If that is true then why not the same prejudice against the Argonians, who are also considered among the beast races? Windhelm is the only city that seems to have segregation against them, and even then it seems to be mainly because of the Shatter-Shields wanting cheap labour.
Docta Corvina put it better than I would.
What I fault them for is accepting defeat, selling out the provinces and playing right into the hands of the Thalmor just to buy them some time, only to wait for the Thalmor to finally come and finish them off once and for all.
First, they didn't accept defeat, they signed a treaty that saved lives all across Tamriel, Skyrim included, sure, Hammerfell got the short end of the stick, but the rest of Tamriel would've been razed if hostilities did not stop, it certainly was not an easy choice, but it was not without merits.
Second, the part about buying time is for The Empire, not for The Thalmor, if they "waited", then The Empire could regain it's strength and solidify their position, of course, that plan almost went to hell because The Stormcloaks decided helping The Thalmor was the rational choice.
The Stormcloaks may be in support of traditional Nord values beliefs, but they are by no means fascist.
I really didn't say they were fascists, but now that you mention it, Galmar Stone-Fist does say quite often that anyone who supports The Empire deserves to die.
I've seen no evidence of Ulfric wanting to rule Skyrim like a tyrant, no real hard evidence of setting up a system of racial segregation. (And before you say anything, the Dunmer have always been treated poorly in Windhelm even when the Empire was in control). The worst I could call them is conservative, but absolutely not fascist.
He doesn't have to be a tyrant to be a terrible choice for Skyrim, he's a moron on an ego-trip doing the Thalmor's fighting for them. Also friend, I feel quite tired of pointing at The Grey Quarter and The Docks while you keep denying that as evidence, I mean, we can have our opinions in this discussion, just not about the facts, and the facts are pretty damn clear:
Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak rules Windhelm.
A Jarl's duty is to safeguard the well-being of his citizens.
Ulfric fails, quite miserably, in doing so.
Period.
If you want Ultra-right wing then look to the Thalmor. Then look at the spineless liberals who bend to the whim of the Thalmor, and it's the Empire. I'd take conservatives who stand up to fascists than liberals who do not any day.
You sure talk a lot about "not surrendering" and "bending to the whim" for a guy who just plays videogames, even if you actually were a soldier who believed fighting 'till the dreary end was the right thing, what makes you think one individual (Ulfric) has the right to make that choice for everyone ? Just because he "feels" he's the rightful ruler of a land ? Just because he murders a kid to "prove a point" ? Get real friend.
Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.
Oh it's hard for the Dunmer and Argonians for sure, but you can't ignore Belyn's point that whining about it won't actually solve anything. Hard work might.
If somehow this is meant to imply that the dunmer and argonians do not work hard enough, then somebody needs an inmediate morality check, and it certainly isn't me.
As for Belyn, as I said, good for him, but his opinion doesn't rub away the facts, the dunmer and argonians work their souls off, and they get treated like crap.
Since when was the civil war xenophobically grounded? Is it xenophobic to fight for the right to practise your religion? Is it xenophobic to fight against the Thalmor and all who support them? And until the Empire actually begins to stand up against the Thalmor than give them everything they want, then they are Thalmor supporters. Some of the Stormcloak soldiers are relatives of their officials are very racist, but the war is not a war of racism.
For starters, as a personal note, it's imbecilic to even wage this war on the grounds that you can't worship a fluffing god on a church, specially considering the circumstances surrounding the entire ban, which absolutely no one likes in the first place. Stormcloak supporters like to make the argument as if The Empire decided for themselves, out of their need to troll the nords, that Talos shouldn't be worshipped anymore, newsflash, there's a bunch of guys down south called The Thalmor who are to blame for that.
I mean, the choice is pretty simple: "Put your homeland and your kinsmen in a war against two armies, or secretly worship your god to spare others the violence".
Somehow, Stormcloak morality dictates that bloodshed is the better choice.
The Empire once offered all those things you mentioned, but those days are long gone. There are no protections, support or rights for the Talos-worshipping Nords of Skyrim. There's even less protection for the Redguards of Hammerfell, who were just handed over. There's no way the Redguards will forgive the Empire for that anytime soon, so they're destroying the unity as well.
Sacrifice
Look up that word in the dictionary, please, don't rationalize it's meaning.
The WGC was designed to tear apart the Empire. Sure hindsight's nice but what I'm saying is that the Emperor lacked foresight when he signed the treaty. Also he lacked foresight and a decent military intelligence system to not see the Thalmor were as weak as the empire, and they could have gotten a lot more out of them. In fact, the Empire got absolutely nothing out of it other than just an end to the war.
First, hindsight's "nice" ? I was speaking of your argument about how a single nation "defeated" The Thalmor, which is fluffing absurd, they defeated a split-force and an army that was arguably weakened by The Empire, if those hidden camps had been at Valenwood and started campaigning directly into Hammerfell, the redguards would've been history by the time of Alduin's return.
Second, it's precisely foresight what the emperor didn't lack, he saw that there was not sure chance that The Empire to defeat The Thalmor in a war, he saw that the consequences would've been too massive, so he made the best choice available to prevent bloodshed.
The argonians and dunmer were like that before Ulfric's time. They weren't all running around happy then as soon as Ulfric takes charge they're whacked in the Grey Quarter. So even when the Empire was in charge things were bad for them.
Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak rules Windhelm.
A Jarl's duty is to safeguard the well-being of his citizens.
Ulfric fails, quite miserably, in doing so.
Period.
Don't know how often I'll be forced to repeat this.
But Churchill was never going to surrender no matter how bad things got. He even carried a gun with him at all times just in case his home was invaded. He would've rather died than surrendered to the Nazis.
This entire idea that it is morally superior to "never surrender" just boggles my mind, is there something wrong about preserving your own life ? Is there something disgusting about thinking of the safety of your citizens in spite of their pride ?
I mean, sure, pretend you know enough to guess what Churchill would've or wouldn't have done, but don't pretend that never surrendering is a more reasonable choice than saving your own life.
Fair enough, but my argument is based around that the WGC was playing into the Thalmor's hands and would lead to the destruction of the Empire. Titus Mede effectively had no choice but to get a better deal in negotiations or fight back.
Fighting back was not an option, at least not for intelligent, rationally-inclined individuals, for idiots and suicidal maniacs ? Deffinitely a good choice.
So? Half the legion just joined because they wanted to "see the world". The only half-decent reason I've heard is that they don't like that the war and want to see Skyrim whole again. Which is what the Stormcloaks would also do if they won.
No they wouldn't, dunmer, argonians and khajiit also live in Skyrim, and under Stormcloak rule they would be mistreated and discriminated if somehow the "land of the nords" turned into a gigantic Windhelm.
But then finding out he was tortured and led to believe the information he gave led to the defeat of the Imperial City, well that is why he was listed as an asset. He's also listed as an uncooperative one. And his actions seem to be against Thalmor interests.
He's listed as an asset because he is a disruptive element in Skyrim, he weakens The Empire and it's capacity to properly defend Tamriel, he helps The Thalmor exactly how they want to.
And sometimes a pre-emptive strike is the best way to deal with evil regimes. Because you know they won't stop until they rule the world. Fight the battle on your terms, not theirs.
Yeah, you're full of crap.