At a recent Warhammer 40,000 tournament in Spain, event organisers found themselves in a bit of a pickle.

An individual wearing Nazi symbols entered under the name, Pintor Austriaco which translates as Austrian painter. This is a reference to Adolf Hitler.

A number of players refused to compete against this individual and asked organisers to expel them.

They didn't, fearing that in doing so they would be breaking the law. Wearing Nazi symbols isn't illegal in Spain and this player said that they wouldn't leave unless compelled to by police.

While this event was not conducted by Games Workshop who own the franchise, following this incident they put out a very strongly worded statement in opposition of hate and hate symbols.

If you come to a Games Workshop event or store and behave to the contrary, including wearing the symbols of real-world hate groups, you will be asked to leave. We won't let you participate. We don’t want your money. We don’t want you in the Warhammer community.

This would appear to be legal everywhere, even in the US with its strong free speech protections. Walmart last year banned two customers for wearing Nazi face masks.

Wearing the nazi symbol isn't illegal in the US but as a symbol of a fundamentally intolerant regime, it arguably creates an environment hostile to a range of other customers, which is illegal.

Other Dangers of Fictional Racism

This stance by Games Workshop could help to prevent future "painter"s from turning up to events but it doesn't address the whole issue.

Representing racism in a fictional setting can be a good way to encourage awareness and educate people but some will take that as an opportunity to "roleplay" racism in a shared gaming environment.

Players taking on the role of villains in roleplaying games is considered fine and normal. Not everyone is into it but no-one gets upset by it.

In properties which portray racism, that can turn ugly. One can find individuals casually spewing racism out of every orifice and their defence is "roleplaying" and the races are fictional so no-one is really hurt by it.

Terms of service typically prohibit real-world racism within games but fictional? Fictional races enjoy no legal protections.

It seems likely that these people are actual racists and hiding behind these conventions to flaunt their nastiness. They could even be doing it as a means of meeting like-minded individuals.

There's also Doctor Who's potato head problem which we recently raised - there being a world of difference between making a considered and thoughtful statement about racism with fiction and just cracking cheap and nasty gags.

Doctor Who transitioned from the former to the latter with seemingly the BBC and most of the world completely oblivious.

[ Main Image: Warhammer 40K: Inquisitor - Maytr. Credit: NeocoreGames via Steam. ]

References

Carter, Chase (November 19, 2021). Games Workshop condemns hate groups after Nazi imagery appears at Spanish Warhammer 40,000 tournament. Dicebreaker.

Games Workshop (November 19, 2021). The Imperium Is Driven by Hate. Warhammer Is Not. Warhammer Community.

Marshall, Cass (November 22, 2021). Warhammer developer Games Workshop to hate groups: ‘We don’t want your money’. Polygon.

White, Dawson (July 26, 2020). ‘I’m not a Nazi.’ Couple seen on video in swastika masks are banned by Walmart in MN. The Kansas City Star.

Wikipedia. Bans on Nazi symbols. (viewed November 23, 2021)