Grrl Power #970 – Those names are unfoetunate
Patron Kizik Ucalegon suggested “Redline” for Ren, and think that fits him pretty good. I’m sure Sydney will accidentally call him Renline a few times.
I’m not sure how watching two people fight in a manner that is beyond your capabilities is “training.” Well, other than familiarizing yourself with your teammates’ capabilities. Vehemence is just having fun brawling at this point. Punching an enemy or being knocked into a cliff is all the same to him.
I wonder if there’s a morning star somewhere on Middle Earth called “Antagonist Dagger,” or a two by four called “Disagreeable Party Hunga Munga,” a boot knife called “Opposition Macuahuitl,” or a spiked shield called “Corrival Urumi.” I would like to think so. Part of a set by the guy who made FoeHammer. I’m assuming he huffed mercury fumes in between projects.
Tamer: Enhancer 2 – Progress Update:
Not much to report. Did some minor edits, dialed in a new character’s personality a bit. Didn’t get a lot of time with the book since Monday’s update.
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Slam Hammer? Ala the Slammer. Although Redline is probably better.
The Happy Slapper (as a suggestion by someone) either vetoed by Arianna, Max, Ren or common sense.
the original is the best, Blulk
If that’s derived from `Black Hulk` then it’s not the original and it’s racist. It doesn’t matter if it’s been adjusted to not be racist; `adjusting` nicknames to not be racist doesn’t really work. It’s difficult for at least some people to say (me being one of them). I’m really not a fan of it.
I’m not sure what the problem with `Redline` is. Sure, some people may slip with something like `Renline`, but it has the advantage that someone who slips and says `Ren` can, if they catch it in time, slip into `Renline` and have it sound like it’s only a little off rather than it giving away his normal name.
Apparently ‘Redline’ reminds some people of historical racially discriminatory practices. If it were me, I’d say to just get on and give the term some new associations so that it wasn’t so loaded, but evidently they don’t consider that end point enough to be worth any discomfort in getting there. (Whether that position changes as the scope of ‘safe’ terms is rapidly whittled away remains to be seen…)
I’d say those people aren’t worth taking notice of… We all know “redline” is that point where the engine is soon to explode — especially if you got there in high gear. So since the “some ‘people'” are by definition not motorheads we have no need to care for or about them :)
‘Some people’ are still suffering from the results of those ‘historical’ racially discriminatory practices, so it’s not fully in the past, and hard for people to just get over and get on.
I am fully aware of the practices readily accepted as “OK” in the USA, many of which are considered as at least deplorable by many less civilised societies. However there is a huge difference between protesting the inequitable behaviour on one hand and the sequestration of a word describing those behaviours on the other. I have already (below) figured how John McKnight may have validated his original use of the word, and find it competely legitimate.
Using the term “redlining” in this context is licit and logical, but sequestration of the word is just wrong.
By the way. Of course you are going to tell Redline Bicycles (I believe in WA) to change their name?
Didn’t think so.
Come on and SLAM! And welcome to the HAM!
Ham Slammer.
Clam slammer.
I had to change the angle I was approaching it from, and had to do a few a google searches before finding one not already taken but…what about “Upswing” as his superhero name?
Definition of upswing: An increase in strength or quantity; an upward trend.
Nice. Positive sound, doesn’t give anything away, and probably not trademarked.
I like it! Hope it trends positive :)
Redline is a reasonably unique superhero name too.
Well not unique another similar name to be overdrive because his super drenalin pushing his body into overdrive I’m ways to normal body cannot handle.
You don’t cross the Redline.
Just a reminder “Redlining” is a word for making institutionalized Racial inequity in housing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining
Meh.
I see the Wiki article offers no etymology of the term, so it looks as though it was misappropriated by the same jerks who stole that excellent word “gay” for something less kiddy-safe. I’m always open to learning stuff but. However, “redlining” will always be “the practice of running a motor at the point of self-destruction”.
It does occur to me that this may be what John McKnight may have had in mind in a sociological framework. Given the — dare I say “unthinkable” — rioting of the time, perhaps the social engine was indeed self-destructing.
From the Wikipedia article linked above, second paragraph of the History section:
” “Type D” neighborhoods were outlined in red and were considered the most risky for mortgage support. ”
Inner city, primarily African American neighborhoods, were LITERALY RED LINED to discourage mortgages in those neighborhoods. Your dedication to being a gearhead is misguided in this case. Perhaps, given your “name,” you aren’t from the USA, and don’t realize the sensitivity of this issue.
1. Yes; and
2. Completely wrong.
The USA is not the only place in the world where skin colour dictates your socio-economic place. Suffice it to say the British Government was not historically prepared to ensure its children would all accept the mandate to end slavery.
HOWEVER. You are aware of the trigger for the 2009 financial crash, yes? Let me prod you: it was a kind-hearted federal anti-fiscal attempt to provide equality.
Those red lines were there for a purpose, which was to preserve the financial viability of the banking system. You cannot give a mortgage to a person who cannot service it.
“The USA is not the only place in the world where skin colour dictates your socio-economic place.”
And that doesnt even take into account eastern asia and ties between skin color and socio-economic status.
I’m still wondering why people think calling Ren ‘redline’ would have anything to do with discriminatory housing practices, when it has to do with reaching a certain power level then surpassing it (ie, going past the normal limitations) which is a lot more in line with Ren’s powerset. It’s literally a completely different scenario and the implication is that once a word is ever used in any scenario for something negative, discriminatory, or evil, that word suddenly must never be used again in any definition whatsoever other than the racist/discriminatory/evil way.
