Intergalactic Summit

Do you know what a "Cultural melting pot" is? It's when you get a number of people together, let them do as they please, and see what comes out the other end. The things that are worthwhile are kept and enjoyed by everyone, and the things that aren't are left behind in search of greener pastures. Wearing a Matari tattoo isn't an insult. The Matari that live in the Federation came here of their own free will. They chose to enjoy the Federations cultural achievements, and offered their own in return. It's as simple as that. Culture is fluid, not sacred. Denying that is sheer regressive stupidity.

There's nothing wrong with absorbing and enjoying an aspect of another culture. You don't hear me complaining about people wearing traditional Jin-Mei dress to fashion shows. It's inane. I might as well tell you to stop drinking Quafe, or stop watching Gallentean holoreels, or to never fit a remotely advanced drone on your ship.

In fact, if you really believe this, you should go back to living planetside on some frozen rock. Afterall, the Federation gave you space travel - It's a part of our culture, not yours. Your making an ignorant mockery of it by flying around in those ships.

I disagree. Aspects of culture can be very sacred.

While there are likely those such as yourself who can take great pride in seeing aspects of your own culture reflected in a variety of ways throughout the wider Federation, and perhaps even the cluster as a whole I believe you have missed the specifics that others have been offended by, myself included.



None of this is Gallente. It is a sample of the cultural spectrum of the Federation. While each of these cultures have much more to offer, it appears from these examples quoted from throughout this discussion so far that only that which is aesthetically pleasing is of any worth.


It is when a number of cultures interact and something different yet greater that reflects each of it's constituent parts develops as an outcome. This is very different to what happens in the Federation. Intaki art is still Intaki. Minmatar tattoos are still Minmatar. Jin-Mei dress is still Jin-Mei. Yet the opening statements here ruthlessly claim them all as Gallente.


And here we have the typical response. Mr Keating it is not your position to decide when a particular culture takes offense or not.

Taking something as culturally significant as the Minmatar tatoos and claiming them as your own on the basis of something as shallow as fashion, no doubt to be cast aside when the next trend arrives is of course very offensive. How suddenly it was that Mannar cultural influence on Gallente fashion recently fell out of favour.

Let us look again to the peoples of the Republic. Together known as the Minmatar the proud tribes of the Brutor, Sebiestor, Vherokior and others openly retain their individual identities and cultures.

Not so in the Federation. The Intaki, Jin-Mei and Mannar are expected to set aside our individuality and instead adopt the label of our dominant neighbours, the Gallente.

It could be argued that the defining aspect of Gallente culture is arrogance.

Cynics could suggest that by denying us our culture and claiming it to be for the greater good is one of the most insidious though effective methods of maintaining the Gallente dominance in the Federation.

I am not Gallente.

I'm not sure where you're getting the impression that the 'Gallente' are claiming any of those things as their own. What you may be referring to is the multiculturalism of Federal society, where the people of many cultures mix freely. With this mixing people start to do things that other people do, adopting aspects of other people's lives and becoming something different. This is not a process whereby one party somehow sucks the life out of another; it is very much a two-way exchange of ideas, values and culture.

The Federation does not force people to become 'Gallente' anymore than it forces them to be 'Intaki' or 'Sebiestor' or 'Achuran'. It does not cling to the notion that a person is any different because of their genes. It does not divide hoverbuses into 'seperate, but equal' sections to prevent any intermingling between 'cultures'. What it does do is allow people to be free and equal, and allows them to interact and grow with each other.

The Federation has committed sins against native populations, and it is something we should strive to atone for. What we should not atone for is our desire to be a multicultural society. What we should never atone for is our vision that all people are equal; that all people are free to live their lives as they see fit.

I too am saddened by the neglect that Intaki has seen in the past. But the enemy is not the 'Gallente' nor the ideals of the Federation, it is the current government that seeks to undermine much of what the Federation has worked for.

Reading the posts above in regards to this, I would say that evidence holds my statements to be more accurate and possessing of truth than yours.

Again you respond in blatant hostility when none was afforded to you and you are again mistaken. Please reconsider your approach to responding to persons lest you find yourself isolated and doing more harm to the Federation you very clearly love and support than good.

My statement was based on discussions with Matari, based on actual research and viewpoints garnered from them. I would not be so arrogant as to presume to speak for a people not my own, especially if I had not first attempted to understand them.



Yet more hostility. The Federation didn't give the Caldari anything, we worked together quite some years ago in case you've forgotten your history. We accomplished a great deal together and then separated due to irreconcilable differences. I apologize if the Caldari are making a mockery of your poor piloting and insufficient skills because we continue to rival your great Federation with smaller numbers and fewer resources.


