Sociological Climate/Culture

This section will be divided into "the issues," "outlooks," and "culture." Any issues that are not mentioned here will be added should they be brought up by prospective/current players, but hopefully the setting page has given you enough information to sort out character opinions outside of this.

=Issues=

LGBTQ Rights
Everyone can get married. Everyone! Gay parents are practically common. Homosexual love is depicted in media honestly, sometimes erring on reverently. The sexuality of superstars is no longer a big deal. There is a Harvey Milk day celebrated in the Pacific Northwest (this game's location), California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, New York, and Vermont.

However...

Trans rights are still questionable. There was a big to-do when Cruiser/Johnson were brought into office with some off-handed comments made about a celebrity at the time by Johnson. He mentioned that he didn't understand the trans perspective when asked if the path to gender-change would be cleared now that gay marriage had been ratified. He said that the path seemed just fine, and that gender-identity being mandatory in several state levels didn't contribute anything to sexism or lgbtq issues.

Nowadays, it's common to hear Trans-hate. Trans hate-crimes are at an all-time high; and it seems that it's the easy way to get out of having to understand a complex issue.

The good news: the gay community, that sometimes was not always on the trans side, is now officially always standing on the line of pro-trans issues and pro-trans rights.

Abortion
Legal. Right to Choice prevailed, though was temporarily revoked in 2015 during the WalMart era. It was reinstated by Cruiser's people, as she courageously stated in her campaign: I am an American woman, and I have had an abortion, and it makes me no monster, and it makes me no less a patriot!

Right to Life is still a valid opinion, but it is viewed now as an opinion, and the law is seen as a way to protect rights rather than restrict them. Most Right to Life groups, save extremists, agree now with this sentiment.

The modship takes no stance on opinions of abortion. We simply write the setting.

Drugs

 * Cocaine/Crack Cocaine: Illegal
 * Ecstasy: Legal
 * Heroin: Illegal
 * Marijuana: Legal
 * Meth-amphetamines: Legalized recently, under great controversy
 * LSD: Legal
 * Mushrooms: Legal, mostly (Illegal to grow, legal to possess or use, federal crime to operate machinery while using)
 * Opium: Legal
 * PCP: Illegal

Note: All drugs come with suspension of license upon first offense if used while driving, and if used at work are subject to immediate termination for federal reasons despite whatever a company might have listed.

Other drugs not listed here: If it makes you hallucinate and doesn't come from any drug cartels? Legal. If it makes you do awful things to yourself, others around you, encourages prostitution, and has awful drug cartels? Illegal.

The modship takes no stance on opinions of legalization. We simply write the setting.

Environmental Concerns
We constantly try to sanction China about pollution, but we're not a world power, so nobody listens.

We now run entirely on renewable energy.

Cool, energy efficient cars are the standard!

We still do very little to protect endangered animals.

Scientists HAVE INDEED found a way to trap the methane emitted from cattle to produce fuel!

Cheetahs and Hyenas and other animals of their ilk are also indeed on the endangered species list.

Vegetarianism now outnumbers meat-eating 51-49, and factory farms are in the process of being shut down!

This means that rainforest deforestation due to soy has increased exponentially.

It also means meat is starting to get pretty expensive, but nothing more than the prices your local co-op might have for grass-fed meat.

Emu is becoming popular as a beef alternative. It's leaner meat, they cost less to raise, they require less space, and they're easier to farm on a small, local level. They're also largely organic, because factory farming hasn't quite caught on yet!

Racism
There are still some similar patterns in the works. Though black men and women now make equal to their "majority" compatriots, they're still last in line for promotion and find a lot of stereotypes still applied to their culture. Latin@-Americans outstrip any other race, particularly after the amnesty of 2025, but are still treated with indifference. Arizona has repeatedly attempted to file a new law to hate on Latin@-Americans, but has failed again and again due to congressional interference. Native Americans have finally been given reparations, and it seems there will be some reparations made soon to African-Americans.

The narrow-eye of the American racist agenda is now focused on Chinese and anyone an uneducated American might think is Chinese, leading to a rash of name changes and general awfulness towards mainland Asian individuals. Luckily, Japanese at this point are held in such high-regard they are often 1) not mistaken for Chinese and 2) considered co-conspirators in hating Chinese.

Another lasting bitter sentiment remains against Russia, whose relationship with America has never healed itself even more than half a century from the Cold War.

=Culture=

Music
Currently, the popular music is a mix of jazz-electronic. One might say it's probably the best of the music that could be considered top 40 for the last hundred years... smooth and layered, with a sound knowledge of music theory and the use of all instruments and technologies available.

Hip Hop has become much more of a second-genre than a sub-culture. If people aren't listening to Top40, they are listening to Hip Hop. If people aren't listening to Hip-Hop, they are listening to Oldies. It's really rock and metal and "emo" that have taken the hardest hit, falling into sub-culture obscurity.

Soloists tend to be of varying genres, and world music is more greatly accepted. A song not in English might just play on the radio now, and one in four times it will be Chinese.

Books
Yes, printed books remain. They are far less popular and no big Barnes and Noble exist anymore. Small bookstores sell Artist's Books, or books meant to be bought for their craft, along with printed copies of most books. Print-runs are just small to negligible, and bookstores tailor to specific topics. Where your characters are there is an inordinate amount of these shops, as the Pacific Northwest has long had a love affair with a page.

Stories are largely women-driven narratives, so much so there's been a small cry in artist communities about the male voice being driven out of fiction.

Television
Still trashy. Still campy. Still fighting to get someone, anyone of color in a scene. If anything, television has become the scare house for a frightened now-minority; you won't see a latin@ actor despite the fact they are the clear majority. You WILL, however, see more Chinese actors than you'd expect.

Movies
Finally! Original work! Largely male narratives still exist in film, but there's original stories! Everywhere! Gone are the days of remakes and comic books, but films themselves are losing money, and fast. They are being replaced by...

Immersion
A 3D, all-around spectacle that includes tactile feedback. It's still a film, but now you are an extra in every scene, and sometimes are dealt with directly by your favorites.

=Outlooks= Your character has an opinion on the world!

Here are three designed outlooks you can take if this is all-too-much, but feel free to synthesize a more organic outlook!

The world is getting better, slowly!
This is the character who is just stoked about all this positive change. They are a glass half-full sort of person. So what if China has our money? Look! It's a Muslim president! Look! Gays can be married! Look! The Trans war is finally being fought! They're dismayed by the violent protest, and are happy that school is free if you work hard enough and view it as a very American concept.

The world is falling the mother-eff apart.
Oh, fucking great. We're falling deeper into debt. There's an elitist mark on school. You have to work your ass off for minimum wage at most jobs (who cares if it's higher historically than it has been.) There's very little value in the stock market. There's going to be a crash tomorrow. President Akwal and Vice President Costs are ignorant assholes who aren't paying attention to the fact that CHINA OWNS US. There's not really a hope if you're 20-something in getting into the club that's been re-established with even harder iron fences around the elitist parts of life. Want a kid? Better sign it off! You'll never be able to afford it. The two new parties don't change anything. People still think in Red or Blue. Fuck it. Going to Canada.

:T
Clearly, we are always going to be in debt. Clearly, our jobless rate will never go down. Clearly, we are incompetent at being a world power. Can't we just take this time to finally restructure? We're still using the old scare tactics of hating someone or something, blaming someone or something. Can't we just take a moment and realize that trans deaths are at an all time high? The only answer to this is a complete gut of our entire system, not just a re-integration of old ideals with fancy diversity slapped on its' cover.