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Obverse & Reverse Ch4 Page 15

Obverse & Reverse Ch4 Page 15 published on 42 Comments on Obverse & Reverse Ch4 Page 15

Hey everyone, a lot is happening right now, and I understand it can be overwhelming. It may feel hopeless, but there’s a lot we can do to help stand up to injustice, police brutality, and racial inequality, even if you can’t make it to a protest in person. Black lives absolutely matter and if you don’t agree with that, please stop reading my comic because it is not for you.

Here is a list of things you can do:
Read this post by Madison Pauly about what “Abolish the Police” means
Donate:
Donate to one or more of these orgs to support black trans people
Here’s a List of Black-Led LGBTQ Communities you can Donate to
74 Bail Funds you can support right now
Split a donation between 70+ community bail funds, mutual aid funds, and racial justice organizers
24 ways to donate in support of Black Lives Matter
Talk:
-Fellow white people: talk to your friends, family, and peers. Call out racism when you see it, don’t ignore when friends and family say or do racist things, don’t be silent. Use your privilege to become a safe space from racism. These conversations can be awkward, uncomfortable, and scary, but they’re necessary if we want to make real change.

42 Comments

I too am concerned about the events, and agree that all lives matter equally and all people should be able to get access to the same levels of justice, opportunities health care, education and other essential services ,
but
“if you don’t agree with that, please stop reading my comic because it is not for you.” seems like a non sequitur. I was not aware that this story was a militant one.

I get that fantastic racism is a trope and possibly a central thematic of skin deep (though it was not my impression. i feel that the cause of the conflicts dragon-sphinx angel-demon, humans -the rest is more inertia and accumulation of bitterness than straight racism), but even then, what would prevent someone either racist or indifferent to appreciate the comic ?

unless you meant that people who disagree with this or are unmotivated to try to change it dont deserve to read it, or are not welcome ?

also “use your privilege to become a safe space for racism” I hope you meant to write “from racism” instead of “for racism”

Inertia is a central component of racism. That’s why slavery-era prejudices are still alive today. Why unjust situations are maintained as-is instead of being addressed. Police brutality is not something new, it’s a problem that has been around for generations but political inertia made sure to never do anything real about it. And they never do anything about it because they know their voters are prejudiced and don’t want anything done about it, and the voters are prejudiced out of inertia because their parents were prejudiced and their grandparents were prejudiced and so on.

i meant : i feel like the enmity in skin deep (especially sphinx-dragon) is more of a “their are our enemi because they have always been/ because they are evil than a “because they are inferior”

in history, racism in the modern sense (systematic privilege or handicap because of a physical trait) is actually quite recent, for the longest time it was a privilege by inheritance (children from slave are slave, children from civilian are civilian, children from privileged are privileged) and tribalism (vae victis, winner in wars saw exploiting the loser as natural)

In a society, even with stark variability, but in which no group can even come close to the majority (or rather, no group apart from the actual majority does, and said majority is unaware of the other), i would expect to see tribalism as a stronger driver of divide than straight racism, and the latter reserved to traits that can pretend to be common between enough people (like the medallion/ natural shapeshifter/monster divide, or inside a perceived subgroup,( say pegasi and centaure) but not in the open, and not to the level observed irl

Actually, even going as far as classic Greece, bigotry was a thing. More than one greek author had described the “barbarians” that ended up as slaves as “semi-human” or “incapable of civilizing” due to their “natural inferiority”. While those lines of thought definitely seem to rise from tribalism, proper bigotry and considering the other as inferior (either to justify atrocities made to them, or just out of habit) is as old a practice as other forms of othering.

> please stop reading my comic because it is not for you
> what would prevent someone either racist or indifferent to appreciate the comic?

Nothing. I believe Kory is simply stating that these are her views, and that if you do not also share them, then you are not her intended audience. Simple as that. It has nothing to do with the content of the comic, just the position of the author.

