If you're familiar with the Mass Effect franchise, then you might be aware of one discussion that has been going on practically since the beginning. Is Ashley Williams a space racist? For a while, the popular opinion seemed to be a resounding yes.
This might be, in part, because of the nature of the game. Controlling Commander Shepard, the game sort of pushes players to be unifiers. Whether you play Paragon or Renegade, Shepard is ultimately an agent of togetherness. The galaxy's best chance - and the player's best chance for the least crappy ending - lies in your ability to bring different alien races together. Ashley doesn't necessarily stand against that, but at a time when you're bringing in new races and forging alliances, she offers a different take. She not only has reservations about their new allies, but doubts their sincerity and their true commitment. Given the general atmosphere of the game, this attitude stands apart and comes off as xenophobic, or "space racist."
Lately, people have started to argue the other way. Ash is just being cautious. She doesn't hate aliens, and despite her reservations, she still works closely with them. You won't see her starting anything with her new alien squad mates. It even seems that she likes some of them! It's only fair to point out that even if Ash were space racist, she's far from the only one. There are literally human supremacists in this universe, there are anti-alien politicians gaining ground, there's Cerberus, and even with all Ash said that can be interpreted as xenophobic, she's not nearly as hostile as Chief Navigator Pressley.
And really, how bad is her xenophobia compared to other space racists in other species? You don't have to go too far to note xenophobic Salarians, Asari, Turians, or Krogan. In fact, the Krogan practically exist to hate Salarians! So what's a little caution compared to that outright anger and hostility?
Plus, it could be argued that Ashley Williams was right. But more on that later. First, we need to put both Ashley and the human race in context of this well-crafted universe.
Humans are the new kid in the galactic town. Yet a history of brash and bold actions have earned them more power in galactic politics that, while treated like second class citizens in the beginning, it's pretty clear they're on their way to a seat on the Council. By comparison, species that had been around much longer, like the Volus and Elcor, seem to be stuck. They can never get traction in gaining representation on the Council. This creates bitterness among some of those species and humankind. When you meet the Volus ambassador, he doesn't even try to hide his disdain for humanity. Factor in that the humans entered the fold with a war against the Turians - the steadfast military power of the Council. That was everyone's introduction to humans.
It's not hard to see why there is resentment among species.
Similarly, Ashley Williams is not cautious without reason. Her family had been involved in wars with the Turians. It can be debated how much "respect" the Council gives humanity, but it's clear that many humans don't feel they're given enough. Ash falls into that category. And when we meet her, she's the lone survivor of a surprise attack when a Geth army lead by a Turian show up to Eden Prime.
Basic point here: having reservations and concerns about the aliens on board the Normandy is completely understandable.
Again, it's worth noting that she's not outwardly hostile towards anyone on the ship, and everything she says to her commander are comparatively moderate in tone. She even admits that humans should accept assistance from the other species. Her main point quite simply seems to be that humanity should learn to be completely self-dependent. "I just think we shouldn't bet everything on them staying allies," she says. "As noble as the Council members seem now, when their backs are against the wall, they'll abandon us."
People tend to argue that she was right about that (again, more on that later), but regardless, that itself does not come off as particularly "space racist."
Perhaps it's worth clearing up what exactly we mean, by the way. The idea that humans are "racist" in a universe where they're second class citizens is a little off-based. If Ashley has concerns about being around alien species, it is not coming from a position of power. She is not voicing this opinion to put down her alien team mates, nor is she saying this simply to exert power over them.
It would be more accurate to refer to her attitude as slightly xenophobic. Some of her concerns are unwarranted, and some of the metaphors she uses indicates some messed up attitudes, but being that she has no power herself, nor has she advocated anything to put aliens down in general would make it a bit more accurate to describe her as "xenophobic" rather than "racist."
That's been a big part of the problem when it comes to this discussion. People say she's "racist," but that term itself is often used in a very reductionist manner that betrays its true meaning. Still, it's probably safe to assume that most people don't truly mean she's racist when they say "racist." They're often being hyperbolic. These are, more often than not, internet conversations. People will do that. A lot.
The best defense of Ashley is, of course, a similar concept. People have been misunderstanding her concerns, or deliberately misrepresenting them to force her into this reductionist box of "space racist." As mentioned, a big theme of the game is unity, and players are urged early on to be accepting of other aliens. So when you hear one of your crew saying things that go against that, it stands out. It's easy to misinterpret.
This is all true. Few characters have been more misunderstood and misinterpreted than Ash. To be clear as well, this all pertains to her in the first game. It's pretty clear by Mass Effect 3 (if she gets there) that she couldn't give two shits about where her help is coming from, so long as someone was helping her take down Reapers. By and large, her reservations - whether you think they've been realized or not - do not really factor in much in that game. There are two quotations that tend to get used both to attack and defend the Gunnery Chief, but a lot of times, people on both sides try to force them into a singular box that fits their argument.
