Sometimes, it’s good to criticize media. It’s good to look at it and say “hey this is messed up in ways that aren’t okay.” Sometimes critics have valid points. That’s fine, that’s okay.
What isn’t okay, and what antis regularly do, is attack people for liking things when they’ve found something wrong with it, and often that something wrong isn’t even actually something wrong but something they were reaching at to be wrong, and sometimes they’re only doing it to invalidate whatever they don’t like.
Doing the opposite of what antis do, which is shut down any and all criticism ever, is not the solution to this, and every now and then I catch y’all doing it. You’re so wound up over antis that you can’t allow reasonable critiques, and that’s not good.
Please keep in mind that the problem with antis is that they invent reasons for things to be bad, blow minor things out of proportion to make them look worse (or bad at all), and then viciously attack anyone who engages with it in ways they don’t approve of. The problem is not that they criticize it at all.
I’m not saying this as a judgement on anti-antis as a whole. I don’t think of this as something that makes all anti-antis terrible and bad. I think you’re all reasonable people who’ve been stuck dealing with unreasonable people for way too long. But sometimes you need to take a step back and really look at what you’re reacting to for what it is.
This is so valid because literally earlier today I saw some white anti antis attack a woc just because she said fandom spaces are full of racism, which is a fucking fact. They were twisting her words and even going as far as accusing her of using alt right dog whistles and one white user even said that she’s the reason good conversations about racism don’t happen, like that would actually be a woc’s fault and not racists’ fault lmao. It’s fine to disagree or whatever but to say those things to a black woman is fucking disgusting and unnecessary and it isn’t the first time I’ve seen fucked up racist bullshit from that side of shipping discourse. It’s shit like that that makes me reject calling myself an anti anti. I agree with what 99% of y’all think but y’all literally make me feel unsafe based on the behavior I’ve observed from y’all.
Just because someone has criticism about fandom spaces or your side of the discourse, that doesn’t mean they’re an anti or misogynistic/homophobic/or what ever other labels y’all hurl at people for daring to think fandom isn’t perfect. Y’all are alienating people that would otherwise be on your side because of your behavior. Please do better.
For the record, this is the post diskhorsedudes is referring to that got so many anti-antis riled up
(Gonna mention @diversehighfantasy since I’m posting screenshots of their post)
I don’t think they’re saying shipping communities deserve to be taken down because of racism but rather that there is racism in fandom spaces that needs to be addressed and that we shouldn’t treat them like they’re entirely good and pure. It’s a criticism on a common criticism.
The responses they got seemed to be people operating under the assumption that OP meant “fandom is racist, destroy it all, the purge is a good thing,” which then included vicious attacks, including “so you hate adult women?,” “this is why we can’t talk about racism” (OP is a woc), and “so fandom is worse than Nazis?”. None of which are what I believe OP was trying to say. Notice that OP didn’t even mention Nazis. Just racists.
Whether you agree with the OP is up to you, but you gotta know what OP is trying to say in the first place. If you think the way I’ve read what diversehighfantasy said isn’t what they meant, I’d love to hear what you think they meant. Especially if you’re diversehighfantasy themselves. After all, maybe I’m just too heavily inclined to see the best in people. But with what I think they were trying to say in mind vs what other people are responding with, i think we all need to take a step back and read it again.
Yes, that’s what I said, and what I meant. The glorification part was a reference to publications like Glamour and Slate tweeting about Tumblr ruining the sanctity of fandom as a safe place for women. (It’s not a safe place for women if it’s not safe for Black women).
Then I see fandom people who ordinarily try to shut down talking about race saying Tumblr ignores racism. Which is true, but it’s more than a little lacking in self awareness to take a stand for racism while ignoring the fact that fandom is full if it.
One of the your responses pointed out that I specifically compared neo Nazis to fandom.
This is going to be uncomfortable. I’ll say it again, I have had neo Nazis come at me, usually in a mocking way. But in my experience blogging about fandom racism, the harassment, campaigns to take me down and blatant lies about me have been from women in fandom. That’s a fact of my Tumblr experience. I WISH it was so neat and tidy that I only got harassed by male neo Nazis. It would be a lot easier. I’d get a lot more support and sympathy, for sure. But that’s not my experience on Tumblr, and if that upsets people, attacking the messenger doesn’t make it not true.