It would be like someone wanting the word ‘concentrate’ from describing orange juice banned because it was used in the term ‘concentration camp’ during in Germany with the Holocaust, or someone wanting to ban the term ‘boy’ because it was used negatively in the South for a long time, and probably still today (and also used as far back as the 1200s to mean ‘a male servant, slave, etc’).
It wouldn’t “have anything to do with discriminatory housing practices”, but people would think of them regardless, and might not want frequent reminders.
I mean, maybe if Ren’s powers were more like the Hulk, he’d want to have a reason to be angry all the time. But they’re not, so why would he choose a name that would serve as an unpleasant reminder of American history? Sure, he could own the name, try to change the dominant meaning, but I don’t see why he’d be motivated to help people forget that redlining happened.
More people, even non-gearheads, would know about pushing something to, and then beyond, its limits than some zoning rule
So, rather than moving on to better times, you would rather wallow in shit for ever?
We should actually fix the problem before we deliberately forget about it.
“It wouldn’t “have anything to do with discriminatory housing practices”, but people would think of them regardless, and might not want frequent reminders.”
Explain how that’s different from banning the word ‘concentration’ because it’s also the term used for the nazi prisons used during the attempted genocide of the Jewish people?
Redline is a normal term. Just because a sociologist in the 1960s started using the term to refer to disciminatory housing practices does not mean that it isnt able to be used for what it’s ACTUAL meaning is.
“I mean, maybe if Ren’s powers were more like the Hulk, he’d want to have a reason to be angry all the time.”
Actually it sort of is. The Banner doesnt just turn into the Hulk when he gets angry. He turns into the Hulk during ANY adrenaline spike – including fear, or excitement (including when he’s turned on, which actually has been something in the comics more than once:) ) Being enraged is just a very good way to have a spike of adrenaline as well.
“But they’re not, so why would he choose a name that would serve as an unpleasant reminder of American history?”
1) They are.
2) It isnt a reminder.
3) Even if I steelman your argument and say it was a reminder, those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. But again, it’s a completely different context of the word. I’ll say again – when I have orange juice made from concentrate, it’s not an antisemitic statement. When someone says ‘the gauge is going to redline,’ it’s not a racist term. When you buy a ticket from a ticket scalper, it’s not anti-indigenous. Context is key.
“Sure, he could own the name, try to change the dominant meaning,”
The racist connotation is NOT the dominant meaning though. That’s sort of the point I’m making.
“but I don’t see why he’d be motivated to help people forget that redlining happened.”
I’m a big confused here because in the same post, you’ve both said that using the name Redline would be both a reminder of a discriminatory housing practice and also make people forget about a discriminatory housing practice.
I’m not suggesting “banning” the word redline. I’m just saying that I would expect Ren to be aware of the discriminatory meaning, and that he would consider it an unpleasant reminder. At the same time, even though it may remind him, and other black Americans, of past discrimination, it would serve to help displace that meaning in the minds of those who would rather forget it. That probably wouldn’t assist in getting the long-term consequences of those practices addressed.
“I’m not suggesting “banning” the word redline.”
Saying someone shouldnt use a word because it has an instance where it’s been used to describe something in a discriminatory way, despite the word itself not being discriminatory, is sort of de facto banning the word though.
“I’m just saying that I would expect Ren to be aware of the discriminatory meaning”
Fortunately Ren is probably allowed to have a say in what name he picks, and he might not be so sensitive. He might think ‘Redline’ accurately describes his powers and sounds cool, and isnt Black Hulk or Blulk.
“it would serve to help displace that meaning in the minds of those who would rather forget it.”
I’m reminded of a South Park episode about bikers when I read that part of your post. :)
“That probably wouldn’t assist in getting the long-term consequences of those practices addressed.”
I don’t understand what you mean by this sentence.
The etymology of the term ‘redlining’ comes from the use of ‘red’ as a limit marker in general.
In the case of maps, it’s ringing out a section of a map, sometimes in red because the color red is noticeable on a map.
Zoom in on V’s expression in panel 3. AH-HA-HA-HAAAA!
Redline does sound very appropriate for him. It properly indicates that his abilities kick in once he goes beyond the normal limit, as well as implying a connection to speed, which also plays well with his extra lanky height. It doesn’t imply any racial things one way or another. It’s simple, easy to remember, and even fits with his normal name.
Umm…. Ever heard of redlining?
I doubt Ren would find it any more appropriate, or non-racial, than ‘Blulk’.
I was about to chime in with that as well. Glad to see that someone beat me to the punch.
How about overdrive?
Cause you know, adrenaline sends his body into overdrive.
Overdrive sounds good.
Also, “Cliff Smasher” is definitely a pr0n name.
I still like Hype. Plus it has pun potential.
Hyperactive Mode Engage!
Maybe someone might explain how Redline could be offensive? I’m not seeing it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining
I had the idea that `to redline` something like a budget was to cross out items that didn’t make the cut, and that the usage tied back to teachers using red pens much earlier than the 1960s.
That having been said, I only came into the picture in the 1970s, and only was aware of those things of which I was aware. Also, terms that didn’t start out as racist can take on a racist meaning when used that way too much, and putting that report into that context I’m sure by the 1960s, the origin I’d thought existed for the term would’ve been used enough in a racist sense to take on a racist meaning. So how it came to be doesn’t really matter, we are where we are.
While I find the loss of words to be sad, I know it’s a thing that has to be in this environment. To get the words back, we need to end this stupidity called ‘racism’ and move forward to the time when we’ve forgotten about it. It’s really frustrating.
What’s more frustrating to me is that the most common solution I’ve encountered to people wanting to end racism is to show that we’re all the same. I’m autism spectrum, and being the same isn’t an option for me. Showing that most black people are the same as most white people is to throw people like me under the bus.
