I don't think I'm going to go through all of YR after I did the analysis of S1E1 but I will talk about certain scenes every now and then.
And right now I really feel like talking about Ayub and Rosh and the few problems I have with them. Over all I think they are great friends and I'm glad Simon has them. But there are just certain moments I have to criticise them for and since not a lot of people seem to think about that, I feel even more like sharing my thoughts.
Let's recap what I wrote about Ayub before and then I'll get to another scene that bothered me, which is about both of them but mostly Rosh.
That's the scene I want to talk about now: right after Simon confronted August about the money he still owes him.
I think Rosh's comment here is really uncalled for and not true at all. To tell your friend, who is from the working class just like you, that he is no better than an elitist, rich asshole, just because he is fed up with being fucked over and doesn't want to take that shit anymore, is insane to me.
I honestly don't care if she has a problem with violence (which I also think is a bit of a stretch because from what it looked like, all Simon did was push August to the ground and hold him there) and I'm not apologizing for saying that because really, what were Simon's options here? What would have been the alternative? To just suck it up and accept that he got scammed and that August is never going to pay him just because he doesn't want to? To cry in his room about it? Simon was sick of turning the other cheek, and rightfully so! And him acting in the way he did actually made August confess to being broke, something I don't think he would ever have done if he hadn't been threatened in some way. So at least Simon got an answer to why he wasn't being paid.
You can be upset about people getting violent if you want but fact is that most revolutions in history have been bloody. The oppressed got violent towards their oppressors and fought for their rights. Violence is never okay if you use it to oppress someone. But I do believe that violence is justified and sometimes maybe even the only solution when trying to break the cycle of oppression.
Simon is being treated unfairly in school, by his teachers (Mr. Englund) and his classmates, he is being looked down upon and used for their benefits (getting them alcohol). And now he is supposed to accept that he was being scammed for money he really needs? And it wasn't even money he needed for something fun. No. He needed to pay back his dad and the school for tutoring which he only did to get the best marks possible because he has the ambitions to be a great student and get far in life one day. None of that is fun, it's out of necessity to get a better life than he has now.
To feel like your friend isn't allowed to snap and demand he gets taken seriously and treated fairly in a forceful way, sounds pretty unfair to me. And I'm not saying that Rosh and Ayub were supposed to like Simon pushing August down and shouting at him. But from their reaction it's pretty clear to me that they didn't really think about or accept Simon's perspective. One would think that they would support him even if he makes mistakes but they drove off and didn't talk to him for a while from what we saw.
Also, saying Simon is just like August for getting violent isn't even accurate because as far as we know, August has never been physically violent towards anyone and you know why? Because he never had to resort to that to get his way. He's always gotten what he wanted in terms of money and status and privileges.
So yeah, Rosh's and Ayub's reactions here made me (and still make me) mad. Acting all high and mighty, acting as if you are worth more because you are above forcefully taking what you are owed if that is about the only thing you can still do. Fuck turning the other cheek. Fuck being the bigger person. Oppressors don't care about that either.
