Keeping It Real 2016

[keeping-it-real-2016]

An Open Letter to @theowldetective

@theowldetective , 

 I have been resisting the urge to tell you exactly what I think of you for quite some time now, but now that Ski Lodge has come to its conclusion and I've seen the irreparable damage you have caused to the fandom and the future of this generation, I can no longer hold my tongue on the subject. 

As you may have noticed by now this is coming from a full grown adult, not the impressionable mind of a child you so frequently take advantage of. I grew up with Boy Meets World and am familiar with Michael Jacobs and the legacy which Girl Meets World is built upon, as well as the common themes and values the writer/creator has built his reputation and success in the industry on. And before you go writing this off as "just some Rucas shipper rant" I will have you know that I have shipped almost every single pairing on the show at one point or another (specifically Rucas, Joshaya, Riarkle, Markle, Smarkle, and Zaya) The following thoughts and feelings are based solely on your words, your actions, and the impact they have had within the fandom. 

Put simply, you are everything currently wrong with our society today. Michael Jacobs agreed to this show because he wanted to TEACH this generation. He wanted them to benefit from the knowledge and principles that have been discarded from media and personal experience since Boy Meets World came to an end. He has done his best bring back decency, honor, loyalty, equality, etc to this generation and you have consistently and blatantly interfered with that endeavor. 

As an older member of the fandom, and admittedly a persuasive one, (who should know better but for whatever reason does not seem to) you have influence over the younger members of the fandom. You have experienced more and therefore they expect you to know more. Instead of taking that responsibility seriously you wield it like a weapon to fulfill your own superiority complex. You twist words, remove context, and worst of all you diminish and often completely negate the lessons MJ is trying so desperately to teach. 

He wrote a brilliant episode on the importance of equality between the sexes, a lesson represented in the sludge formed from the marble and the lack of clarity that comes from seeing one another as boys and girls instead of equals or friends. Did any of your followers absorb this lesson? No! Because you felt the need to twist the sludge into a completely bogus theory for your personal shipping preference. 

He wrote another brilliant episode to focus on online bullying and the impact it has in the real world. Did your followers grasp this concept? Again no! Why? Because they have you as a shining example of an online bully, talking down to others and belittling them for daring to like or believe in something you don't. They see your behavior and they mimic it. 

For every single lesson, MJ has tried to teach this generation there has been you, the devil on the other shoulder, refusing to let them think for themselves, refusing to let them hear what he is screaming at the top of his lungs. Obviously, the greatest example of this (BY FAR) is that of the triangle. 

From the very beginning, MJ told his audience that this was not nor was it ever going to be a triangle. It was a lesson. One of the biggest he hoped to teach this fandom. Last night the conclusion of that lesson aired and once again did any of your followers understand what he was trying to say? No! They did, however, belittle the other shippers and wish death upon the cast and crew. I know they are your shippers because they have no original thoughts of their own. Instead, they regurgitate your fictitious theories (which have consistently been wrong for almost an entire three seasons now) like a verbal sickness. 

Every relationship (both romantic and platonic) that MJ has chosen is meant to teach this generation something. He's written each of these kids with honorable intentions and integrity, almost to the point of being unrealistic and at every turn you have done your absolute best to contradict these messages. 

You told your younger followers that it's okay for a guy to be actively pursuing one girl while secretly pining for another, not once but twice! You told them that having things in common with your significant other is somehow a bad thing and that chemistry (something you can have with a total stranger, a platonic friend, or someone you don't even like) should determine who you end up with. You toss around dangerous labels like pedophile and toxic, downplaying the severity of the actual issues and the victims they happen to. And when all else fails you outright lie to the followers who trust you, filling them with false hope that will leave them disappointed and bitter, instead of educated on the issues MJ is addressing. 

You would rather amass a virtual army and lead these kids blindly over the same cliff that Michael Jacobs has been trying to pull them back from than admit that perhaps you aren't as smart as you think you are. The writers have consistently said and shown that your theories are incorrect and the ships you've created them to prop will never happen, but instead of behaving like the grown up you claim to be and stepping back objectively, which were you to do so your followers would follow suit and the entire fandom would benefit from, you tell the audience, HIS AUDIENCE, that they should believe you over him! 

You, and those like you, ( @teddywestsidelove2 ,vsmurflog,et.al ) have turned his mission into a thankless and fruitless pursuit. You have encouraged this generation to remain thoughtless, hateful, and entitled; a mentality that will spill out far beyond this fandom. This thinking will determine how they live, how they vote, what they pursue in life. 

For someone who claims to see so much, you miss the obvious. The world needs more loyalty, kindness, and innocence. The world needs more relationships that don't end in divorce when things get hard or teenage pregnancy because they were being driven by chemicals and emotions with no sense or thought to consequences. It needs INFORMED youth who don't just latch on to the most popular or convincing argument. The world needs to believe in the difference between right and wrong because not everything is gray. Most importantly it needs a society of people who aren't chasing dysfunction to the point of self-sabotage and destruction. 

You are choosing to perpetuate the problem instead of being part of the solution, and for that, you should be ashamed. With people like you poisoning his fandom and tainting his lessons, it will be a miracle if he even WANTS to do a fourth season!

I realize that you are extremely impressed with yourself and my opinion or lack of respect means nothing to you, but the next time you're hiding behind your screen name spewing venom and bold faced lies remember that MJ has heard of you. He knows what you tell these kids and he "genuinely hopes the show changes you for the better" because who you are currently is a disgrace to his legacy!