> I too am concerned about the events, and agree that all lives matter equally

Now… I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt here. “All lives matter” is a problematic phrase commonly being used to diminish the “black lives matter” movement. While it’s true that everyone needs to be granted the same opportunities and justice, black lives are currently the ones being disproportionally affected. “Save the rainforest” doesn’t mean that trees in other parts of the world shouldn’t also be preserved.

“Black lives matter” is meant to draw attention to a specific problem.

Now, hopefully you didn’t intentionally mean to use that exact wording, but I suggest you think carefully about my interpretation, and perhaps consider an alternative next time. :)

> a safe space for racism

Ha. Yeah that’s an unfortunate mistake.

all lives matter is often used to remind that hispanic, asian and other minorities also suffer from racism, including the police brutality aspect, and that in an ideal world, there would be no mention of appearance needed to ensure equal treatment. (it is also an answer to the insidious attack of claiming the movement to be “racist against white” reminding that the goal is fairness, something that should be the case and beneficial for all, instead of the “us vs them” that bigot want to frame it as)
(but that is not the place for that debate)

i am worried because they are several precedents (including the comic dilbert) where an author started to include more and more political opinion in their work, starting from peripheral, then included in an anvilicious way into the work proper, to a point that destroyed the other thematics of the work, spoiling it.

> all lives matter is often used to remind that hispanic, asian and other minorities also suffer from racism,
> it is also an answer to the insidious attack of claiming the movement to be “racist against white”

No, it’s not, and I recommend you do some more reading on the topic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Lives_Matter

At best, it’s misguided, and shows a true lack of understanding of the problem. At worst, it’s a form of covert racism itself.

> Now… I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt here. “All lives matter” is a problematic
> phrase commonly being used to diminish the “black lives matter” movement. While it’s true
> that everyone needs to be granted the same opportunities and justice, black lives are
> currently the ones being disproportionally affected. “Save the rainforest” doesn’t mean that
> trees in other parts of the world shouldn’t also be preserved.

This, exactly. ‘All lives matter’ is meaningful *only once* black lives matter *as much* as white lives. Until then, black lives *need* to matter more until the imbalance is redressed.

There is no epidemic of white citizens being killed indiscriminately by black police officers, after all.

Hey that is the mouse hummingbird gryphon from my reader question https://www.skindeepcomic.com/reader-questions/2018-reader-question-43/

I noticed that too. The itty bitty griffy makes its official appearance. Perfect place for it to show up.

The suspense is killing me. Is this really just going to be a lighthearted, no consequence frolic? o:


Political rant~

Yes, I agree that while all lives matter, the central focus of the current social unrest are the racial injustices experienced by black individuals. “Black Lives Matter” is not a phrase meant to marginalize other cultural or racial groups; it’s meant to highlight what’s been going on for far too long. It’s like if you were having a testicular cancer rally to bring awareness to the under-funding and lack of awareness of that particular type of cancer, and someone ran up and said, “But, BREAST cancer…!”. Yes, breast cancer is sad, scary and horrifying, but this rally isn’t for that; it’s for an often under-represented, habitually ignored but still terrible problem plaguing an equally important but smaller percentage of the population. Also, just because it’s not a “me” problem doesn’t mean it’s not a “we” problem.

Racism is an evil thing that must never be tolerated.

That said, I am getting very tired of every artist, writer, creator I follow getting on their soap box. Oftentimes art, music, etc, is created to make a statement, true, but many people are sick of the yelling on the news and look to art for the common beauty, a respite from stress.

Thankfully Kory is not on a soapbox, per se, but simply stating her opinion, which is fine. Thus far the comments have been civil and respectful of each other, and respectful discourse is a good thing. I just hope it stays that way. Also, just because someone does not support the BLM movement directly does not make one racist. Our culture is far too quick to point fingers at others and forget the humanity of the people on the other side of the screen.

Every single life matters. The unborn, the sick, the old, the handicapped, black, white, hispanic…Every life is essential. I do not think that statement dilutes the humanity and equal right for the pursuit of happiness for our African American friends. Insisting upon the importance of every unique soul is, in its very essence, equal in opportunity and potential and opposes racism in all its forms.