Look, I really can’t keep track of all those categories of what is an acceptable ship or not. I do in fact vocally dislike the first three ships and am annoyed with the shippers (and gotten the shit to show for it), but it’s like you said–I’m just not that woke™. If being an ally in fandom means being completely up on those different categories and toeing the line exactly, then I’m not up for it. All I have ever been doing here was trying to have fun and bitching about the shit that makes fandom unfun for me and others. I don’t consider that activism or political in any way and never have.
I’m sorry but this isn’t okay. I really hope you’re just angry and when things calm down you’ll understand how flippant and offensive what you’ve written here is. Being an ally in fandom has nothing to do with toeing any line and glibly speaking about wokeness in this way when there are actual people being hurt every day by fandom antiblackness is a really bad look. A lot of black fans are not able to have fun just being themselves. For you to complain in this way is extremely tone deaf and I’m really surprised at you.
I don’t like reylo but I was fine with your answer to my question. I don’t like reylo in any shape or form but I do think there are gradations they fall within and without the realm of shipping. I understand being frustrated by those who either are unwilling or unable to absorb what you’re saying. But your answer is an insult to black Finnrey fans who are reylo antis and I really hope that once tempers have cooled you will retract this.
After thinking about it and cooling down a bit, I agree with you and I apologize that I downplayed the crap Black fans go through by accusing their pain of being, basically, political correctness run amok. It was disingenuous of me to conflate the pushback against reylow etc. with, say, reyva. Thanks for being understanding of my position.
did you really just apologize about downplaying what black fans go through – then call the person who brought it up to you and, who you were being flippant to in the first place, a bitch in your tags while also saying ‘you understand her reasons’?
that’s not highly suspect in your damn mind that saying one thing and then say that in your goddamn tags?
My fault for taking it out of context. She was being a bitch on another post which was the catalyst for my blocking her, not this exchange. At the very least I wasn’t in a place where I could deal with her, nor did I think it productive to interact, when she was calling me a coward and racist for saying I would delete repeat asks. Ironic, considering that I answered her own ask after making that announcement because I decided she did make a novel point. See my other reply on this thread for the link if you’re curious. (I see that your note was actually earlier, maybe I didn’t scroll far enough to see it.)
I think she has every reason to be angry at fandom’s awful treatment of Black fans. What she doesn’t get to do is call me a coward over having boundaries and otherwise treat me like shit over something I’ve already explained. If she’s not satisfied with that explanation, fine; she can block me and stay away. She doesn’t get to insult and harass me over it.
EDIT: Sorry! I meant finnrey content. They can have their ooc reylow fantasies
They’re out to silence people who talk negatively about the series’ villain, particularly people who might be construed as “official” and therefore a threat to the imagined canonity of their crackship. Reylows are a pox upon this fandom.
@naemerydae hopefully they’ll do it themselves when their ship crashes and burns
EDIT: Sorry! I meant finnrey content. They can have their ooc reylow fantasies
They’re out to silence people who talk negatively about the series’ villain, particularly people who might be construed as “official” and therefore a threat to the imagined canonity of their crackship. Reylows are a pox upon this fandom.
Well good job guys 😔😭 literally every single personal picture had disgusting racist or hateful comments blaiming her for everything. You guys are awful! Anna is the sweetest person and doesn’t deserve this. She was so interactive with fandom from her other shows and you guys decided to be assholes and run her off. She was so excited for this too
Like you can hate the costume but there is NEVER a good reason to be hateful and racist towards an actress that has no say in any of this.
Also….. people had problems with Beast Boy, Raven, and Dick Grayson as well, yet when I go to their Instagrams they have NOWHERE near the same level of hate Anna had…. I thought the whole trailer sucked to you guys? Yet you guys only constantly attacked one person…. hmm I wonder why?
Anyway here’s the shitpress, a.k.a. @thesovereignempress, purposefully interacting with me after she blocked me (and while my own block was undone because she deleted and remade) and encouraging her fellow shippers to harass me over a properly tagged anti post. Come at me with your “but you’re 39 million years old lol” anons, bros, I’ll roast you for fun like always.
L.J.'s Obsessions 