#just... why did we get stuck w bullying storyline number 74729854 that does literally fuck all for anything

[constantvariations]

Instead of Cardin being a generic cartoon bully who spouts unambiguously racist things for the lolz, he could've been the introductory face of casual racism against faunus

Have him quote studies that "prove" the faunus are better suited for hard labor rather than more intelligent (read: higher paying) jobs. Let him talk about how it's in the nature of the faunus to be submissive to humans because "that's the natural order of things." Have him hit harder against faunus opponents because they can take it due to thicker skin or he believes they have less nerves meaning they don't feel pain

This lays a lot of groundwork for how the system works against faunus and opens the door for rebuttals from other characters that expand on these ideas. You can go even deeper by having subtle differences in the treatment of faunus types, such as rabbit faunus being oversexualized while scorpion faunus are treated as dangerous criminals from day one