How do you deal with liking Tony but knowing capitalism is bad? Not meant to sound accusatory, just something I feel guilty about and was thinking about again after your political meta
Oof. That’s a big one.
I think, really, the first step is to accept that it’s okay to like things that are problematic. I’m not saying you have to like everything that is problematic; there are definitely things that I used to like that are too problematic for me to like because the problems I see in them now are so vast that it makes the thing not fun anymore. This is why I no longer own any Harry Potter books and I can’t listen to the music of Moxy Früvous, who used to be my favorite band. I just... can’t.
But not everything that is problematic is 100% irredeemably problematic and in need of cancellation. It’s possible to like problematic things, understand why they are problematic, and appreciate the parts of them that are still good. So, like, I can say to myself, “I like the character of Tony Stark. I know he’s a billionaire and that in the real world billionaires are responsible for a lot of human misery. If he were real I would, most likely, hate him. But he is fictional and in the world he lives in, I know he tries as hard as he possibly can to do good and be a good person. It’s comforting to pretend that The One Good Ethical Billionaire exists and that he can do things that are not evil. It’s okay to find that comforting. Yes, it’s a fantasy, but it’s okay to have fantasies. I admire him for his kindness and generosity. I admire his devotion to his friends. It means a lot to me that he deals with mental illness and addiction, and that even though he has these very real problems, he’s still a superhero. As a person with a physical disability, it means a lot to me that for large portions of his history Tony has also had physical disabilities, and, y’know, is still a superhero.”
That’s my list. Your list probably isn’t going to be the same as my list, and that’s fine. And if you make your list and decide that that just isn’t enough to make liking him worth it to you, that’s okay too. You’re not required to like him. But if you want to like him, I think you can still find things worth liking about him.
I mean, what you’re basically asking is “how do you deal with existing in a capitalist society but knowing capitalism is bad?”
And that, I mean... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don’t have all the answers. But, I mean, even though we’re in the society we’re in, I believe we can still work to make the world better. If you just sit there and feel continually guilty, you’re never going to want to get out of bed in the morning. But you can do something other than just sit with your feelings of guilt. Be nice to people. Join a union if there’s one you can join. Be conscious of your privilege. Be an ally. Vote for candidates who represent your interests and beliefs. Try to get where you live to adopt something like Ranked Choice Voting and THEN vote for candidates who represent your beliefs (assuming you are in the US; other countries have more viable third-party options). Write to your elected officials. Give your money and/or your time to organizations that are working to make the world better in ways you approve of. Join fandom auctions and make other people give money to those organizations on your behalf! Keep being nice to people. That’s all I’ve got so far.
