Board Thread:Skyrim/@comment-12760152-20130723093333/@comment-3079182-20150316220334

124.176.159.60 wrote: Pink Slim wrote: Nords(Stormcloaks) aren't racist against the dark elves, it's just that those dark elves openly support the empire, and demand that Ulfric devert resources from the war to help them.

The Gray-Manes are really the best example of Stormcloak supporters(and their goals), they're not racist themselves, but they want the Nords to rule Skyrim, they value honor and familly above all else, and they are willing to put their own lives on the line for what they believe is right. The dark elves have good reason to support the empire:

For one, they get greater respect from the empire than what they do from the stormcloak nords.

Second, Solstheim was a gift from the high king of Skyrim in the 4th Era to the Dunmer, the High king that is part of the empire, and the dunmer are highly grateful for that, it wasnt the stormcloaks or ulfiric that willingly gave it to them.

What needs to be factored into the 'Respect' category of this is that there's one High Elf who actually maintains a level of prestige in Windhelm. She does rather well, and on top of this, she even manages to come close to starting up her own Thieves' Guild. Shifty or not, it's obvious that becoming a respected member in Windhelm was still possible, albeit arduous.

On top of that, Faryl Atheron, a Dark Elf, even admits that the Dark Elves don't even try to solve the problems they face. "It's good to relax when I can, but I still have to listen to my brothers harping about 'injustices'."

These, coupled with the fact that an Elven Dragonborn can join the Stormcloaks and even become one of the top lieutenants, can essentially mean that the Dark Elves *have* the capability to become respected members of society, but instead choose to just sit around and complain.

The latter reason, however, I can understand a bit more, but I personally think you're stretching it a bit there.