I’d like to feel a better approach is to make diversity a cause for celebration rather than reviling. Unfortunately, I’m aware that some of the antagonism towards racism is the fear that they’re a genetic dead end, and wanting to ensure that’s the case – not comprehending that they’re using tactics that long term will guarantee it is.
The only approach that seems like it could possibly work, then, is enough of the ultra-wealthy stepping up to take care of the poor via a livable minimum basic income type strategy, so that none of us need to worry about being genetic dead ends. But I’m not one of the ultra-wealthy, and I don’t know how to get them to have that kind of presence of mind.
Diversity is essential for the long-term survival of… basically anything. Homogeneity results in uniform weakness as well as uniform strength. It doesn’t matter how strong the group is, how many different attacks they can defend against, if there is even a single attack that it can’t defend against that wipes out the entire group.
My understanding is that the key to acceptance is familiarity. It’s easy to portray others as dangerous if you never have positive interactions with them. If your whole life experience is that people like you are safe and supportive, and people who are different from you are dangerous and antagonistic, it’s hard to believe that differences are good.
Yeah if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s literally the verb meaning of the word, it wouldn’t be a bad name. (Dictionaries are your friends.)But I agree, I sure wouldn’t want that as a name.
Would something like Rush be too simple?
I would like to see someone (Sydney) suggest Redline, and get just a very terse, emphatic “NO” from Kenya/Ren/Max/all of the above, while the others look at the suggesting person with horror/like they’re a blithering idiot.
Or better yet, Ren likes it for its regular / mechanical / muscle car meaning, and someone *else* reminds of the banking term.
Except it’s not the primary verb definition. It’s an automotive term; redlining the engine meaning to keep pushing its limit. The vast majority of people are going to see that, especially outside of the US; I’m Canadian and never heard of it being used for anything else. Probably a completely different derivation as well, probably from the red and black ink in ledgerkeeping.
I don’t think race comes into it unless you bring it into the situation yourself; it’s very clear that it’s using the engine terminology.
Bringing race into everything is very popular among the neo-racists
And be associated with a certain loudmouth radio jerk?
That was my thought when I first read that Dave was leaning that way. Redline would be the worst name for Ren. That would be like calling him ‘Jim Crow’.
I hope Dave goes for something relevant yet socially neutral.
No, it wouldn’t. A black man could own it, just like one can own the n word, except that the word itself isn’t considered offensive, just the illegal practice.
In fact, if Ren wanted to take the name, he could hang a lantern on it and say,
“I’m Redline. Just *try* to keep me out.”
I like this.
Though he is a cop who may be accused of redlining against whites at some point in future. “Why would a black cop police that white area?”. It still needs avoided. With multiple situations even if it isn’t his call (it won’t be) prioritising one over another when everything you do (or don’t) will hit the news…
I’m put in mind of Alexander Pope, 1709:
“A little learning is a dangerous thing;
drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring:
there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,
and drinking largely sobers us again.”
Another version Redline could think of would be the amazing Anime of the same name … and the associated red string of fate that links destined lovers (a well known trope in asian folklore / mythology).
I do like Redline.
It can be seen as training:
– seeing how others go about it, might help you think about possible options you didn’t consider doing.
– knowing what capabilities your other teammates have, can help you figure out what works best and where you might tactically fit into the fight.
Helps foement team spirit, too.
OMG …
Well, the team’s got to get funishment somehow… Umm, I’ve go to go and destroy a yeast in the foerest… ‘Bye!
The one thing I never understood when reading US superhero comics, is why the US armed forces in those comics don’t line their equipment with pants. Pants are after all indestructible. Hulk smash planet? The planet is dust, but the pants survive. Bad guy gets hurled into a cliff? The cliff crumbles, but not a scratch on the pants. Planes and tanks lined or covered with pants would survive a 10MT nuclear blast 10 feet away.
Pants lose their indestructible properties when they aren’t covering pelvic zones.
So what you’re saying is we need to cover the planes and tanks with pelvises…
Finally an actual reason for the military to use those giant humanoid robots that would cost way to much!
Make them anatomically correct, Pilot stays “below the belt”. Voila, they have “Hulk smash” level protection.
No no, pelvises *covered by pants*! Pants-less pelvises are actually MORE likely to be damaged, see also groin kicks.
So the answer is giant robots with pants.
“Admiral, what’s this line-item for ‘giant robot pants’ that’s displacing 20 new schools in my state?”
“Well Congressman, you see…”
It’s either that or giant robots in chainmail bikinis.
That only works if we also have sexy female pilots. Well spent tax money I say.
Literally LOL. This is a great example of why I read the comments for this webcomic. Someone frequently comes up with something so out of the box that it’s just as good as the comic itself. Thank you!
Also this comic has already had multiple cases of pants being destroyed, so at least within this universe they don’t have quite the same resistive powers.
1) The back of Achilles’s pants during the field demonstration – https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-180-seek-the-lee-of-the-damage-magnet/
2) Vehemence’s pants when he grew large and his pants didn’t grow with him – https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-268-vehemence-revealed/
3) Hiro’s pants when a bomb exploded in front of him – https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-521-to-no-dress/
Which gets back into covering things with pelvises… pelvi?… Pelvises.
At least in this comic.
I can only think of one example off the top of my head that you missed.
Reality would say that yes Hulk should end up shreding his entire pants and thus be running around nude. Censorship rules and rating guidelines say nope. Would be to difficult to render a nude hulk in massive fight scens without showing anything.