"I can't tell the animals from the aliens!" she exclaims when you get to the Citadel. Without putting any context on this fictional universe, it's easy to see why this comes off as "racist." After all, if you were to show up to China for the first time and say the same thing, it would be hyper racist! But we need to remember that Ashley is speaking as someone who has never been to the Citadel, and thus has never seen so many different species in the same place. She's also got no frame of reference, like the player. I'm sorry, but who honestly looked at a Hanar for the first time and thought, "I bet that's a sentient being I can totally talk to!"
Insensitive? Totally. Racist? Not really. She's looking at things she's not familiar with. It might be ignorant, but it's not hateful.
The other comment gets a bit trickier.
"Look, if you're fighting a bear and the only way to survive is to sic your dog on it and run, you'll do it. As much as you love your dog, it isn't human."
I've heard it explained that she's not actually talking about humans in this hypothetical scenario. Instead, she's talking about other alien races. If so, she's basically arguing that the Council has no problem using humans to do things for them, but in a bind, they don't see humans as actual people and would be quick to abandon them as the inferior beings that they are.
This is kind of complicated though. First, I'm not so sure that is what she's saying. Second, the impulse to again defend her "aliens equal animals" comment in the same manner as the first quotation is flawed. There's a pretty fundamental difference in this instance than in the previous statement. In the first comment, she isn't really saying that aliens are like animals. She's just commenting on how strange everything looks to her, given her life experience.
But with the second, it's a bit different. She isn't comparing aliens to dogs per se, but she is pointing out that they aren't human, and in doing so, ultimately does speak of them as inferior creatures. By using dogs in the analogy, intentionally or not, she is basically saying that they're lesser organisms. The leap from a dog to a human is a much, much, much more substantial jump than from a human to a Turian. These other races she's referring to are highly evolved beings that we know for sure are sentient, conscious, and capable of thought, reasoning, emotions, morals, and of enacting free will. Bottom line: Turians might be a different species, but they're basically on the same level as a life form.
No, she's basically saying this: "If you're fighting a bear and the only way to survive is to sic your Japanese friend on it and run, you'll do it. As much as you love your Japanese friend, they aren't American."
That's the fundamental difference in those two statements wherein she, probably inadvertently, compares aliens to animals. To sum it up in the form of a nerdy exam, fill in what you think the appropriate answer is:
Human : Dog : : Krogan : __________
A. Asari
B. Turian
C. Elcor
D. Varren
The correct answer is, obviously, D. Dogs are pets, not "allies" or friends. To use a more vague term, they're not "people."
No matter how reasonable Ashley's concerns may be - and they are! - this comment still comes off as very xenophobic, and hints at perhaps a deeper, more messed up attitude towards alien species. If she thinks of other aliens like Tali or Garrus in the same vein as a dog, then perhaps she does harbor some more hateful xenophobic opinions as well.
And just so we're clear here: saying she's xenophobic or even racist does not mean she's basically Space Hitler. Ashley's position and attitude is very nuanced, but racism is itself nuanced too. People aren't either "not racist" or "KKK." There are varying degrees of it. By no means is anyone actually suggesting she's basically just a human supremacist bent on putting aliens down so humanity can gain a leg.
So let's get this other bit out of the way: Was Ashley right?
As mentioned, it's often argued that her concerns were not only reasonable, but completely justifiable as it turned out she was totally right. When their backs were to the wall, the alien races did abandon humanity!
But how true is that, really? And how much of that is itself reducing the elements of the final game to an overly simplified thing that we can fit nicely in the "she's not a racist" box?
Take, for example, the idea that the Council races very much did abandon humanity. When Earth was swarmed by Reapers, none of the other species rushed to help. (For the sake of this piece, I'm just going to refer to them as "nations.") The Asari, the Turians, the Krogan, the Salarians...Not even the Elcor or Hanar or Drell came to help.
The argument is that their "backs were to the wall," and so they abandoned all of their allies. I'd counter with the idea that most of them didn't actually have much of a choice. The Turians, for example, didn't abandon Earth just because. They didn't rush to help because their own home world of Palaven was also swarmed by Reapers. Even then, it wasn't an unwillingness to help. Consider that Shepard shows up, sees that Palaven is in the same boat as Earth, and basically asks for a fleet without even offering anything in return. He's asking for help, but doesn't really offer much in return.
Yes, we as the players recognize that defeating the Reapers at Earth will inevitably bring about the end of the Reapers across the galaxy, but Shepard doesn't exactly relay that information to the Turians. They have no reason to know that is the case.