Maya Erena, I suggest you take lessons from your comrade Keating above, he presents himself in a fashion of reason, objectivity, logic and a level approach to discourse. He represents the ideals of your Federation to a much greater extent than you do. I encourage you to submit to wisdom and listen, observe and understand before you speak.

An excellent insight.

I agree wholeheartedly with this summary of what the Gallente Federation strives to be, though as in all things humanity can fall short of it's potential. Though again I see that the term Gallente is used in place of the Federation.

How unfortunate, though, that these weren't the opening comments for this particular discussion.


I fully support multiculturalism and happily work daily alongside ethnic Gallente, Deteis, Khanid and Intaki amongst others in Intaki. I have never subscribed to the isolationist rhetoric of groups such as Intaki Pure.

My concerns regarding the actual respect towards the various cultures found within the Federations borders is that there appears to be a habit of interchanging "Gallente" with "Federal" as evidenced in the Generals opening statements above.

There are clearly remarks that claim Intaki art and Minmatar tattoos as examples of "Gallente culture" and this is simply not the case.

I agree with you that they are in fact examples of cultures that weave together into the fabric of the Federation, but it can not be said more clearly that Gallente they are not.

I find amusing that this discussion is coming to an agreement of definitions, rather than (or besides one) of substance.

The Federation is the diverse, multifaceted, flamboyant, passionately individualistic and collectively progressive melting pot we all find many qualities into - besides some drawbacks, of course.

The Gallente (of which I'm indeed a privileged member) is the wannabe conquering and dominating ethnic group basking in the sun of "embracing, extending and sometimes extinguishing" the flames of other cultures.

We really came to the conclusion that the Gallente people are actually the group less inspired by Federation ideals inside the Gallente Federation itself?

Somehow, this is fascinating.

I'll take deeper care in using "Gallente" and "Federation" as habitual synonyms from now on.

Yes, I was quite conscious of my responses coming across as little more than the oversensitivities of someone who represents at least a portion of a particular culture within the Federation, but I do believe that we are discussing real substance.

The opening statements made by the General were in response to similar discussions on what it is to be Caldari or Amarr. The intention here appeared on face value to be a look at Gallente culture, yet the OP is devoid of any such content. I would have personally enjoyed the insight provided had we been given the opportunity to explore Ethnic Gallente culture and considered myself richer for it.

What the opening statements did do was give some focus on the ideals of the Federation and others have sought to reinforce these points in their comments that followed. Matters such as liberty, the freedom to choose, the freedom to question have all been highlighted. But as is often the case the reality falls short of the ideal.

For a nation that enforces the opinion that tolerance is the key to a successful multicultural state, as the Federation strives to be, I'd expect a greater understanding of cultural sensitivity and tact from those who would seek to speak on it's behalf.

This isn't the first time the General has failed in this regard, however. A recent, and terrible example was during an address to a number of impressionable students at the University of Caile where, following a series of statements and speaches on the subject, he projected his obsession with Intaki onto the Caldari.


Gallentean homeworld?? Not content to deny the Caldari their homeworld for generations now students are taught Intaki is Gallente too??

We are most certainly discussing something of substance.


As one actively involved in a campaign of national liberation I agree that a nation state can strengthen the future of a given culture it is intrinsically linked to.

It is indeed curious that it is the early research into Intaki linguistics, a core aspect of Intaki culture, on the part of secessionists and not Federation scholars that culminated in the publication of "Vaanin k'Intaki". I am unaware of any similar ventures or studies ongoing throughout the rest of the Federation, but wish those embarking on such endeavors good fortune. They are likely to be working without interest or involvement from Federation institutions.

For all the value the Federation claims to hold in it's myriad of cultures, it appears to do very little to reinforce this assertion.

For all your talk of tolerance you seem bent on manufacturing divisive outrage over what amounts to little more than the widespread mixing of the terms 'Gallente' and 'Federation'.



Don't be ridiculous Bataav, in the multitude of both Federally funded and private universities do you really think that none of them study Intaki linguistics?

Pretty sure that Captain Starfire is part of a legally recognised Corporation of the Republic's Militia. I thought Terrorist the moniker given to those who engage in a war illegaly?

Because if it's simply but "everyone who opposes us is a Terrorist", then surely you are a Terrorist to the Republic?

You ought to polish up on your history. The Federation found the Caldari when they were still burning rocks and wood to keep away the cold. Without it, your people would never be in the stars at all, and would merely still be killing eachother over blocks of ice as you had in the thousands of years beforehand. You might have made some advancements later on, but make no mistake. You owe everything to the Federation.