Ethnic balance among klickies.

[Bolingbroke]

i don't know, i can't tell if he's being sarcastic or not  anyway, you mentioned white man's guilt too, a valid point but which people refuse to acknowledge.

i wasn't flaming anyone, and apologise if it came across that way. it's just that different people are touchy about different things. earlier on i made the point about implying that all asians look the same, even skin-wise, as bordering on the racist, for example,mbut nobody picked that up vis a vis the forum regulations. people are so touchy in here, man.

[Rhalius]

I have heard it being said from people of all races though, I believe there are also people who think all white people look the same.
But when it comes to clickies, they naturally will all kind of look the same regardless of what race they are, setting themselves apart by their clothes, hairstyles, facial hair or make up.

White people guilt does seem to be a thing yes, and I do feel that there may also be people who try to exploit that to try and get their way.
Overplaying the victim card so to speak.

And this can lead to "the boy who cried wolf" scenarios.
If someone accuses everyone of racism for the slightest of things like for example someone prefering a partner of their own race, they may be ignored by the point they run into a case of genuine racism that should be adressed.  They wouldnt be taken seriously anymore.

As for implied slavery in toys and other media, I feel that such organisations would better spend their time doing something about the slavery that actually still exists in the world rather than the slavery that has been abolished long enough for no one to be alive anymore to have lived through it.
Its a terrible past yes, which was not limited to black people in america, but currently efforts are best put into preventing women from being sold into prostitution and forced child labour and such.  Slavery still is a thing that happens in the world, and I feel it is often ignored in favor of looking to the past to accuse people of crimes their ancestors commited.

[Ismene]

Excellent point. In fact why haven't they done a medieval church? Next to the castle the church was the most important building in medieval towns. We have a bakery but no church!

On the Spanish guilt thing, speaking as a native speaker of English, it looked to me like both of you were saying exactly the same thing: that Spaniards don't feel guilty about things. So you agree on that.

Plus a medieval church would fit into Victorian and modern settings. There are plenty of old churches still around today. I want the church, even if it's a bit bland, but I can't justify it when it doesn't fit in with my other buildings (Victorian).

''White man's guilt'' is a thing, but not all white people feel it. I find in general white Americans (or rather a sector of them) feel it the most. I don't. I haven't heard of any of my ancestors being involved in slavery or evicting Native Americans, and that line (the one that was in America that far back) of the family tree is well-researched. And my lineage is too diverse for me to really have a ''race''.

The ''all Asians looking the same'' thing annoys me, but I expect it and at the moment, getting more Asian representation in Playmobil is a bigger issue.

[Rhalius]

Personly I can't say I feel white guilt either. I'm Dutch though, and the Netherlands did not own slaves but instead sold them to America. That is not to say thats not equally horrible, but it was a very small percentage of Dutchmen who actually had any involvement in it so chances of my ancestors having a hand in it are quite slim.

But chances are some of my ancestors where bad people. but the same can be said about everyone. You can bet on it that somewhere in your long line of ancestors there have been murderers, slavers, thieves, cheaters, pirates, etc. 

And when looking at things on a national scale, should I somehow hold a grudge against Germans, English, French, Spanish, Italian and possibly more nations because of past grievances?

I'm just not one to hold grudges often. I mean there was a kid who I despised in school, he was a real jerk but years later I met him again and we where able to have a normal conversation for the first time, he really changed and became a family man.
I do hold a grudge against an elementary school teacher though. She was one to play favorites and she didnt like me. Turned my desk upside down multible times for slight things, and I really wasnt much of a troublemaker in school. Also pulled me out of class by my arm once to toss me on the floor there.
Recently saw that woman again in the supermarket, trying to make normal chit chat, asking how my parents are and such and seemingly ignoring anything that happened, clearly not sorry about it or even remembering it. Terrible person.

[Macruran]

at the moment, getting more dragon-free Asian representation in Playmobil is a bigger issue.

ftfy

[Birdie]

(Some) Europeans have the "white man's guilt" thing too. Many European countries have had African and/or Asian colonies and a history of violence, slave trade etc. It's everywhere in our semi-recent history.

[Ismene]

ftfy

Lol, yeah, I try to pretend that theme doesn't exist. If they want to add dragons, fine, but at least start with something vaguely historical so we get some good parts.

Rhalius, true, in everyone's lineage there are going to be criminals and bad people, and it is oversimplified to place blame on a whole country or ''race''. Most African Americans have white ancestors. The descendants of those conquered by the conquistadors have Spanish blood. While one part of my family was driven from their home by the Japanese and Koreans, the US (where another part of my family lived) was taking Japanese (and those they thought were Japanese) immigrants from their homes and putting them in camps.

We (and particularly a large company) need to be aware of which stereotypes we perpetuate. But the burden of guilt or grudges from our long and diverse ancestries is too much to bear.

[Rasputin]

I have playmo buyers guilt, guilt I did not buy more sets that got discontinued 

[Rhalius]

Well said Ismene.

Best to give it some thought and try to avoid needless controversy, but at the same time not let a minority of overly sensitive people decide on what they release.

So with all things said and done, they are doing pretty well. Especially compared to most toy companies who release the occasional token black figure or token asian figure. Playmobil has much more than that, they just need to actively look at putting them in roles they did not have yet but which do make sense.

Like asian cops, black women as pirates, cops or any action role, etc. But seriously, black women need some love from Playmobil.

[Rasputin]

Well said Ismene.

Best to give it some thought and try to avoid needless controversy, but at the same time not let a minority of overly sensitive people decide on what they release.

So with all things said and done, they are doing pretty well. Especially compared to most toy companies who release the occasional token black figure or token asian figure. Playmobil has much more than that, they just need to actively look at putting them in roles they did not have yet but which do make sense.

Like asian cops, black women as pirates, cops or any action role, etc. But seriously, black women need some love from Playmobil.

Geobra loves catering to what you call "a minority of overly sensitive people" especially if you look at the building system and the pcc in general.

With the amount of klickies out there geobra is precisely doing the "token ethnic" ratio. What there Are almost 3 billion klickies?