War
2007-02-01, 03:25 AM
Just so you're forewarned, I have this awful tendency to make speeches whenever I start talking for too long. I apologize in advance.
Well, you folks don't need me to tell you that, in light of recent in-comic events, the forum's been going just about crazy discussing a few certain characters. Lines are being drawn, readers are being polarized. This stuff is getting almost as bad as the arguments over Belkar's and Thog's alignments, which were a fair bit more specious in origin. And in many ways the subject is very similar. Or at least, there's a certain perception of it that is.
The idea that, to be a fan of a character, one must agree with them. And that, therefore, if they do something you don't like, or have a recurring trait you don't like, you are obligated to find a way to write it off as nothing. Many people certainly seem to think their opponents have this mindset, but how many fans of currently-controversial characters actually do? Obviously, not a lot of people actually come out and say "I think Miko was right to do this because she's hot," so it's hard to exactly judge. I'm sure there are some.
Whichever side you're on, I want to make it plain that it's not true. Things don't have to work that way. For some people they do, and I think some of them like it that way, but personal bias is not the only motivation that exists. It is possible to agree with an unpopular decision without being deluded. And you don't have to struggle to make sure your favorite character is right all the time, either. Good people make mistakes, bad people have their reasons. That doesn't change who they are, it just makes them more real and more interesting.
So why let this idea continue? Do you feel that way, even if perhaps you don't consciously think it? Do you believe that everyone arguing against you must be arguing from the same reason? You don't have to.
As for me, I'll demonstrate. I think that many of Miko's actions are absolutely debatable, but there are some cases in which she was flat-out wrong. I think she's a fascinating character, I think she's a better person than circumstances and perspective have made her appear, I think her actions make 100% complete sense from her point of view, I think she's fairly deluded, and I think she made an enormous mistake. I want to see her development treated with respect and fairness, even though I expect it won't go anywhere pleasant.
Roy certainly has good reasons for attacking her now, but it's still not a great course of action. I think he's acting on impulse and emotion, I think things would have gone a lot better for everyone if he'd been calmer, and I think he's made a mistake that is overall less serious than Miko's, but strikingly similar in nature. And I think it'll be great if the strip treats it that way, cause I think he was getting kinda boring, and I think exploring that angle would make me like him more, not less.
Belkar and Thog are just evil, guys, seriously. I think there are a few cases which could be used as reasonable arguments to the contrary, except that those cases are in the vast minority and anyway there's official decrees saying otherwise, and I think they're perfectly fun as they are.
These are the characters you fell in love with. They haven't changed, they've always had these flaws and the capacity to make these mistakes. And to those of you who hate them, sorry, they still make sense, and no, one character being wrong doesn't make everyone else right. Hell, if Miko didn't have believable reasons for doing everything she's done, it wouldn't make her more of a bad person, just more badly written.
A real tragedy is not something bad people do to good. It's when good people, for good reasons, mess up and make things very, very bad.
Which is not to say we can't argue about the specifics and our interpretations, of course. Please, let's! :smallbiggrin:
Well, you folks don't need me to tell you that, in light of recent in-comic events, the forum's been going just about crazy discussing a few certain characters. Lines are being drawn, readers are being polarized. This stuff is getting almost as bad as the arguments over Belkar's and Thog's alignments, which were a fair bit more specious in origin. And in many ways the subject is very similar. Or at least, there's a certain perception of it that is.
The idea that, to be a fan of a character, one must agree with them. And that, therefore, if they do something you don't like, or have a recurring trait you don't like, you are obligated to find a way to write it off as nothing. Many people certainly seem to think their opponents have this mindset, but how many fans of currently-controversial characters actually do? Obviously, not a lot of people actually come out and say "I think Miko was right to do this because she's hot," so it's hard to exactly judge. I'm sure there are some.
Whichever side you're on, I want to make it plain that it's not true. Things don't have to work that way. For some people they do, and I think some of them like it that way, but personal bias is not the only motivation that exists. It is possible to agree with an unpopular decision without being deluded. And you don't have to struggle to make sure your favorite character is right all the time, either. Good people make mistakes, bad people have their reasons. That doesn't change who they are, it just makes them more real and more interesting.
So why let this idea continue? Do you feel that way, even if perhaps you don't consciously think it? Do you believe that everyone arguing against you must be arguing from the same reason? You don't have to.
As for me, I'll demonstrate. I think that many of Miko's actions are absolutely debatable, but there are some cases in which she was flat-out wrong. I think she's a fascinating character, I think she's a better person than circumstances and perspective have made her appear, I think her actions make 100% complete sense from her point of view, I think she's fairly deluded, and I think she made an enormous mistake. I want to see her development treated with respect and fairness, even though I expect it won't go anywhere pleasant.
Roy certainly has good reasons for attacking her now, but it's still not a great course of action. I think he's acting on impulse and emotion, I think things would have gone a lot better for everyone if he'd been calmer, and I think he's made a mistake that is overall less serious than Miko's, but strikingly similar in nature. And I think it'll be great if the strip treats it that way, cause I think he was getting kinda boring, and I think exploring that angle would make me like him more, not less.
Belkar and Thog are just evil, guys, seriously. I think there are a few cases which could be used as reasonable arguments to the contrary, except that those cases are in the vast minority and anyway there's official decrees saying otherwise, and I think they're perfectly fun as they are.
These are the characters you fell in love with. They haven't changed, they've always had these flaws and the capacity to make these mistakes. And to those of you who hate them, sorry, they still make sense, and no, one character being wrong doesn't make everyone else right. Hell, if Miko didn't have believable reasons for doing everything she's done, it wouldn't make her more of a bad person, just more badly written.
A real tragedy is not something bad people do to good. It's when good people, for good reasons, mess up and make things very, very bad.
Which is not to say we can't argue about the specifics and our interpretations, of course. Please, let's! :smallbiggrin: