Things Better Left Unvisited:
Exactly What It Sounds Like, Mates.
Yep. Another one on racism. It won't all fit in one blurb.
Vermin stereotyping never truly fades throughout the series, but there appear to be times in history after a great deal of time has passed since the last horde invasions where the "goodbeasts" tolerate or even accept certain members, or certain species, of the vermin clade.
This happens once or twice with rats, where mice and other woodlanders are quick to protest that Constance the incredibly racist badger could not possibly tell that certain rats are evil simply by a quick look. In fact, it is implied throughout that book that most rats are okay and generally get along with Redwall dwellers, as Matthias had seen rats before Cluny came and was shocked at how barbaric the horde of Cluny appeared in comparison to ALL OTHER RATS. THAT HE'S EVER SEEN. EVER. ALL OF 'EM.
It happens to a much lesser degree with weasel relatives, as merely acknowledgement that there may be some-to-many neutral or good members of the species. Especially if you consider that Cluny the Loony had to destroy the weasel and stoat members of his hordes' homes to convince them to join. He wiped out the ones that still resisted.
Several times foxes are regarded as almost a neutral species, neither wholly "goodbeast" or "vermin", and fox healers and travellers have even been said to visit woodlander abodes seeking honest work or Redwall Abbey when they need aid. Though it is regarded as common for woodlanders to turn the foxes away out of distrust (remind anyone of Roma Gypsies?), the Abbey appears to take them in without much prejudice being passed. They are even listed among wandering squirrels and traveling hares as frequent friendly visitors to Redwall.
It was all f***ed up in Mattimeo. Thank you, Chickenhound! Now we have to suffer intolerable hatred for the rest of our and our children's natural lives!
*How Everybody Got Racist Again*
Slagar, alias Lunar Stellarus, is presenting himself as a an honest ringmaster of a travelling show with all "vermin" performers. However, since they're "vermin", Constance badger demands their cart be searched TSA-style before they be allowed in the Abbey. The comment the fox makes perfectly exhibits that sometimes foxes and even mustelines have had their racism shunted aside before, that they have been proven to be morally okay before:
"I see we come in strange and untrusting times." the fox said as he bullsh*tted his way into the Abbey in that stupid costume. Constance and Basil informed him kindly that he hadn't seen "untrusting" yet.
Of course, Constance is regarded as one of the more racist of Redwall's inhabitants along with Basil Stag Hare, who are both later called off of the search after they turn up nothing suspicious at all. Also, the Abbot and Matthias aren't eager for them to try out their newest trick--the cavity search.
Damn it if Slagar isn't actually a deranged slaver--going in and stirring up the old prejudices again!
"I knew I shoulda just stuck to pretendin' to be a mouse..." Vitch grumbled as he finished his Sociology paper on prejudicial trends in Mossflower.
Of course, if it is wartime or any time within a few generations (probably about 50 or 60 seasons) of a vermin horde sighting even foxes and rats are subject to extreme discrimination...
Aaaaand... most of the books occur about two generations after the previous one, with the exception of Redwall and Salamandastron; those two are also the only ones in which a "goodbeast" notices the "vermin" species of another character but doesn't go all 1840s Alabama with it when it comes to judging character.
Except the badgers, they remain racist as hell in these two books, seeing it as their "solemn duty" to "warn" their fellows that vermin can never be trusted. Annoyingly, the badgers ended up being right, and anti-vermin racism was perpetuated in some formally not racist creatures...
*The New Dibbuns' Nursery Rhyme*
"Hoorah, Hooray, slay n*****-mice all day!" the Dibbuns chanted happily. They would have no clue what they were saying for a few more seasons. Constance wiped a tear from her eye as she looked on proudly.
"Ahh, the innocence of youth."
Cornflower's jaw dropped as an Abbey Brother informed her that "n*****-mice" alludes to rats.
Strangely, all the "good vermin" that get acknowledged all come from the books in which most are incredibly racist, and all of those "good vermin" face extraordinary discrimination.
The acknowledged "good vermin" are Blaggut the sea rat, Grubbage the sea rat, Graylunk the weasel corsair, Romsca the ferret corsair, and Crumdun the stoat corsair. Five out of tens of thousands the have lived through the ages are all that end up as good, eh?
Why is it only pirates who "redeem themselves"? Aren't pirates... the one group of people that... have NO morals..? That and sociopaths?
I would also count several others as good or at least neutral due to their misfortune of being employed by bad guys, such as Skrodd the fox, Tala the tree rat, Nightshade the fox seer, Thura the stoat, Bluefen the ferret (Swartt's wife, who did nothing even remotely evil), Lousewort the rat, Whegg the rat, Bentbrush the fox, Sickear the water rat, the entire water rat army of the Marlfoxes especially the brave soul at the end named Durrlow, Ashleg the pine marten, Scraw the rat, the six tracker rats in Salamandastron, Blitch, Splidge, Ringworm, and an unamed fox from Salamandastron, Shang Damsontounge the fox and the majority of her tribe of sixty foxes, the majority of a tribe of foxes from Redwall (from which Sela hails. It's implied that the rest of the tribe did not like her), and Groddil the fox seer.
That's an awful lot that gets missed isn't it?
And that's a lot of foxes that don't get acknowledged as good. Odd, since foxes are the one species of "vermin" that wasn't even counted as "vermin" entirely for a few of the books.
More may follow. If you like, you may leave an as-of-yet unanswered bit of unusual Redwall yore as a suggestion, but it is more than likely I'll cover the grand majority of oddness and unmentioned unmentionableness.