What is unjust is using a good thing to justify evil, destroying private businesses that would provide the opportunities for people with less. I am not saying that BLM is responsible, I simply do not know, but there are certainly people using the Black Lives Matter slogan as an excuse to do evil, and that is just as bad as the excuse of racism to do evil. Destruction is destruction regardless of the motivation, and the end goal does not justify the means. Obviously simple protesting hurts no one, and is a good way to make one’s voice heard. I hope that we can continue to find peaceful ways to help those in need.

Thank you for sharing this comic with us Kory! The world we live in is a wild and wonderful place, filled with all sorts of interesting and unique people. I think the diversity of species and characters in your comic does a great job showing what a melting pot the world is, and I love that about it. Bonus with all the cool magic and worldbuidling! :D I love that sort of thing.

No matter how altruistic you want to put an idea, if you put it as a “but” whenever there’s talk about a specific problem, then it’s not that altruistic, because it’s still a retort that in one way or another aims at diluting the issue that’s actually being discussed. It’s one thing to say you care about every life and consider it precious, it’s another thing entirely to bring that up specifically during a BLM manifestation. Context is king, that’s inescapable.

As for the admittedly regrettable acts of looting and vandalism… There’s a lot, A LOT of thread to cut for a discussion about that topic, and tons of people doing a better job of analyzing the issue than I could do in a more or less concise reply to you, so I’ll just say “it’s not that simple”, and invite you to dig a little into other less simplistic points of view on the subject.

I think you’ll find that so many people are speaking up now about this is because staying silent on the matter is one of the key components to why institutionalized racism has gone on for as long as it has and has become as imbedded into our society as it has. Silence in white circles has oftentimes been seen as quiet agreement with racism, and I want to make it clear where my stance is on this subject.

I can understand that. Thank you Kory. Like I said in my comment, healthy, civil discourse is a good thing and these are important things to talk about. I’m sorry I ended up posting this sort of comment here on your site, because I do not mean to incite anything, and I think I ended up causing the very thing I’ve been trying to avoid. And to be perfectly clear, I’m trying to avoid the sort of violent finger pointing and name calling that tends to happen in Youtube comments lol, not avoiding healthy discourse on a very important subject. :)

I enjoy your comic immensely, and that’s the primary focus I wish to spread here.

> Also, just because someone does not support the BLM movement directly does not make one racist.

At best, it makes you complicit with racism.

> Our culture is far too quick to point fingers at others and forget the humanity of the people on the other side of the screen.

The humanity of… racist people? The people who are literally preventing others from living in peace, denying them justice, and depriving them of opportunities? Whose ‘humanity’ should I be concerned about?

> Every single life matters. The unborn, the sick, the old, the handicapped, black, white, hispanic…Every life is essential. I do not think that statement dilutes the humanity and equal right for the pursuit of happiness for our African American friends.

But not every life is facing the same challenge that black lives are. By saying “every single life matters” you absolutely are dismissing the struggle that people of color are facing. Please read the articles I posted in another comment:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Lives_Matter
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/16/us/all-lives-matter-black-lives-matter.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3du1qm/eli5_why_is_it_so_controversial_when_someone_says/
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/23/all-lives-matter-racist-trump-weekend-campaign-rally-proved-it

> Also, just because someone does not support the BLM movement directly does not make one racist.

I meant financial support. There are many people who already donate to other worthy causes, or simply do not have the means.

> Our culture is far too quick to point fingers at others and forget the humanity of the people on the other side of the screen.

Simply to remember that we do not know the person, and are limited by a comment on the screen. Words are so easily misinterpreted through the lens of our own bias. At least books have thousands of words to try to understand the author’s message, and even then the reader will glean their own meaning from it. For something like a comment on the internet, we might read it and see the worst possible intention depending on our own life experience and trigger points. There is a difference between simply poor choice of words and outright racism with malicious intention. I would hope that people who unintentionally say things that may be interpreted as racist are trying their best. Perhaps they are, know of their fault, and are struggling to be better? I would hope we can always give others a second chance to be better, and not condemn them for it.

