Racial Stereotypes: Origin and Accuracy

Pretty much, Proctor. It's a phenomenally dumb thing to argue about.

Not that it matters much to me, these days. Hierarchy casts me off like a louza bone with no meat with a xemnashit psych discharge and I'm supposed to call it all good. Right. What Sicaria was saying about turians in the Terminus is more or less spot on. It's why I left after my service in the first place.

Vindi killed enough important Hierarchy people that they wrote a folksong about her. With many, many verses. She's an awesome person but they're not going to like her.

That's just how it works: I can barely frigging travel on my Primacy passport because I'm an an ex-compact 'agitator'. And they've questioned Hadas about me, yeah? It's 'governments act like this'.

Wrong, idiot.

While it is true any sane quarian (which is in short supply) has actual, legit grievances against the Council sitting on their rears while their ancestors were murdered and then getting thrown aside when they sought aide. The rest falls apart when you think for five seconds that literally everything else that has befallen them (ruined immune systems for instance) could have been avoided if they settled. on. a. planet. after that.. Because with the amount of unsettled planets in the Terminus alone, they could have easily sat back and licked their wounds while they prepared for a counter attack on the geth.

The whiny quarian stereotype is very true.


Vorcha aren't people. Vorcha are animals

Mekan, it seems I am the only one wanting to play by your rules.


That is indeed interesting. It is at least not as derogative as vermin so that must mean something.
While I have to admit, I also from time to time fall for preconceptions towards vorcha, a look onto CDN has elevated my picture of them. It may be that I have never read so many written... well, written or speech-to-text ... texts from vorcha before.

In my eyes it is the lack of any written tradition - that I am aware of - that lets the vorcha hang in the limbo.

Separatism and terrorism ain't the same thing you soft bitch. Sure, there's a lot of common ground but a sepper can sep without necessarily threatening lives and terrorists can pretty much make up any motivation they want so long as there's enough mental problems involved, you know? For all the damage the Reapers did, there's still people out there lookin' to do more.

Fuck, didn't I read some story not so long back about a terror group operating on Earth? Some Cerberus imitator asshats or something? And I know for fuckin' sure I met some folk on Tuchanka looking to get rowdy just cause some aliens were trying to help 'em rebuild a piece of their fuckin' wasteland. Reaper War changed politics, sure. No one's saying the old way of looking at separatism works anymore. But the way governments try and keep people safe? That ain't really changed much. Shit, I still got a job, you dig? Terrorists, people looking to do harm ain't going away. And you better believe that being all pals with someone with a history like that is gonna look a bit suspect on the record, you know?

Look, I don't much like separatism as a thing, and if I get orders to come down on them, you better believe I won't hesitate. But just cause someone don't wanna play by the Hieracrhy's rules, don't necessarily make them a bad person and and don't necessarily mean I got something personal against 'em. So long as they accept that they won't get all the benefits of being in the Hierarchy and, you know, so long as they don't fuckin' blow up innocent people, you get me? Then, we got problems on a more personal level.


Whatever. So it's friend of a friend rather than just friend. Like that changes anything?

And 'most respectable Sundowner' is kinda like dressing up a vorcha in a top hat and tails and saying he's the 'most respectable member of the Blood Pack'.

Actually, vermin is a much better word. Thank you, asari.

I wouldn't praise the vorcha too much either. This is the same site afterall where one of the largest and most active threads is about some kind of mythical insect monster, you know

My particular issue, or the command's particular issue with me is that I'm friends with separatists who:

1) Technically aren't separatists since this clan lives on the Citadel, outside Hierarchy where they have no conflict with it

2) Abide the Citadel's laws and cooperate with the local authorities

3) Favour peace accords with the Hierarchy and are generally tired of fighting and the troubles it brings

4) Have head chieftain who was also elected primarch by Hierarchy authorities on North Solregit

5) Run a firing range and cafe that sees Hierarchy personnel visit it without consequences

Yet I am facing disciplinary actions for continuing to visit my friends within this well-behaved, law-abiding clan and having had them assist me and my daughter during the war. But apparently my species is enough to invalidate all legit complaints I might have had and just apply more punishments.

Vorcha animals. Animals and people same thing. People life. Quarians animals, too. More people than other animals, can change and fight more. But quarians not right. Quarians return to not-life. Have laws and codes and do not change. Only diminish. Quarians not want to be people; quarians build not-life to do life for them. Then wonder why diminish. Then not fight, not grow. Same numbers. No growing, no fighting. No life.