Although, that has happened to She Hulk on at least one occasion… They find ‘creative’ ways to mask the naughty bits, but her clothes were obviously gone. (Google “she Hulk jump rope” and tap the images button for examples.)
It turned out that she was actually wearing a bikini and the blur lines were covering that up instead, so they werent actually covering up any naughty bits after all. :)
Go back to the first vehemence fight when he grew and read it again.
Or the bit with the tagline Anvil is a matchmaking bull in a china shop.
Pants aren’t indestructible here!
How strong is Ren compared to others with super strength? This seems like he is definitely stronger than Hiro and Stalwart, though tbf we haven’t seen either of those try out property destruction. I wonder if Ren can have higher total stats than maxima. (think pokemon, with speed, attack, etc adding up to 550~ usually).
Stalwart has been seen kicking a tank in the air – he could throw around a big guy or smash some rocks too.
Maxima was still in control while sparring with him, but maybe in a life-death situation he could go even stronger.
He’s certainly gonna be a top tier fighter unless he’s more restricted by physics than most supers – speed and strength together are great.
I’m only guessing but would say he get that “mother lifting a car off her baby’ level strength at least. If his body can handle the strain and assorted damage to tendons, spine, joints ect afterward is still to be seen. Also at a guess I’d bet he’s more of a dodge/DEX build than a straight up tank.
WoG from last page’s comments:
“It’s “super adrenaline” so he basically dramatically increases in strength, speed, toughness and healing as he ramps up.”
So lots of strength, and corresponding toughness too.
They never mentioned he HAD super strength, either. They made it sound like the adrenaline thing was his whole schtick.
He did mention the “mother lifting car off her kids” thing in the description of his power.
That wouldn’t save him from the hundred foot drop onto solid rock. I don’t care what level of adrenaline you’re at.
That indeed wasn’t mentioned in-comic (although we could count toughness as a required secondary power of strength), but strength certainly was.
How about limit breaker? Or perhaps Ren Genie?
Most of the cast make do with a single word. Besides, since this comic is in-universe strongly comic book-themed, focusing on the punching would pretty quickly boil down to “Hulk”, possibly with a specifier.
Apropos, “he who punches his foes” does work pretty well in some Earth languages. English has to make do with “Foe Puncher”.
Also, this wasn’t really a punch, more a deflect.
Guy’s called “Ren”? Rendang (good food, not much violence though) was a first idea. “Rendent”, as in Ren-the-Denter, might be better.
Foehammer is the name of a sword? I first heard the name in Halo 1! The transport aircraft that moves the Master Chief around. Daniel the Human hadn’t looked it up either….
HALO 1 FINAL LEVEL SPOILER WARNING
RIP Foehammer…
Foe-hammer is what the name of Gandalf’s sword, Glamdring, means in Lord of the Rings.
Glamdring, found in a troll-hoard by Gandalf during The Hobbit, was a hand and a half sword originally made for Turgon, King of Gondolin in the First Age. Glamdring renders in English as Foehammer.
I think his hero name should be Smiter. Or Bam-bam.
It’s also the name of King Roland’s dragon-slaying arrow in Stephen King’s The Eyes of the Dragon! :D
BAM BAM
and the guard named Barney says… ‘son, I’m proud of you’
“Redline” doesn’t sound appropriate. I’m sure it was accidental, but “redlining” communities meant designating them as being financially risky, making it difficult to get a home loan if you lived there. These neighborhoods were home to African Americans and other minorities, keeping them impoverished.
I’m sure this was accidental, but I’d look for another name.
More on redlining: https://youtu.be/ETR9qrVS17g
Would you people please stop claiming that a word means ONLY what you want it to mean? “Redlining” has several different meanings, each in its own context (automobiles/planes/engines in general, accounting, politricks, etc).
I thought it meant that somewhere there was a line and it was red…
You can’t separate positive meanings from negative ones. It’s an asymmetric problem, in which multiple positive meanings can compete without harming each other, but a single negative meaning taints them all.
I’d have to disagree.
You just used the word ‘separate’ – which is part of the racist term used during segregation of ‘separate but equal.’ You clearly are able to separate its meaning here from the racist connotation in which that word can be used.
You also used the word taint, but I’m assuming you’re not using that word to mean the perineum (the region of the human body between the testicles/vagina and the anus) which is a lewd term and mildly obscene, because the context in which you’re using the word is completely different than the negative version of that word.
But I couldn’t prevent you from making the association yourself, except by choosing different words. You’re only supporting my point. My intention in using a word doesn’t affect how it’s received.
People will look for a racist meaning, even if there wasn’t one, just to keep the racism going
“But I couldn’t prevent you from making the association yourself, except by choosing different words. You’re only supporting my point”
No, you’re actually supporting MY point. That context of words matters. You were not using the word separate in a racist way, because separate is not only defined by the racist practice of segregation as ‘separate but equal.’ You’re using the word as it’s commonly and meant to be used. Just like redline is meant to be used in a way that has nothing to do with a discriminatory housing practice that a sociologist named in the late 1960s as ‘redlining.’
“My intention in using a word doesn’t affect how it’s received.”
Of course the intent matters!
It’s ridiculous to act like context doesnt matter or I’d be serious in calling you racist and obscene by using the words ‘separate’ and ‘taint.’ Which I’m obviously not, because it would be stupid to think that you’re either racist or obscene based on two words that you used in a COMPLETELY non-racist and non-obscene definition and context.
Language is not like strict liability in law (which is honestly a bit of an absurd subsect of tort law). You NEED to take intent into account in most cases. ESPECIALLY in how we communicate with each other via language.
