Deku's convo with Spinner was so significant
I don't think ppl talk about this convo between Deku and Spinner enough.
Deku wasn't even FAZED when Spinner grabbed him, turned larger and yelled in his face, yet those are behaviours that the rest of society would deem monstrous. In this moment, Deku saw him not as part of the LoV, but as a PERSON who was grieving his best friend's death! Yet, the rest of society are blinded by ignorance and denial of that very fact. That special news report exposed it.
The general public saw Tomura as nothing but a toddler throwing a tantrum, or a cold-hearted evil entity that was out for blood. What Spinner saw, however, was different. He saw someone who would fight for him when no one else would. A friend he could share his love for video games with. A family member, even. His hero, definitely. There's someth so human about bonding over video games - it highlights both Tomura's AND Spinner's humanity cos it's such a small, specific detail about them, and when Spinner mentioned it to Deku, he started crying. Millions of everyday ppl play video games, how are they any different?
Is it right to ignore someone's feelings cos they've committed massive crimes? Does that mean they aren't human anymore? If that were the case for Spinner, then tell me WHY is he crying over video games and losing his best friend? This is what Hero society fails to acknowledge. They dehumanise those they see as 'immoral' but that's just how villains are created in the first place. They stigmatise the passionate, outward expression of emotions. When people get hurt and aren't helped, they'll release that hurt onto others in bursts of rage. That's EXACTLY what the LoV did, and because of that, society became scared, so they shunned them and cast them aside, letting their feelings accumulate over years and years.
Deku lets Spinner just grab him, yell and cry into his face, and even then, his expression doesn't even waver a tiny bit. The contrast between these professional adults who were responsible for guarding Spinner / holding him captive absolutely freaking out and Deku, a literal HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, not even showing an ounce of fear or discomfort, is insane. It reflects society's intolerance of emotions and juxtaposes it with Deku's pure understanding and acceptance of them. The MOMENT Spinner began to break down, the guards tried to shut him down, but Deku got in the way of that. He's the shield that protects outwardly emotional ppl from pernicious social conventions, but what's even more meaningful is that Spinner mentioned that before he met Tomura, he felt empty. This was probs the first time he'd cried so heavily, and yet he was being immediately shut down. But because of Deku, he was allowed to cry. And that in itself might've made him wanna cry more.
Not only that, but Deku was incredibly calm and had his eyes and ears open the whole convo. He acknowledged and respected Spinner as a person when no one else did. Plus, Deku is a deeply feeling person himself, so he understands the importance of releasing emotions, and how difficult it is for marginalised groups to express those emotions due to oppression by the majority. A "You're not like me, so your feelings don't matter, not like you're allowed to show it anyway" kinda thing, which is wrong on ALL levels.
If we all listened to each other and offered a shoulder to cry on, this world would be a better place. Let's be each other's Deku - we need it now more than ever!

















