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I understand they fight them, but do they see them as the space marines do?

They are the IoM, so by the God Emperor yes they are Xenophobic.

Hunterindarkness wrote:They are the IoM, so by the God Emperor yes they are Xenophobic.

But are they as.... enforceable about it? Do they really HATE them like space marines do?

They fear them, they are taught to fear them. They are more then likely to shoot them on sight or avoid them.

Think of it like WWI or WWII.

The average soldier probably doesn't know anything about the enemy other than what he has seen from Imperial propaganda. Whatever the Inquisition allows the Imperial population to watch is undoubtedly xenophobic and is designed to make the average citizen, soldier or not, fear and hate anything non-human. There is probably little distinction between the actual threat of an Ork or Tyranid and the much lesser threat of an Eldar or Tau. Each are tarred with the same brush.

What's more, the aliens don't get their say because there is essentially no liberal media in 40k; in the grim dark future, there is only Fox News.

DoW

TheWildHost wrote:

Hunterindarkness wrote:They are the IoM, so by the God Emperor yes they are Xenophobic.

But are they as.... enforceable about it? Do they really HATE them like space marines do?

Think about current soldiers, and their views of HUMAN enemies.

Now think about how much they'd hate and be disgusted by enemies who didn't even share the same genetics as them.

Oh, they hate the xenos all right.

Kaldor wrote:Think about current soldiers, and their views of HUMAN enemies.

Better than you seem to think. A lot of training is trying to instil discipline that overrides a natural unwillingness to kill. And even then, there are a lot of soldiers who'll be troubled by the people they've killed for the rest of their lives. And it's not that uncommon to find soldiers on entirely opposite sides of a war who become friends after the conflict.

Soldiers don't, for the most part, hate the enemy. It's a job - us or them. Religion, on the other hand, is entirely capable of instilling that degree of hate. So while a soldier might sacrifice themselves to save their comrades, a man with (enough) religion would do it for the sake of killing the enemy.

In the case of the Imperial Guard, it's not that they're soldiers, it's that they're religious.

TheWildHost wrote:

Hunterindarkness wrote:They are the IoM, so by the God Emperor yes they are Xenophobic.

But are they as.... enforceable about it? Do they really HATE them like space marines do?

Any who are loyal to the Emperor follow the Imperial Creed, which is fairly flexible... within a very narrow and strict doctrine that varies only a little throughout the Imperium, just like the Codex Astartes. So in essence, yes, the IG of the Imperium hate the Xeno's as much as the Astartes, and their degree of hatred intensifies where the Creed is enforced more strictly: Like those under the watchful gazes of the Ecclesairchy, ie, The Sisters of Battle & the Inquisition...

If anything, the IG will be even MORE Xenophobic then Space Marines would be.

Space Marines and other higher ups in the imperium aren't unknown to occasionally work with certain xenos individuals, particularly Eldar.

Inquisitors and SM chapters will engage in alliances of convienience and Inquisitors sometimes even have working relationships with some Eldar.


IG are told that aliens are a menace and to shoot on sight. Its safer that way.

For the most part I agree that almost all would be Xenophobic though the Imperium of Man is such a vast expanse and the Imperial Guard regiments can vary greatly so it adds alot of color to their ranks. Some regiments openly embrace the use of Abhumans such as Rattlings and Ogryns while others would keep nothing but the finest specimen of men outside of the Space Marines. If I'm not mistaken in older codexes you could take Kroot Mercenaries as allies and there's plenty of stories of Ork allies working for Imperial Guards. The regiments of the Imperial Guard are so different that it's nearly impossible to have a simple yes or no answer to the question.

I feel that most officers and their advisors such as the priests and commisars would hate all xenos for merely being different while the average guardsman is only concerned about staying alive through the hell of combat. Would an Imperial Guardsman gun down an Eldar? No doubt. Would he team up with the Eldar to save his own skin against the face of a tide of greenskin, probally so. Would he team up with both Eldar and Ork forces to stave off a Trynid advance, I believe so.

Honestly, I'd imagine the Guard is actually more xenophobic than Marines are. Marines are seasoned combat veterans who have seen dozens, if not hundreds of worlds, and fought numerous enemies and seen them up close.

I'd imagine there's a fair amount of xenophobia involved in their indoctrination processes, but ultimately, Marines are going to know their enemies far better than Guardsmen will. Familiarity breeds contempt, not fear. I see the Marines as being fanatically humanocentric, not strictly xenophobic. They destroy aliens because they have been taught to see them as an impediment or threat to mankind.

I know we're splitting some fine hairs here, and I'm sure someone will take semantic issue with the terminology, but I think there's an important distinction between killing them simply because they are alien, and killing them because they believe they are a threat to humanity.

The Imperium, on the other hand, seems like it teaches its citizens, as a general rule, to fear the alien because it is alien.

I see.

I'd argue besides the religiously fanatic space marines, they hate aliens even more then the Astartes. The Galaxy is a far larger place to a Guardsman, and he knows far less of it. Astartes have experience to tell them that xenos can be comprehended and understood, even if they are deserving of death. To a Guardsman though, an encounter with a Xenos is a terrifying experience. Especially if it;s the likes of Tyranids.

See the IIUP (Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer, should still be available from Black Library's online store).

Read the IIUP.

Realize that's what most soldiers know about xenos.

If most of the galaxy wants to eat you then yea, your going to be xenophobic to the exstreme, if anything they hate the xenos more than the Astartes who are allowed more freedom and sometimes have alliances with the Eldar.