Of course intent matters, when assessing someone’s statements, or engaging in serious discourse. But it still doesn’t control the listener, and if they’re looking to twist and subvert your words, it is wise to choose them carefully.
I think it’s a VERY slippery slope to allow a listener’s potentially oversensitive or argument-seeking nature to determine another person’s freedom of speech and general use of language – especially with words which, in context, are not even remotely racist or offensive. The larger a person’s audience is, the more likely that there will be SOME person who takes offense. If you want to have language where there’s no one who will ever take offense at anything, then you might as well eliminate language altogether.
As Sydney said to Arianna,
Ariana: “Some people might get offended by your casual transactualization of sex.”
Sydney: “Yeah and some people might get offended by my ponytail because they think I’m making fun of horses. I can’t control what people’s pet trigger is.”
https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-316-public-relations-schmublic-relations/
Reasonable or not, there are consequences for our actions. If you don’t like the consequences for a particular action, then you should choose another. Just because someone should or should not react a certain way doesn’t mean that they will or won’t.
There’s a vast gulf between advice and proscription.
“Reasonable or not, there are consequences for our actions. If you don’t like the consequences for a particular action, then you should choose another.”
Except I, and most people who actually believe in freedom of speech, do recognize that there are consequences for ones actions. However, that doesnt mean the consequences are being made by people who are reasonable, rational, or even remotely sane. And it definitely does not mean that we should base our actions on the consequences by people who are oversensitive, irrational, or just looking for a fight, because if you’re going to base your actions on the possible consequences made by someone LOOKING for a fight, you can’t make any actions at all. Because they will try to make a fight no matter what. They would be trying to control you, and if they can’t control you, they will try to hurt you. That’s not reasonable consequences – that’s just bullying and authoritarianism.
“Just because someone should or should not react a certain way doesn’t mean that they will or won’t.”
I think you might also be forgetting that their ‘consequences” are actions as well If your consequences for my using completely reasonable language is to whine and complain (not you in particular, Torabi, I’m using you in a more generalized sense), then my consequences to you can be to mock and ridicule you for being insane. Again, not you in particular Torabi. I’m just using extreme cases as examples for my post.
“There’s a vast gulf between advice and proscription.”
It depends on the caveats that come along with the ‘advice,’ or how much of a threat is laden in on that ‘advice’ (doxxing, labelling someone as racist when they arent, etc).
Look, even the word racism is a derogatory word and the use of it is inherently racist. Simply because, in the use of it, you are making everything about ones race to the exclusion of everything else. It is in fact racist behavior.
I know it seems to be circular thinking but the very moment you make a judgement based on race, even your own, you have become a racist.
That’s absurd. Judging behavior as racist does not require making a judgment based on race.
Don’t forget, can’t use the word ‘denigrate’ because is contains ‘nig’… oo, no more using ‘knight’ either
There was recently something where Japanese Apex gamers keep getting banned for using the japanese word for ‘run.’ when they are telling his teammates to run. In THEIR OWN LANGUAGE. Because it sounded too much like a racist slur in English (the n-word).
https://www.dexerto.com/apex-legends/japanese-apex-legends-players-keep-getting-banned-for-saying-run-1547886/
There was also the case where an asian sportscaster named Robert Lee was removed from reporting on a U-Va game in Charlottesville… because his name is the same as the confederate general.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/08/23/espn-removes-a-commentator-from-calling-u-vas-home-opener-his-name-robert-lee/
Context matters. Like Guesticules said, if a person wants to find something racist, they need very little excuse to do so, especially when you remove context and intent from the equation.
Take myself for example. I’m part native pacific islander, part asian. If someone talks about how a news program is slanted, I don’t automatically think they’re being anti-asian. If they say that ‘that boxing match was savage’ or there’s a sports movie where the main character is a headhunter looking for new sports prospects, I don’t think they’re making an anti-native slur. Because of context and intent and the actual definition of words.
Ahhh… I know literally LOTS of nice gay folks who are completely hetero. I also know too many folks with minds so narrow you couldn’t slip a razor in there.
It appears that when Ren gets going, his rev-counter is warning of imminent catastrophe for some bad entity.
See?
Considering how he got down, I’d suggest Cliffjumper, except he was pushed and he obviously doesn’t change head first into fights…
Cliffhanger? Scrabble? Avalanche?
Avalanche really implies he has geokinetic powers.
Sorry, that one’s already been claimed by an Autobot
Ren’s gotten a lot more muscular than I remember.
As for a name, the first thing that comes to mind is Overdrive.
I like that one: it’s still kinda accurate about his powerset, but not as racially charged as “Redline”.
Ooooooh, Overdrive is great! A bit mechanical, but it really fits how his adrenaline kicks him into high gear.
Seems we had the same idea, hadn’t found this comment yet when I suggested it :-)
Overdrive is a Marvel villain, a guy with the power to morph cars in buffed up cars.
I guess the name’s already claimed XD
And Halo is the name of a video game series, yet it’s still used :)
a halo is first an item, if you’ve ever seen a picture of an angel, then the name of a game. plus, I don’t know characters named Halo, only things. “Overdrive” is a character from a franchise that exists inside the comic. like calling Hiro “Superman” because of his similar powerset.
I think they do call Hiro the ‘Asian Superman’ in the Grrlpower world :)
Also Super Hiro. :)
If Ren chooses to be an offended princess about it, nothing changes. Or he can own it and consign the nastier meaning to the past where it belongs. He would be right to reject “Black Hulk”, it gratuitously re-inks boundaries. What’s wrong with just “Hulk”?
At some point he will collar a fleeing villain and there will be no escaping a quip about meeting a tall dark handsome stranger.
