and not just that it is part of her life.

2.  Can Raven use a ritual from the Atharva Veda as an 18-year-old, or is that unrealistic for her age and background?

Answer: The mastery of these religious rites is dependent on her upbringing; was she brought up to know and understand the meaning of them? I’ve been learning about Hinduism since I was three, and that still mostly encompasses my family’s traditions and beliefs. I am not fluent in Sanskrit despite having exposure to Hinduism and prayer since I was very young. I personally don’t have much experience with Atharvaveda due to a combination of family history, continued stigma, and limited access to accurate and detailed translations that do justice to the original Sanskrit, as again, I am not fluent.

If you truly want her to go through with this ritual, I would emphasize her learning how to do it under the direction of a guru. Most Hindus don’t directly read the Vedas these days; there is a wealth of oral tradition and philosophy that comes through the community as opposed to the books themselves. The ability to read Sanskrit is dwindling these days because many are unable to access the tools to learn and apply the language.

Please do not just have her think of it as something she can just pick up and do randomly. Indicate the amount of contextual background that goes into reading and understanding the Vedas in their original form. For example, the Atharvaveda has a basis in some of the poetry of the Rigveda–she would have had to at least know the contextual references before delving in.

3. Can I use some folk rituals from Hindu communities?

Answer: Having referenced the book Indian Witchcraft, I wouldn’t use those rituals because I don’t think it would come across very well, and as you said, there are requisites that the scene doesn’t have. Given that Raven can use a variety of magic styles, I suggest using something else. 

4.Should she stay away from mantras and simply pray for protection? 

Answer: We do, in fact, use mantras to pray for protection and blessings from the gods. Mantras essentially give a standard prayer–some can be devoted to protection, some to blessings for luck, some to blessings in love, etc. You could use mantras in this context if you know what you’re looking for and do some research into a specific prayer.

Plus, mantras aren’t the only form of prayer, even limited to just what is spoken. There are bhajans, kirtans, aartis, and many more devotional songs that incorporate instrumentation, dance, and audience participation.There are many ways to learn, ranging from learning through oral tradition in temple or with family, to learning in a guru-shishya relationship through music, dance, or philosophy, to reading and analyzing the texts, to individual composition involving the known elements of mythology and nomenclature, and many mixtures as well.

In terms of the mantras themselves, I personally would go with a short invocation, e.g. the Gayatri Mantra, then a prayer to Ganesh, then have her go into the Hanuman Chalisa, assuming you have time for her to do so. The flow of the story may work better if you show her praying and describe her actions, then denote the mantras she used later, in your author’s notes. Think of how her prayer works in context to the scenario, and then decide.

5. Should she treat it as an exorcism? 

Answer: If she is expelling the spirit from the person, it is an exorcism and can be referred to as such. If you feel that the term has too strong a connection to Christian and Jewish tradition, you may prefer expulsion, cleansing, etc. 

6. Can Raven treat the villain as a pishacha? 

Answer: 

• Is the demon characterized as a pishacha? 
• Do you understand the mythos behind the term and how they are typically described? 
• Do you make this clear in your writing and denote the villain as a pishacha? 

If your answer is yes to these questions, then the demon is a pishacha, as described, and can be treated as such. Use clear description and demonstrate where the influence is coming from in your writing. If not, I wouldn’t use it because it would be more of a confusion than an addition to your worldbuilding.