After speaking with the Turian general, it turns out that they actually are pretty willing to help Earth. They just aren't willing to do so at the cost of their own planet. When you provide them with something in return, they don't hesitate to send the ships you ask for. Given that Palaven was in pretty rough shape too, that's really telling. All it took was some krogan ground troops and helping a general's son regain honor, and boom! You've got your allies.
Then there's the case for Salarians, where it's important to make a distinction between "Salarians" and "Salarian government." Though unaffected by the Reaper invasion from the outset, they witness the destructive powers of this enemy and seek to strengthen their own defense for the impending invasion. They don't rush out to help Earth because they are scared they're next.
Keep in mind that when you get to Sur'Kesh, you find that there's actually a sizeable faction that actually does want to aid Earth. It's the government that refuses. In terms of races "abandoning" their allies, who do we pin this on? A number of Salarians want to focus on their own homeworld, while a number of them want to go out and take the fight to the Reapers first. You've earned some credit by this point in the game. Even if you completely ignore the Salarian Dalatrass's request to destroy the genophage cure, there are still Salarians that come to Earth's defense.
The only people that seem to be an open and shut case of true "abandonment" is the Asari. Again, not affected by the initial outbreak, they take an isolationist approach. Eventually, the Reapers strike, and they're more convinced than ever to focus on their own.
And while you get the Quarians who act all morbidly, trying to reclaim their their original homeworld so they can die there, let's not forget the rachni, who - if you saved the queen in the first game - do want to help you. No force is more willing to help for so little a cost than the rachni. While you don't necessarily build any official alliances with the rachni nation, they only "abandoned" humans because they were enslaved. Once freed, literally the first thing they do is go to help your cause.
In all of this, it's again worth noting that many of your allies are not human. Your crew is largely made up of aliens, and many of them sacrifice their own lives so that you may save Earth.
This point of "they did abandon us" seems flawed because it isn't hard to get them to help. Sure, you can screw everything up and get next to nothing, but if you're willing to give, you will receive. My "definitive" playthrough resulted in Quarians, Geth, Turians, Salarians, Krogan, and Asari all joining up with humans and even rachni in one last stand on Earth.
So for me, it's kind of hard to argue Ashley was right they would abandon us. It took some work, sure. But I also think it's a little unfair to use the whole "back against the wall" thing as an argument, given that that implies no choice, and it feels a little unfair to hold something against someone who isn't in much of a position to do anything. The Turian government, for example, had no choice. It isn't until you manage to get some help for them that they are even able to offer aid. But once they are able to do so, they do so! To me, that counts for something.
Thus, I'm not so sure that Ashley was correct in any sort of meaningful way.
At the end of the day, the answer to the question, "Is Ashley a space racist" doesn't exactly fall cleanly into any one side. She clearly is not hateful towards aliens. Though she expresses concerns, she's rarely hostile towards the aliens on board the Normandy. But she also clearly exhibits some xenophobic attitudes. Regularly throughout the game, she'll make a comment or two that make you pause.
In many ways, she holds one of the more nuanced set of beliefs and opinions that sets her apart from everyone else. If a player does think she's being a bit insensitive and space racist, it means she's a good character. She's challenging you. A lot of times, people fail to meet that challenge by simply saying, "She's racist" and then ignoring the things she's actually saying.
She also highlights another (perhaps unappreciated) similarity between humans and the other species: the capacity for ignorance and insensitivity. As mentioned, Chief Williams is hardly the worst person, and certainly not a huge bigot. However, she does harbor some poor opinions of other races, which makes her like a lot of aliens out there too.
If Mass Effect has one unquestionable strength as a somewhat inconsistent franchise, it's that it always creates a great set of diverse characters. It's not just in the different aliens, but in the humans as well. When you have one of each alien, of course they're going to stand out as unique. With humans - a species we're already well familiarized with - that manifests in the form of different opinions or beliefs. (Ashley's faith is another thing that sets her apart in the first game, even if it doesn't really play much of a role in anything after.)
This is all what makes her such an interesting character. She gets a little under appreciated, especially if your Shepard is a soldier class, since she offers little in the way of combat usefulness. In the whole debate, people miss that about her though. It isn't that she's "definitely a racist" or she's "definitely not a racist." Ashley Williams serves as a character to highlight the political and social atmosphere of the galaxy, while specifically existing in this sort of gray area. You can't blame people for defending her general opinion. Agree or disagree, it's easy to see where it comes from. You also can't blame people for attacking her insensitive and sometimes misguided opinions about aliens. Agree or disagree, it's easy to see why people might interpret them the way they do.
Of course, it's also worth noting that this is only an issue in the first game. Maybe the entire point of her character is to show how attitudes can change. There's little to suggest she's still holding onto some of those opinions come the third game, probably because of her new history with aliens.
So the next time someone asks, "Is Ash a space racist?" It's probably best to answer with, "Maybe. But she's definitely human."
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