Does a man’s simple desire to have a non-generic superhero name really make him an offended princess?
How is “I don’t want my name to be a racial reference, thanks” being “an offended princess about it”?
> What’s wrong with just “Hulk”?
Marvel Comics exists in-universe.
“How is “I don’t want my name to be a racial reference, thanks” being “an offended princess about it”? – Illy
Have we any evidence that Ren would consider it a “racial reference”? It’s his working name we’re talking about; it’s him who gets the call on whether or not he considers it offensive, not those who seem keen to take offense on others’ behalf. There are plenty of other contexts in which ‘Redline’ does not carry any discriminatory associations, and only one in which it (allegedly) does.
Illy didn’t mention “redline”.
And they’re right because it’s been said by Dave that Ren doesn’t want to be called “something like the Black Hulk” in the comic before.
I’d taken Bikkie‘s post to be in reference to the various ‘redline’ offense-jumpers further up the page. It isn’t stated specifically so, but it reads that the “offended princess” remark is about something other than the ‘Black Hulk’ suggestion and ‘Redline’ seemed the most likely fit. Implied from that, was that Illy‘s post was also referring to that particular suggestion.
Of course, if my interpretation of either of those comments was wrong, I will stand corrected.
> only one in which it (allegedly) does.
Are you seriously implying that redlining wasn’t/isn’t a racist thing?
Way to destroy any belief that you’re not an arsehole.
My deepest apologies, I should have picked this up earlier.
I speak for myself here.
No, I don’t imply anything of the sort. I expressly say it. “redlining” never was racist in effect or intent. More knees than you can imagine were redlined simply to avoid what turned out to be the 2009 crash when the “Feds” forced banks to issue “toxic loans”, loans which every sane person knew could never be serviced.
You cannot give a mortgage to an entity which cannot service it.
And a horrible traslational error. Knees.
John Brunner in “The Jagged Orbit” (Arrow, 1972) writes of “kneeblanks” — “knees” — an American English adaptation of the Afrikaanse apartheid term “nie-blanke”, “not-white”. Unfortunately for me, “blank” is phonetically similar to “black”, a problem when thinking in a Germanic-base language like English and rendering a Romance adjective like “blanke” in speech. And the phoneme “ee” is, at least for me, a “white” sound, think “white noise”. I have to think really really hard before I use the term or suffer from a truly liquid brainfart as above.
“The Jagged Orbit” is one of my favourite dystopian novels, and I re-read it for the 4th or 5th time earlier this year, so it’s still fresh in my memory and therefore informed my thinking when writing the above.
So, long story short, the phrase “More knees than you can imagine …” should read “More blanks than you can imagine …”
Kinda like how the term ‘redneck’ (so lovingly used by certain groups in the US, on both sides) was originally an Afrikaans term for an English farmer (because their necks would literally turn red from working in the fields
“There are plenty of other contexts in which ‘Redline’ does not carry any discriminatory associations, and only one in which it (allegedly) does. – myself
“Are you seriously implying that redlining wasn’t/isn’t a racist thing? – Illy
That’s rather a forced interpretation.
There is one context, of which I was unaware before this name discussion kicked off, in which ‘redline’ was historically used to describe correlations between geography and affluence. There are many other contexts in which the word is used without even the allegation of racist intent, and it is clearly those contexts on which the suggestion was based.
Incidentally, nobody here has shown any evidence that fiscal ‘redlining’ was actually deliberately targeted on grounds of race (i.e. actually a racist practice), as opposed to drawing correlations between geography and affluence. If the sole motivating factor was the affluence of the area (regardless of how accurate that actually is as a predictor of loan repayment), then the decision is not made racist by any correlation between geography or affluence and race. Modifying the results of a purely affluence-based evaluation because it doesn’t impact the ‘right’ distribution of ethnicities? Now that would be racist.
If I were to attempt to identify the most major trend in western culture, I’d say it’s a resistance to recognizing patterns. Not just an inability to see them, but intentional opposition to anyone collecting and analyzing data, identifying patterns, and perhaps most significantly, advocating for any kind of response to those patterns. A growing collection of people are committed to the idea that events have no past, and no future, that we could not have predicted nor prevented any tragedies, and should make no attempt to do so in the future.
For some people, I think it’s a futile attempt to maintain the illusion that either they are in control of their own lives, or at least that nobody else is. I think this is pretty foolish in the face of companies feverishly scooping up and analyzing as much data as they can, whether it be to make money through targeted advertising, or affect public policy through psychological manipulation.
For others, I think it’s a smokescreen. They exploit unexamined systems, and don’t want those opportunities to disappear, or don’t want to have to compete with other people doing the same thing. They live in that gap between plausible deniability and clear violations, and obstruct any attempt to close it.
Do you really think it unlikely that there are people attempting to make racist policies without being obvious about it? Are there not mechanisms they could use to do so? When people of any particular group are disproportionately affected by a policy, or underrepresented in an organization, isn’t that worthy of investigation?
The biases in a system can be distributed throughout it such that each individual component appears unbiased when examined on its own, but appears in the way those components work together. It’s possible both that they could have developed that way independently, but it’s also possible that the bias was inserted that way by design. But if a system has unintended side-effects or biases, it doesn’t really matter whether they’re there by accident or intention. If they’re undesirable, they should be fixed or removed.
To focus on the relevant summary of your post: “if a system has unintended side-effects or biases […] they should be fixed or removed“.
You’re in effect arguing that the ends override the means, and that it’s acceptable – even desirable – to deliberately corrupt the means in order to get the ends you expected to see.
