romankalik wrote...
Titius.Vibius wrote...
Misplaced political correctness? This kind on naive thinking have put us into numerous troubles by not being sensitive on other people's history and suffering. 
Jewish here. Orthodox religious Jew, in fact. And you know what? I resent your ignorance more than I'd ever resent anyone bringing up well-known aspects of European Jewish history from the Middle-Ages - that of being alienated from general society. The original Ghettos were indeed Jewish, had nothing to do with rap or mass extermination (well... most of the time, anyway. Being Jewish in Middle-Ages Europe wasn't exactly a safe existence), and should not be buried under vast mountains of political correctness. The similarities, down to the city guard locking down the ghetto whenever they see fit, are quite obvious.
I did not ask for your protection, sir. You meant well, that much is clear, but try some basic research before jumping to conclusions next time. You have called people racists without due cause, in the name of Jewish feelings, and I resent that.
Thank you, Roman. I appreciate someone managed to say this before I did. Also being Jewish, I tend to resent being used as a cause celebre by somebody who obviously doesn't know his tuchas from his elbows when it comes to Jewish history.
Gegenlicht wrote...
Actually, I thought that the Dalish
story was also reminiscent of the Jewish Diaspora, both in biblical and
medieval times, with the whole quest for a lost homeland leitmotif. I
don't have the proof handy, I just remember bursting out of my office
after talking to the Keeper-in-training at the Dalish camp and telling
my roommate that DA:O Elves are a spin on Jewish myth and history.
Not
entirely of course as the themes found in the Elven stories are too
global to not also find reflections of any major race segregation theme
in history right down to South Africa in the times of Apartheid.
There are obviously several mixed motifs in the DA: O elven history, but I recognized the Jewish element fairly quickly. And as another here mentioned, fears of assimilation and losing one's history, faith, and community also tie in well with the Jewish connection. It was even amused to note that the Elven nation was destroyed by the Dragon Age equivalent of the Roman Empire, much like the last shreds of Judean independence were.
Jews are by far not the only connection, of course, as others have noted. Apartheid South Africa and black slavery in America seem to be connected to the Elven history of captivity, slavery, and existence as second-rate citizens deemed fit only as servants.
The Dalish also reminds me of the Romani, with the rumors of magic outside the nomal, along with the movement a lot of times forced by villages. I'll apologize if I'm not as coherant as usual, life went to hell for me this past thursday.
I'll admit, when I play the City Elf origin, I tend to get an extra shiver because of personal connection and knowing history. I think that the writers and devs at Bioware did a great job using the inspiration of history to weave something new. In addition, if someone decides to look up a website or read a book etc about the Jewish experiance in the ghetto because of this thread and DAO, that's a wonderful bonus.
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