Oh dear, the 'dangerous people eating' group being the black stand in is... unfortunate. I was really excited to play this after waiting a few yrs for more progress to be made but I'm going to have to consider the mental strain of the possibly poorly handled isms within the game.
Hopefully some will be redeemed over time, but any time a dangerous or predatory fantasy race is linked with slavery, even if it's attempting to be sympathetic, it really speaks to the number real internalised racism has done to most people.
There are a few in-world options to explain this. Although a stereotype isn't true generally, there can still be individuals who fit it the same way someone of another group could, who are then held up to justify the perception. Systemic oppression can also drive some to the stereotypical actions, raising a statistic. Someone could also lean into the perception if it bonds them with others or seems beneficial in another way; or, regular internalized prejudice. Or any combination of these.
- Val
Yes, this is how it is meant to be interpreted! Some players don't read it this way, and for the people who are unfamiliar with how those perceptions spread, they may have to figure it out over a longer period of time—that’s ok too. For the people who are anxious from having been burned by poor handling of the subject, I hope that we can provide information to reduce that feeling, and get more of an idea of what would assuage their doubts in-narrative.
- Val