Movin' On Up to the Least Side of Town!

Not exactly something you'd have seen on the Jefferson's, I will tell you that much!

Made this one for botmin, who is a newbie to the Haven. She likes racial changes that can lead to embarrassing situations. I've tried to not do the whole ghetto talk or "Me so horny" unless absolutely necessary, as it can cultivate stereotypes I would rather not push in today's society, especially when racial justice seems to be backsliding here in America.

Even if the caption deals with someone who deserves it, just making it can perpetuate the type of acting further into a racist narrative. So how do I as a captioner, try to at least soften it as best I can?

Well, the protagonist is now a whore. She's earning money, selling her body for sex, but it's a profession that has been around since monetary systems were invented. Mabel didn't become a welfare queen, or a drug addict .. at least not yet. Perhaps the environment and position in life will push her into it, but it isn't being forced upon her. And the more she fucks, the quicker she'll earn back everything that belongs in the apartment. After that, who's to say what she'll become?

And the homeless man in the caption? He apparently knows who he is and where he belongs, even though he seems to have magic skills that could correct his situation. Perhaps that's the reason he in on the streets, not trusting what he'd do if he got a taste of his true powers OR he's doing penance for unleashing them in the past. I'm betting he'll be around as Mabel figures out what her new life is going to entail, and act like her pimp if she gets into trouble .. so he can keep her safe.

And the nice couple that lived there before end up getting a boost that the desperately needed. Maybe that lucky push that can lead to prosperity .. which they can use to keep helping out those less fortunate then themselves. Winning proposition I think, all around.

Yeah, perhaps this is a bit of rationalization, but propagating long standing stereotypes just keeps reinforcing them over and over, even if used in a negative light. I just remember a few years ago, Carlos Mencia was a popular stand up comedian that was "combating" Mexican stereotypes head on .. though he turned out to be a Honduran who's real name was Ned. Most of the people I know hadn't heard any of the terms used to denigrate Hispanic people, UNTIL he brought them up again. Guess what? Those names rose up again, used by people that weren't seeing the irony of the whole routine.

So, next time I tackle another race change caption, I'll do the same thing, and look for ways to not step into a mental land mine. Maybe even not touch upon the change at all and leave it to the reader as to the how's and why's of it. End of rant.

On a side note, the story plot came about from the following, as revealed in the original post: "The source picture was very sparse, with just the model on the floor with a blanket, and that lead to the storyline.  I didn't want to have that much wide open space though, so I edited the picture to focus more on her/you and implied the emptiness of the room."

Wow! Wrote a lot considering it's a Saturday night posting! See you again in 24-48 hours!