Rebellions, Genophages & In-game Depictions - Krogan Whitewashing 101

The Krogan. BioWare's go-to "victim" species. 

The Quarians only wish they had the same level of sympathy generating 'feelz' devoted towards them throughout the trilogy (and even into Andromeda) that the Krogan received. Tali may throw herself off a cliff should Shepard side with the Geth, but only the Tuchunka narrative arc forces players to first shoot Mordin in the back, and then look Wrex in the eyes as they 'betray' him, all the while (un)subtly implying that one is monster if they should decide to not help this poor, downtrodden species.

If going by what the modern timeframe of the games tells us, the Krogan have been the galaxy's collective punching bag for absolutely no reason. That they have been the victim of unwarranted abuse and persecution through no fault of their own. Bioware even writes in comically racist caricatures like the Salarian Dalatrass and Director Tann just so we can have a one dimensional 'bad guy' rather than bother with nuanced approaches of what is a very checkered past.

Wrex or Morda weren't demanding unreasonable concessions during wholly inappropriate moments, but rather the rest of the people opposed to them just hated the Krogan and wanted to kick them when they were down. All of which is personified in shallow excuses for characters who's one single defining trait is: "Racist against the Krogan". It's not like the Krogan Rebellions devastated the galaxy for nearly a hundred years. Or the generally antagonistic and violent approach Krogan typically take with the rest of the galaxy since then. No, the rest of interstellar society is simply racist for looking at them warily; according to in-game bias. 

Clearly, actual genetic pre-disposistions to violence, such as the Blood Rage, should be overlooked because treating them differently would be tantamount to discrimination. Krogan actions such as redirecting asteroids to wipe out multiple (as in more than one) Turian garden worlds; dextro planets which are relatively rare in the galaxy as well as generally being heavily populated; is brushed aside in favor of casting the Turian's as authoritarian jailers who unjustly placed a secret bomb on Tuckunka. Forget that the Hierarchy wasn't even a part of the government the Krogan were rebelling against when they began attacking them, instead focus on how the oppressive Turian military patrols the Krogan DMZ thus hindering Krogan development.

Ignore how the Krogan literally ate their captives alive during the rebellions; enough so that the action is widely known and is now considered an insult to the Salarian and Turians. Rather focus on how evil those two aliens were when they deployed the Genophage. It wasn't used as a means to conclude hostilities in as non-violent way as possible; to stop a hostile force that previously had no intention of ending the conflict until either they or the rest of the galaxy was dead. No, instead it was the work of mad scientists and warmongers who merely wanted the Krogan to suffer. 

The fact that many Krogan are still alive from the time of the Rebellions, such as the Patriarch (who is a veteran of the Rachni Wars) or Nakmor Drack, individuals who actively participated in the fighting is a misnomer too. Despite being only one to two generations removed from the conclusion to the fighting the rebellions are 'ancient history'; and things like the Genophage shouldn't be used to 'punish' a people who had nothing to do with the reasons for it's deployment.

The game even selectively chooses to ignore Krogan biology when it's convenient to fit the "perpetual victim narrative". Clearly, being an R rated, predatory, and highly aggressive species who are all biologically immortal isn't a problem in long term population growth. The fact that the Krogan were doing nothing on their own to curb their explosive birthrate; indeed even using their superior numbers as a war tactic, simply smothering the opposing side with waves of useless cannon fodder; shouldn't be an issue either. 

Furthermore, the ecologically devastated planets left in their wake aren't an obvious indication that they can't be trusted to handle resource management and industrial development. No the Council was simply being racist when they refused to give the clans a pristine (and already inhabited) colony world; even having the gall to ask the Krogan to please cease their soft invasion and withdraw rather than attacking them.  

Turian and Salarian aid for the Krogan living on Tuchunka post rebellion is conveniently ignored as well. Obviously things like constant food deliveries from the patrolling Turian forces and the presence of the Salarian-made Shroud (the only thing keeping that radioactive dustball even remotely livable) are just signs of oppression and discrimination. Those patches of green seen growing on Tuchunka's surface in Mass Effect 3 aren't the result of the Shroud slowly terraforming conditions back from the Krogan's self-inflicted nuclear holocaust, but rather the 'Krogan spirit' revitalizing their homeworld with no outside interference. 

Wanting to be treated like any other species in the setting is what the Krogan want, but not if that means they have to be held accountable for previous actions. They want handouts from the rest of the galaxy in the form of restitutions that they 'deserve'. They are tired of being treated like children, yet throw temper tantrums and complain when things don't go their way.

And BioWare can't seem to get away from writing the same narrative for them game after game.