That you consider the “life” of the unborn to matter as much as a living black person perhaps undercuts your message that you oppose racism in all it’s forms severely. And as a Disabled (not “handicapped”) person, please do not use me as a shield for bigotry. Also the people destroying buildings and blaming it on BLM and the protesters have 90% of the time been outed as agents of the cops- if the destruction or looting occurred in the first place, as evidenced by the “2.4 million” in stolen rolexes the NYPD claimed were the fault of the protesters that the Rolex company later said were never stolen in the first place and that the company supported BLM. People are more important than property. Period.

Off topic: I think “Abolish the Police” is poorly phrased. Reform the Police is better, although it does miss out on the “from the ground up” part of it.

Also most -isms are bad, but I will always stand behind altruism.

On topic: Wonderland continues to mystify is, the readers. I can only imagine how these three are experiencing what we are seeing.

I agree with you @Akai that it’s poorly phrased.

If #BLM was a single organization (which I know it’s not), it needs to fire its publicist.

A good slogan needs to catchy, pithy, and hard to misconstrue.

“Black Lives Matter” missed that last part. If they had just added one word: “Black Lives Matter, Too!”, we’d stop hearing so much stupid shit about “All Lives Matter”.
So is “Abolish the Police” or “Defund the Police”. Now I have to hear stupid shit about Purging and Anarchy and Crime Rising. Like, “Rebuild the Police” or “Rethink Policing” woulda worked, but noooooo.

I mean, I guess they’re provocative as they are, but needing to stop every time to correct (sometimes unintentional) misunderstandings is a freakin’ pain! It’s not like we have a super easy time with bad actors who are intentionally misinterpreting things for their own agenda. The least we could do is make it harder for them!

It’s not Black Lives Matter, too.

It’s Black Lives Matter.

The ‘too’ is entirely unnecessary.

Take this for example.

“My house is on fire.”

“My house, which is not on fire, matters too!”

Yes, both houses are important, they ‘matter.’

BUT ONE OF THEM IS ON FIRE.

You don’t call up the fire department, have them circle around the neighborhood and take a look at every house before sending them to the house on fire, no matter how much the other houses matter.

Black peoples lives are the focus, because PoC are being murdered, by police, a force which should exist to serve and protect all citizens, but fails to do this.
Yes other lives matter too, but right now were talking about the problem.

Black Lives Matter has never meant ‘other lives don’t’, anyone saying otherwise is distracting from the point.

While that’s true, people are going to distract from the point. In theory, a hypothetical “too” would have made that distraction just that little bit harder, I can certainly see the argument that it’d have been better to have done that.

But personally, I don’t see it as that useful, there’d always be something they could use or invent to invalidate the movement.

Things have gotten far more political down here than usual. But also something a lot of people are overlooking with donation drives.

Relief funds to affected areas! Big corps like Target can just shrug it off, but a lot of private business owners in this areas that were trashed are royally hosed right now. Black communities are in ruins, and most insurance plans do NOT cover the damages resulting from civil disturbances. These people really could use help putting their lives back together.

While I could go on a long winded post about how I exactly feel on things it’s easier and simpler for all involved for me to just state I agree with Kory and the message being put forward out there. Though I’m not on the wagon of abolish/defund the police. Reform, more strict training/guidelines/etc I do agree with however.

And I also strongly agree with Teron here. Please, definitely support African American groups however you feel is best! But also don’t forget the people the rioters/looters whose homes, business, and livelihoods have destroyed. Saying that ‘Oh well, insurance will cover you and your property/livelihood do not matter’ is not okay at all. And I’ve seen that stated more often than it ever should be stated. Which is doing excessive harm.

What you’re doing at that point, is lumping these rioters/looters in with the real and peaceful protesters and that they’re the ones doing it. And they and their message do not deserve to have those types lumped in with them. It’s bad enough the media has been labeling the rioters/looters as protesters, but now we’ve been dealing with this statement. Both the media and it have already caused excessive damage to the real issues and caused loss of support. So, please, just don’t. Drop it and stop spreading it. Helping these people also goes a long way to showing that the rioters/looters aren’t a part of this and that, that message simply isn’t true.

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