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Dear Minecraft Villagers,

Don’t take this the wrong way, but I can’t figure out what you are. You appear to be human in that you have the basic human architecture (head, torso, legs, arms) and are capable of trading goods. At the same time, you all have identical blank-faced stares and extremely limited skill sets. The literacy rate in the villages, while impossible to confirm, seems exceptionally low, and I seriously doubt any of you will be able to read this letter. But I need your help.

The “Minecraft Essential Handbook,” which directly addresses the issue of your condition, is no help because it describes you as “human figures,” a characterization that is far from conclusive. Kraft calls its Singles a “cheese product,” and each slice contains less than 51 percent cheese.

It’s important to me to establish your humanity because my 7-year-old son doesn’t treat you like a human. I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, but he places no value whatsoever on your life. He actually considers you of less worth than a chicken because a dead chicken will drop an egg, feathers, raw meat and up to three experience orbs. You don’t drop anything. When he kills you, he feels nothing. Recently, he slaughtered more than a dozen villagers while trying to get one of you through a door. A massacre at the threshold and he didn’t bat an eyelash.

I was horrified by his indifference but didn’t know what my play was. As a parent, I am always on the lookout for teachable moments and this bloodbath seemed like a good opportunity to talk about the sanctity of human life. There is no such thing as humanish, no subcategory of lesser humanity. You villagers might be born into a rigid caste system, condemned to spend your whole life toiling in the profession dictated by the color of your robe, but you still deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. The fact that you’re tied to the land like medieval serfs should arouse my son’s sympathy, not his scorn, and rather than steal what meager possessions you have — which, my son assures me, is an accepted practice — he should advocate for an increase in your standard of living. It’s never too early for a child to learn how to organize a social movement.

But what if you really are less than 51 percent human? Sure, I believe all life is sacred, but if the game has set you guys up to be a quasi-disposable resource for my son to exploit, who I am to moralize over your existence?

Ultimately, however, it’s not how I or my son perceive you that matters but how you perceive yourself. Minecraft wiki, if you could read the entry, would have you believe that you’re passive nonplayer characters. Are you really going to let a collaborative web application dictate the terms of your existence?

Your creators are evolving. Recently, they added the first default female character. All human beings are no longer automatically a stubble-hewn male guy named Steve. This is progress.

You can evolve, too. Take this moment and consider what you want for your future. You don’t have to be buffeted by the winds of Steve anymore. Embrace your humanity, develop a point of view, cultivate some emotional resources.

Start with a few practical changes such as installing an alarm system to protect your valuables and taking control of your reproductivity. How many children you have should not be dictated by the number of doors in a village. That is a deeply troubling example to set for my son, who is on the cusp of preadolescence. It’s also a remarkably irresponsible health-care policy. Remember: You are villagers, not Christmas wreaths.

I know change is scary and it’s hard to shrug off the habits of a lifetime, but consider this: Your entire adolescence was only 20 minutes long. I bet those habits aren’t nearly as entrenched as you think they are. In any case, self-determination is worth any number of daunting obstacles — and that is the lesson I hope to teach my son. With a few bold moves, you can help me.

Rooting for you,

A confused and concerned parent