7. Can the ritual a) be set in a Hanuman temple, and b) have the outcome influenced by the gods? 

Answer: 

a) Potentially; consider if Raven has a particular connection to the temple through childhood, etc., collateral damage to the temple itself, and how you want to treat the scene. An active temple is going to have ongoing puja during the day–what will the civilians and pandits do in that situation? The main mandir will usually also have other murtis established around the central focus–what are you planning for these? Will the temple be damaged or destroyed in the course of the conflict? Temples are designed to be safe places of worship and connection with the divine–I’d say it’s fine to assume it as a place of protection and spiritual power for Raven.

b) Having the gods ‘do the work’ can get really iffy. I would have Raven pray and recognize within herself the righteousness of her action. Either way, if she does a rite or astrally projects, show that the power comes from her and any invocation she personally does. In the Mahabharata, Krishna sides with the Pandavas, but does not act as a combatant, even though he had acted against previous villains such as Kamsa and Shishupala. He speaks the words of the Bhagavad Gita on the battlefield to Arjuna as Arjuna faces the crisis of fighting against members of his own family. This demonstrates the blessing of the divine on the Pandavas, but shows that it was the five brothers and their allies that achieved righteous victory in Kurukshetra, even though Krishna was present as Arjuna’s charioteer.

As such, I would have Raven parallel this by seeking the blessings of Hanuman, but achieving victory over evil through her own means. 

8. Should Hinduism be left out of it entirely, and a magic-based solution with a battle in the astral plane be used instead? Or some kind of middle ground?

Answer: This is dependent on what you want to include in your writing. If you want the mentioned aspects of Hinduism to be accurate, you’ll need research, an understanding of your personal bias, and respect for the material you’re conveying. If you want a different solution with a battle in the astral plane, that’s up to you.

9. In reference to our previous posts, should she not use this as it ‘proves’ Hinduism to a team of multiple religions including Jewish and Baptist characters?

Answer: I’m assuming you’re referring to this post and this post. In my opinion, it depends on how you write it. If you don’t actually have the gods present, but show Raven acting according to Hindu principles as she battles the villain, I think you can get around it. I believe it is possible for religions to coexist in their current states, but one cannot be provably above another. Thus, they cannot have a more significant presence. That’s why I would emphasize Raven succeeding on her own merit, with blessings behind her, as opposed to having specific divine interference. 

In short, I think it’s possible to use this, but it’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, and you will have to deal with that in the course of your writing.

Here is some commentary from the Jewish team (including one gentile mod) about the problems with Jewish representation in a canonically, demonstrably polytheistic world:

Jewish characters in a universe with author-created fictional pantheons (two combined asks)

Short version, it either comes out unfair to the group being represented or unfair to us, and it’s okay to leave us out if this is the direction you’re going.

-Shira

Can Tamaran be made a Slavic country somewhere between Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia, that is mostly Orthodox Christian, and has its own, Slavic inspired language? 

Short answer: yes, it’s okay. As per your example about Wakanda, that is exactly what Marvel does. There are real places, such as New York, and fictional countries that co-exist alongside real places. We have several posts regarding cultural mixing and influences and respectfully navigating that, so do a search for those worldbuilding tips.

~Mod Colette

Longer answer: You can do this, but remember that any part of the world is going to have a history that you’ll want to delve into if you try to insert a separate sovereign nation into an already existing country. Establishing a fictional nation, even when you have the bones of it laid out, takes work. Take Genovia: the history is well outlined despite taking place in a world where all other countries operate by their regular conventions. The information wasn’t all apparent in one book–establishing a full aspect of the setting like that takes time within the narrative and outside of it, from a writing perspective. 

As for the language/dialect, look here for Mod Rina’s guide to the barebones of conlanging and consider the extent to which you plan on using it.

Alternatively, you said that this High School AU will be a Fantasy Kitchen Sink. You could potentially leave Tamaran as it is, and have Starfire still retain her original background. It’s up to you.

Final note: 

This is fanfiction. You get to decide how much realism it does or doesn’t have. If your goal is representation and realism, you’ll have to do the work to make it accurate and respectful. 

~ Abhaya

Anonymous asked:

Hi! I’m writing a story that has three main character, one of which is a person of color. the character design changed a lot as I was working on it, and one thing I noticed is that my character who is Indian ended up being the only one of my characters who has scars and a missing tooth, as well as seeming to have no powers for the most of the story. I’m not seeking approval as much as wondering if I need to rework my story so it doesn’t seem like my white characters are favored. Secondarily, is it better to give this character an ethnic south asian name even though she is american? I want it to make sense in the story.