Vorcha grow and spread lots, vorcha live everywhere. Vermin not diminish. Vermin live everywhere, vermin spread lots. Vermin more people than most animals. Vorcha vermin. Quarians not vermin.

Vorcha win.

Ooh, soldier, you know how to make a woman blush.

See, herein lies the issue.

You regard terrorism as some sort of physical affliction; and terrorists as just psychopaths looking for an excuse to get their macabre kicks off. And certainly, there are those who will sign up for anything if it lets them tie a bandanna around their head and let rip with a rifle at a crowded fish market. But terrorists aren't just free radicals - they are defined by causes. And once a cause has been fulfilled, or rendered moot, a terrorist isn't likely to simply switch to a new one just to keep the routine going. Terrorism isn't blood-based; it's rooted in real-time.

Look at Cerberus. Let's say, for instance, that the Earth exploded. Do you think the Illusive Man would suddenly smear himself in petroleum jelly and cyalume and run off to join the hanar separatists? Or conversely, say every species had been brought under the boot-heel of mankind. Do you think the Illusive Man would still be keeping the terrorism thing going after he'd been crowned God-Emperor of Earth and Lord of the Universe? In either scenario, his cause is either dismissed or achieved.

Causes are not a like a pair of socks: you don't just slip on a new one when the old one wears out. And terrorists are not mass manufactured at some factory in the Mekong Delta and then distributed around the galaxy to raise havoc. They materialise in response to particular issues or grievances, and once the latter is addressed, they generally dissolve. Today's terrorist is tomorrow's responsible citizen, and vice-versa.

I am not saying that the Hierarchy should ignore former terrorists. But neither should the Hierarchy afford so much scrutiny to separatists - the last hold-outs of the most discredited and obsolete cause this side of Carlism - when it has rather more pressing threats in the form of, say, malnutrition.

Yes, but in this particular scenario, it would be like the 22nd century British monarchy ordering MI5 to keep an eye out for subversive Jacobites. Counter-terrorism must adapt to modern times, not remain stuck in a rut that has been rendered irrelevant by subsequent events.

Do you really think that's it?

Because the more you post, the more I'm seeing deeper discipline issues that have nothing to do with hanging out at the Sniper's Nest. And I think your COs are seeing the same thing.

Right, right, and I get all that. Naw, really, I do. I get that the Reapers probably blunted a lot of separatist talons, I get that they're unlikely to start shit up again when they barely got anything to make separate. I'm just saying that a little suspicion is understandable, you know? People's memories still go back before the galaxy was completely fucked.


I don't know what any of this shit means. Seriously, like none.

Look, sweetheart I don't know what you want from me. I'm just a soldier, I ain't up to what you'd probably call smart and I ain't gonna be any fun to take into an argument about politics or xemnashit like that. Unless you like preying on the uneducated and intellectually feeble. I got into this cause I don't like people talking smack about shit they clearly don't understand. Not when that shit's something I got a lot of pride in, you get me? It'd be like, I dunno... Fuck, is there anything you care about enough to get your pride hurt over?

Aw, man. Fuckin' cheap public E-net nodes duplicating shit. I hope I don't have to pay by each fuckin' upload...

So says the proud stripper in her native environment.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm under the distinct impression that Ms. IndigoIceMaid's argument is less that every Matriarch ever is a scheming practitioner of political witchery and more that Maidens need to man the fuck up and actually do something productive. A goal that's rather difficult to achieve, mind, when so very many are content to indulge in violence and sex oriented careers rather than politically involved positions.

Not really? I think you'll find that while objective morality is more or less wishful thinking stupidity is universal.

I actually read it my dear but, seeing as there were no signs of intelligent life to be found, I decided to move on to greener pastures before my brain attempted to commit suicide via nine iron. But, in the interests of fair play (and my own boredom), let us address your argument.

Firstly not all solutions are created equal, this especially holds true when the vast majority of people providing input on the proposed measure have, to put it charitably, no idea what the hell they're talking about.

Secondly, you can claim the existence of competition all you like but the fact remains that once a ruling is made, the overall tendency very much appears to be to fall in line and not make a fuss versus contesting the decision. So, ultimately, a number of prudent and workable plans are tossed out or shot down by simple virtue of the immense amount of peer pressure brought into play.

