Targeted for being American?

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pookie_wocket
Posts: 6
Joined: 26 April 2020, 04:54

Targeted for being American?

Post by pookie_wocket »

I've had two recent games where other players at the table got upset with me for being American, and then targeted me. I was really caught off guard by this, as I've been playing on BGA since the pandemic started and never seen a players nationality be an issue before.

In the first game I was the sheriff, and another player who apparently didn't like the way I played said something like, "Typical American, raised on pistols and Roy Rogers." (what, do you think all Americans are trapped in the 1950's?? nobody in America has cared about Roy Rogers in a long, lllloooong time)

In the second game the sheriff accused me and another player (who also happened to be American) of teaming up on a third player (who was not American). It wouldn't even occur to me to look at another player's nationality before deciding how to play, I just play the best I can. In this case, ironically, I was the deputy. I knew the player I had targeted was a bad guy, and I was trying to help the sheriff. (why the other American targeted also targeted that player I don't know, but people shoot people in Bang for all sorts of reasons)

After making these accusations, the sheriff started targeting me with bangs and jail cards. Predictably, the other players at the table joined in. This rendered me ineffective as the deputy. Unsurprisingly, the sheriff then wound up getting killed, because everyone else at the table was a bad guy and he had no support.

It also seems I have been targeted for early elimination quite a bit in other recent games of Bang. Maybe I'm being paranoid and that was just bad luck, but now I wonder.

I'm a bit confused about where this is coming from? I keep scratching my head and thinking, "Has the US declared war on someone recently and I didn't hear about it?" I know America's actions on the world stage are sometimes controversial and Americans are not universally beloved. But I've never had it be a problem at a game table until these recent events.

Is there something going on I don't know about? Where is this sudden anti-American sentiment coming from?
ExaltedAngel
Posts: 145
Joined: 16 January 2021, 22:15

Re: Targeted for being American?

Post by ExaltedAngel »

pookie_wocket wrote: 08 March 2023, 00:46 It also seems I have been targeted for early elimination quite a bit in other recent games of Bang. Maybe I'm being paranoid and that was just bad luck, but now I wonder.
I think this might be just you being paranoid, while the two cases you told before were probably just bad luck. Many people have biases towards some nationalities, it's kinda common. Also note that the second of those were not really about you guys being american, just about sharing nationality, which, together with some of the plays, let other guys have (unfounded) suspects.
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Ze Monstah
Posts: 637
Joined: 10 October 2019, 08:08
Location: Kolozsvár, Romania

Re: Targeted for being American?

Post by Ze Monstah »

ExaltedAngel wrote: 08 March 2023, 05:30 Many people have biases towards some nationalities, it's kinda common.

That is certainly true.
I think it's interesting if one would objectively draw a line between racism and respecting an admin's right of playing with/targetting whoever they wanted, in a game, regardless of reason.
If for instance, a Premium Host Player expelled all players who joined in, players from a certain country (based on a bias towards that particular nationality), I am not sure if those expulsions should be criticised or moderated or etc.
I guess that the weight would go stronger in the Moderatable Racism direction, if the Table Admin actually said the reason (s)he expelled those players; because it would obviously be perceived as offensive, regardless of the way it's told.

Sad stories... But I personally think that if a player hosts a table, (s)he's free and emotionally/psychologically entitled to play with whoever they wanted to, regardless of nationality-excluding criteria.
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Aoimoku
Posts: 5
Joined: 23 February 2022, 22:46

Re: Targeted for being American?

Post by Aoimoku »

They just fear your cultural skill bonus with weapons
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