One quick (okay, long-ish) thing we'd just like to say.
There is a TL;DR version of this post. Scroll to the bottom if you just want that.
One specific criticism I've seen a lot within the Strokes fandom recently (which has been extra bitchy lately) basically comes down to how annoying/young/weird/creepy****/old/judgmental/something related to the hierarchy issue/elitist/etc. certain fans are. Many of these critical posts are unnecessarily harsh, and these kind of posts are coming from all sorts of people, not a specifc group.
There is no such thing as the proper way to be a fan. There just isn't. Everyone will take their love of a band (in this case, Strokes) to a different degree and that's okay. It's fine. It's totally acceptable. Many people may say otherwise, but if you have listened to them since 2002 or something, then yeah, you actually do kind of reserve the right to be a bitch about it. Some people may disagree with this, too, but it is absolutely fine to have a favorite, and to have that favorite be Jules. It is fantastic if you still want to watch In Transit every weekend -- and it is also fantastic if you don't and frankly have no interest in ever seeing it again. It's totally fine to make graphics with Julian and cake, and, you know, it's also okay to photoshop Nick's head onto images of Jesus Christ. It's fine if you did not like Angles (cough cough) or still can't listen to FIOE. You think Juliet's a bitchskankwhore who should be burned at the stake for marrying Jules? Cool. You think Binki is an amazing lady who should receive multiple accolades simply for her existence? Lovely. PEOPLE, EVERYONE DESERVES RESPECT REGARDLESS OF CERTAIN THINGS THEY DO/THEIR FEELINGS ABOUT CERTAIN THINGS RELATED TO THE FANDOM.
There are two reasons why it's okay to do all of those things listed above and more:
This isn't real life. This is tumblr. Tumblr is like a normal blogging platform, but with the average mental-equivalence of an eleven-year-old addicted to a combination of crack and cough syrup. You really shouldn't have high expectations to begin with.
THE BOYS WILL NEVER SEE THIS. You want to know why? BECAUSE THEY HAVE LIVES. ACTUAL LIVES. A FOREIGN CONCEPT FOR MANY OF US (ourselves included). They do not have tumblrs. The only thing they use twitter for is to post pictures of themselves with S&M stuffed animals. Nikolai has a facebook, one that, to my knowledge, he uses solely for friending people. And, to be honest, even if they did know that people did in fact have In Transit viewing parties or photoshop weird crap or cry over them, I imagine they would probably think "Weird." and immediately dismiss it. Or, they might say, "Ah, cool, so glad to know we're really having an impact on people's lives!" Admittedly, they might be frightened to know there are girls who masturbate to their images and write fanfiction about them, but.... I just genuinely think the only fans they personally would be saddened/disgusted with are ones who are actively mean and harsh to others. Because that's stupid and unnecessary.
Okay, this post is getting ridiculously long and we haven't even really finished saying what we wanted to say, but here's the TLDR version: A Strokes fan is a Strokes fan no matter who they are and what they do, and they (like all people) deserve respect. Just #saylove.
****Also, we are aware we are creepy. Since apparently it needs repeating, this is satire. We are satirizing how obsessive most Strokes fans (again, ourselves included) can be.
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