If a system is supposed to measure in terms of attribute A, and a correlation to attribute B is detected, then it should certainly be looked into. But that is not a mandate for assuming malicious intent, and certainly not for automatically inserting a counter-bias just to make the output-relative-to-B match what prejudice demands. A legitimate (direct or indirect) correlation between A and B that you didn’t yet know about is not an error, let alone a culpable bias. And there are many routes to correlation that do not imply causation either way.
If there is a demonstrable systematic error in the measurement or evaluation at any point, then of course fix that error. But first prove that there truly is an error, rather than assuming that there must be one simply because the real outcome fails to match what you assumed it would be. Imposing a separate ‘balancing’ factor, simply to bring the result back to what you initially thought it ‘should’ be, is discrimination regardless of what your prejudice looks like – adding a deliberate wrong to a wrong blindly assumed to exist does not make one right!
Take a case without the political baggage. A disproportionate number of Olympic medals for running are won by ‘Black’ athletes. Does that mean that there is some deliberate racist bias in how the medals are awarded? Should we be trying to figure out handicap factors to account for ancestry? Or does it just mean that attributes conducive to running fast tend to be associated with ‘Black’ phenotypes more than with ‘White’ or ‘Asian’ ones?
And now for the tangent…
You claim “a resistance to recognising patterns” as a major cultural trend. I would suggest that the bigger issue is the opposite, the volitional assumption – the idea that there’s no such thing as happenstance, that everything that happens does so because someone willed it so. It’s not a new assumption: conspiracy theories have been around for centuries at least, and probably as long as there have been systems complex beyond the knowledge and understanding of the average Human – arguably ever since the first Person who attributed fickle chance or the awesome majesty of a natural event to the hand of the Gods.
We can predict that if conditions X and Y prevail, the likelihood of event Z increases. That does not imply the existence of some cabal manipulating X and Y in order to bring about Z, even if there are groups aiming to influence X or Y for other reasons. It’s famously impossible to prove a negative, as the putative masterminds can always find another cranny to hide in, but in practice the limit of plausible control and foresight is quickly reached.
Spike – short for Adrenaline Spike!
So Vehemence is just playing right? He was able to take on 4 of ArcSWAT at the same time last time, and he’s getting knocked around now. This is just playtime for him, he’s not even trying.
While yes, that is likely, wasn’t he already pumped up on a full scale supper brawl before he started in stead of a few spars last time?
More like cheat day while on a tight diet. He gets to spoil himself without the guilt!
This is him doing some friendlyish sparing to keep his vehmic energy levels up so he is not gonna be going all out.
Also his powers need to charge up through violence, he didn’t step in until the superbrawl was well underway so had a lot more go juice then than he does now
1) He was powered up by a 30 super full-on brawl last time.
2) He probably realizes if he went above ‘playing’ Maxima would just kill him (put him into orbit, incinerate him, etc) since he is not yet at a point where he can tank that sort of stuff.
3) Food is food. He’s been on a diet of pot and yarn kirby and doritos for a while, and is probably happy to have something more substantive to a well balanced vehemic/vistric diet.
oh and:
4) They’re likely equipped now with non-violent means of taking him down. Tickle gun for example.
5) Dabbler’s sleep spell is more likely to work on him now that he’s not super-powered up by a 30 super brawl.
Mister Fister is sadly already taken.
I vote for Spike too since it’s hard to get a name w/o some baggage.
Spike is one of the better villians in Buffy.
When Sydney runs out of superhero names,she’ll start giving them G.I.Joe type code names…!
Trouser Snake!
^This^ , forevermore shall he be known as The Indomitable Trouser Snake
Fumbles. It was always Fumbles.
“Cliffhanger” would work, has the element of excitement.
“You named yourself after a videogame?”
/obscure?
A video game composed of images and scenes from Lupin III movies?
That’s the one.
Surge
Rubble
Rhinoplasty! (Play oh rhinoplasty aka plastic surgery on the nose)
Fracture
Punchy McPunchface
Why oh WHY doesn’t this comment thingummy have upvotes (or edit)?
Because it’s a fun challenge this way. It’s hard mode posting here. Real men need no editing or deleting. You post something stupid or a typo and it’s there forever.
Thanks for reaffirming my faith in the Internet.
Lots of adrenaline shouldn’t make you THAT strong. In fact if it is his only superhuman aspect, his body should shatter from his own blows.
RhinoBLASTY dammit. Stupid autocorrect
So we’re settling on foe fellar are we? Can I put my hat in with AddRenAline
Just noticed, the copyright in the bottom right hand corner is still 2020.
How about Shiver, since his adrenaline spikes cause his nerves to vibrate?
In that case, Twitch(y) ;)
AdrenalRen? Or is that too obvious?
Itsatrap
With the idea that 1) This is a guy who starts as little threat, but if you trigger him, he gets super-dangerous 2) We’re looking for a simple, one word code name that’s relatively descriptive and cool sounding…
Some name options:
Boost (possible confusion with theft meaning of the mode)
Augment
Amplify (Amp)
Gains
Bulwark
Hustle
Aggro
Vex
Kindle (Might be some amazon conflicts, here)
Rile
or my personal favorite:
Umbrage.
If you wanted to lean into the him being black thing, you could go with ‘Militant’, but 1) that’s very on the nose, 2) kind of racist, and 3) a word that would theoretically be commonly used to describe OPFOR, and thus counter-indicated.
I personally find the animal theme to be overdone, but Mongoose or Honey Badger could work, too.
I like Rile there.
Not so sure about Umbrage, it’d be a good name if he wanted to lean into it; but I think he’s said himself he doesn’t want a name that makes reference to colour and Umber is definitely a colour reference.
