Dear Hordie Who Smote Me,

Dear Hordie Who Smote Me,

While I appreciate the extra helping of DEATH while I was visiting Undercity during the Pilgrims Festival, I was really there for the CAKE. Sharing is Caring is obviously not already one of your achievements, unlike the others at the table with me who pleasantly passed food. I find it curious that we can pass each other in Shattrath and Dalaran, but when I come to your home city to honor your roots and family, you attack me blindly. It is because of people like you that there will never be peace in Azeroth. Sad, really.

                               Sincerely, That Damn Mage


-le sigh-

I did find it fascinating that by using a white turkey strider mount I was able to get a lot farther along than I would have otherwise had I been using one of the other alliance faction mounts. By all logic to me, it shouldn't have made a difference, as I imagine I'd still have shown as red to the opposing faction even on the white turkey strider. Curious. Or maybe I just got lucky and had  streak of nice people willing to let me alone.

In any case, I'm not against faction rivalry. I actually found the situation highly amusing. It's one of my more favorite things to go skulking about opposing faction cities for the sheer entertainment value. Well, I find it entertaining... >.>  (I still have yet to get that damned fish from Orgrimmar! >.<) I had been sitting at the table on the outside of Undercity passing food for about 15 mins before someone decided to freak out and kill me. I was grateful of course that they had waited that long and I had gotten a chance to finish what I needed to for the achievement I was going for. Faction rivalry gives lots of fun and purpose to the game, and I have found that it can be even more fun when you run across someone of the opposing faction and you mutually don't outright attack one another.

On deeper pondering though, I found myself getting uncomfortable when I realize how many players have this blind and instantaneous  -OPPOSING FACTION KILL- mentality. In and of itself, it is not wrong or bad or evil or anything, beyond annoying and just part of the game. However, I fear that it reflects back into the real world, with brain pathways already lined and oiled, for thought patterns like: "Whatever I dislike/ am anti-of/etc (be it racism, homophobia, whatever).... I attack instantly without thinking, putting into context, or trying to understand."

I'm not fond of thinking that I could be contributing to perpetuating the synapses that allow for that kind of intolerance. I am very thankful that there are more and more people that are speaking out against intolerance in games and studying ways to make the gaming world friendlier.