You need to think about why you chose particular traits to be assigned to your individual characters, and consider any biases that may be affecting this. Take some time to deconstruct why you chose these characteristics and revise as necessary.

Do you explain why she has noticeable scars and a missing tooth? Along with why she seems to not have powers? If this is detailed well without denigrating her character e.g. making it about her ethnic background or making her the ‘weird character’, I think you’ll be on the right track. Give her nuance and make her a whole character. Give her more background than ‘Indian’; India is composed of multiple states and regions which all have their own unique cultural elements that you can find out about. Additionally, I’d suggest introducing other South Asian characters to contextualize her character a bit more. Make it clear that her lack of powers isn’t something that’s only specific to the South Asian characters you write.

Do all the white characters have powers? Is it a matter of training & opportunity or heredity? Do you have characters from other ethnic backgrounds as well? Consider the setting and adjust the demographics accordingly. As I said previously, consider your biases and how they come across to the reader. 

Re: the name thing. My name is Abhaya. I was born and raised in the United States by immigrant parents with their own unique Bhagnari and Odiya names. She can absolutely have a name of South Asian origin and have it make sense in this context. Do some research into a specific state/region to find names that would specifically suit your character, and try to find a name that is meaningful. Our naming guide is great for a starting place with this.

~ Abhaya

Inej Ghafa from the Six of Crows duology is the only brown person in the core group of characters and she doesn’t have any magical abilities or significant background unlike some of her friends. Nevertheless, she remains popular among readers and ranks consistently as one of the topmost beloved characters from all of author Leigh Bardugo’s works. When you are writing a character of colour, you are not just dealing with a racial identity but also putting in work to make your characters fleshed-out individuals with compelling backstories and development. 

As Mod Abhaya has stated, give your character depth beyond her nationality.

It would be good to see other South Asian characters who do have magic (even if they are supporting/background characters) to eliminate any uncomfortable racial implication. And as always, look to your own thought processes and try to analyse why you chose the sole brown character to have no magical abilities. 

Also PLEASE give her an ethnic name. I’m tired of reading Tiffany Sengupta and Angelina Mahmood every time Western authors depict a brown character.

- Mod Mimi

Anonymous asked:

I have a non human character who I created when I was 8, I gave him a name I later found out was Persian in origin. Now that I’m older I want to do a story that has these characters, but now i’m worried because the character in question did use elements due to that being the stories “magic system” and so did his mother who would either be coded to be full Persian, or half Persian half Malaysian.(I haven’t decided that part yet.)

The character’s species are all coded to be of human ethnicities and practice elements. I’m still in the process of world building and contemplating whether they’d have religions like our own.

Would it be for the best to change the character’s name and make the mother full Malaysian? Or is there a way I could portray this thoughtfully? 

Thank you in advance!

Calling our Malaysian followers!

As we don’t have any Malaysian or Malay mods, judgement falls to our readers! 

Not Malaysian but from a Southeast Asian perspective, I think that we definitely need more Malaysian representation as well as Persian representation. I don’t see why a character can’t be both!

Mod Niki also provides some additional commentary below regarding othering and naming.

- Mod Emme 

What was the name?

It could have been helpful to know what the name is. There are Persian names of various origins that may indicate different religious backgrounds, historical connections or cultural elements. Without more information though, I don’t see anything inherently wrong about a Persian-coded character using elemental magic if that’s your world’s magic system. I’m more concerned about the character being non-human, and the fact that you’re coding non-human species to real-world ethnic groups and cultures. This can potentially lead to dehumanizing and harmful tropes. This topic has been covered on the blog already. I recommend reading through the race allegory tag. This recent post is especially relevant. 

- Mod Niki

Feedback from Malaysian followers Malaysian followers only requested!