“Rile” is excellent.
“Umber” is not a black reference. On the other hand, “Umbra” is a shadow.
Umber is an earthy brown pigment, so while it isn’t a ‘black’ reference it is a ‘colour‘ reference. If you’re being fussy about such things.
So I can’t have an… umber-ella? For rainy days?
You could try asking Rihanna…
Personally, when I hear “Umbrage” I think of the Harry Potter villain Dolores Umbrage :P
Now I am imagining Ren in a pink 50’s dress, pillbox hat, and carrying an umbrella.
Umbrage has nothing to do with umber, even in word origin.
Umbrage means ‘takes offense.’ It can also reference the act of casting a shadow in its archaic form.
Umber means dark yellowish-brown (raw umber) or dark brown (burnt umber). Basically a shade darker than ocher.
It wouldnt be useful as Ren’s superhero name though since his powers have nothing to do with shadows (or taking offense, I suppose, beyond the basic idea that heroes in general take offense at criminal action).
Thank you, was just about to mention taking umbrage at that mistake :P
Umbrage would be good names for someone with shadow powers, like Shade from DC comics. :)
Wait, wait, wait…the SWORD is called “Foe HAMMER”? How did I never notice that before?
I’ve also just noticed how weird the word “hammer” looks when you type it out. It just looks wrong somehow.
[H]–
a (hand grasping the handle)
mm (2 thump sounds in quick succession)
er (hesitation, I mean, a little late, because a hammer moves very quick)
*a* sword is called foehammer. Glamdring, iirc.
you really weren’t paying attention there, were you?
Presto (it means very fast) or Prestissimo (very very fast)
That should be reserved for a Speedster or a Magic Wielder, just as Firewall should be reserved for a Thermokinetic.
Firewall should be the name for a person who interfaces with electronics in a defensive capacity. “You shall not pass!”
I didn’t like Dabbler’s arms in the last installment, but in today’s panel 10 they look fine.
Let’s hear “He who punches foes” in Detla’s language and we’ll pick two or three of the 25 syllables. (Unless it sounds like Thermian or is otherwise unpronounceable by humans.
Come on guys! No one has made a MST3K reference to the hero with many names yet?
https://mst3k.fandom.com/wiki/Dave_Ryder
Redline is cool, but be prepared to hear that song in your head every time you see his name.
… What song?
Can I just say how much I appreciate the ink lines? I know Dave doesn’t like them, but I find it much easier to distinguish characters and objects against the background in more crowded panels. It’s not that I don’t like the new artstyle, but I’ve been getting a bit of eyestrain since the switch. These past couple weeks have been amazing.
Also… maybe don’t name an African American hero “Redline” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining)
just call him Gary.
Wouldn’t work. He’s not a Fallout 3 cloned vault dweller. :)
His arms look like they bulked up a bit … Blulk it is. ;)
Wow! He got beefy! I don’t know why I assumed his appearance wouldn’t change as his adrenaline powers kicked in, but this kind of surprised me. Also, I really like Redline for his super name. :)
He himself said he doesn’t hulk out in https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/comic/grrl-power-321-naming-rights/, so your surprise is understandable. :)
For another ancient reference, “Fee Fie Foe Feller, …”?
there we go, we can call him Fum, after the fourth brother Giant! (and say that it’s short for Fulcrum)
His enemies will call him Fumbles.
only if he mumbles
And if his tummy rumbles… they’ll call him ‘late for supper’.
And then due to his low energy after missing a meal:
“he bumbles and stumbles, his dignity crumbles, he stays down and mumbles…”
How could you consider anything more than ‘Adrenaline”
Adrenaline sounds a bit too feminine for a male super.
The obvious solution. Though if the ‘e’ on the end is considered too feminine, Adrenalin would work just as well as valid alternate spelling.
Mainly because it gives too much focus on how his power works. Gives the enemies too much opportunity to exploit it for weaknesses.
For example, they called Kenya Anvil, because you hit an anvil. It’s on point, but not so on point that everyone will know how her powers work before even going up against her. But they didnt call her ‘Kinetic’ or ‘Absorption’ because that’s way too on the nose about how her power works.
“Guns”, ‘cause he’s got big ones. But here’s a thought if he needs an Arc code name, give him a Xhosa (real language used by Wakanda) name. That would pay tribute to his African heritage and be a bit mysterious at the same time. And the curious would figure it out real quick. After all it didn’t take Star Trek fans long to realize that Uhuru meant Freedom. Referring to Frags list:
‘Augment’ translates to “Ukongeza” in Xhosa which, I think, sounds pretty cool. Of course, you know that his teammates would shorten that to “Kong” which works really well too.
Do we have any evidence that Ren has any significant connection to Southern Africa? Xhosa is primarily spoken in South Africa and Zimbabwe, thousands of miles from the African end of the slave routes on the Gulf of Guinea (if we’re assuming that his ancestors came across via that means, and assuming that said ancestry is his primary self-identification hundreds of years later). Shall we similarly jump to Vietnamese for anyone who looks of ‘East Asian heritage’? And surely anyone of ‘North European heritage’ would want it paid tribute with a name in Bokmål.
Dude, overthinking much? You seriously need to take a stress pill and lighten up.
So, you think it “works really well” to call the big strong black man a giant angry gorilla? :facepalm:
I was thinking regarding the attributes of strength and a beloved movie character. I’ll leave the the stereotypical bigotry and racism to you.
I’m putting in for his superhero name to be ‘Johnson Tackleford’.
Rock Smashington.
Harry Richards.
Flint Fredstone?
Ok I’m now all in favor of Flint Fredstone. Or Blulk.