Vorcha suffer from the combination groin shot and stomach jab that is a grossly reduced lifespan and a biological imperative that rewards a near perpetual state of conflict. When devoted to a particular task, even ones as technically complex as hazardous environment engineering or fighter piloting, and actually provided the opportunity to learn they can, and do, prove themselves expertly capable.

The bitch of it, of course, is that they only really have the chance to do this once given the time they are allotted.

Just... wow... the irony.

They do make decent soldiers if their leadership knows how to train and handle them properly. But that's probably already common knowledge; even if the Blood Pack and many of those imitating them are rather poor at utilizing them as anything but meatshields and shock troops.

I haven't attempted to train Vorcha in any technically complex roles, but perhaps I should give it a try and see what happens.

I have a sudden vision of a Vorcha Combat Medic, but I suspect the idea will not go over well with Za'wara...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe humans are very similar in that regard. Worthwhile politically involved positions come at an advanced age for humans just as it does for the asari, and humans join the military and the sex trade at a young age, just like the asari.

Young humans and asari both take advantage of their youth to explore and be daring, and as they age come into positions of management. It's a matter of life experience.

Are you really that one dimensional? The point is, I can strip as much as I like and still be politically active. I hear this a problem in human society.

Define me productive. I work (in more ways than one), I earn money, I contribute to my Republics wealth and industry. I do not want to be a representative and not everyone has to be. A job in administration and representation is not my thing as we do not have parliaments or whatever it is you have nowadays.

That's actually the point.
I may have seen a bit of the galaxy but against a Matriarch four times my age and experience I dwindle. In the vast majority of times she will have the better answer to things. I see my role as to ask questions, to poke and pester her, to make her think hard to get to the best possible answer.

I think the point of IndigoIceMaid's argument is, that in times of a shortage in population and extreme decisions, everyone should advance one field to fill the gaps at the top. But would you want a ten year old in a parliament when there are still fourty year olds around? I don't think this can be generalized.


Like you do here. It is the system the Republics have worked on for tens of millennia. I would say it has some value to it for the asari (who are not just blue humans in their way of thinking). How many different systems did humanity burn through in that time?

Se, this is the point where decentralized structures come into play. One republic - one decision. Another Republic - another decision. when asks, I can take a look at various possibilities how others solved a specific thing, I can take what suits me best. I am well informed about my immediate surroundings, the continent or the planet and there I can cast my vote with the feeling that the outcome directly affects me. I have stakes in it. I do not vote for what any other planet does, I would only be indifferent most of the time. It's much harder to steer the masses if everyone casting their voice is directly affected and has to have an opinion. There is almost no indifferent crowd that can tip a decision. The smaller the unit, the better this works.

Similar, perhaps superficially Niala, but the furheads also promote based on competence and accomplishment, if a maiden were to prove a more canny strategist or battlefield commander, I bet my scalp fringe that they'd be marginalized and/or placed under a matriarch as a 'mentorship', which is a fancy way of saying a dead end assignment. As for the smaller gov't, slow deliberation approach Taleeze, it barely works during peacetime, and it fucking crippled us during the war. The old women's club couldn't make a decision about the beacon until the tides damned reapers were at our homeworld, and we maidens, we also failed. We didn't agitate enough to get into the war, content in the belief that 'matriarch' knows best.

Ach, the beacon. Nobody knew anything. How can you ask questions if nobody knows about the issue? A religious based cover up such as this is without example and hardly reproducible. And I repeat: nothing that was inside the beacon would have saved the day over thessia.

On the contrary. Smaller units reach decisions much faster, debates don't last as long, the outcome is more direct and more specific, as Taleeze pointed out. The larger our administrative units get, the slower they become. Thessia has been the best example. I have spent so much time in the Republican colonies, it is perfectly clear that some of them have - or had, since thessia will be different in many ways - much faster and more efficient administrative structures.

Totally no. History has proven this.

It is true though that is not suitable for large wars, which are an exception in galactic and inner-asari history. We are no military aggressive or conquering people, why would we optimize our administration for war? Even when we look at the Citadel-era of our people, war has been an exception. And even there this system held up until the Reapers (which are an unsuitable example for anything).

While it is true that during my time in service in the Republics I was 'assigned', as we say, to a Matriarch, now on the Citadel the vast majority of the staff are Maidens or Matrons. Neither Irissa nor Tevos are Matriarchs yet. I would not say this is a dead end as a career option?

But that being said, I admire your ambitions!
Have you ever thought about going to thessia and help the reconstruction?