*Tagged as mature due to the topic of death threats and suicide*
So, for the past few weeks, I have been seeing more and more posts and/or comments from people on Tumblr, Twitter, Reddit and other social media sites for people who like certain characters or ships in the X-men/Marvel fandom to "kill themselves," among other rather hateful messages directed towards them. Now, while I myself have not seen such messages directed towards Omega Red and his fans (for which I am deeply thankful for our fortune thus far, it can change at any time), I have seen these messages directed towards many of my mutuals here who like other characters and ships in Marvel, and it has reached a point where I feel I cannot be silent on this matter any longer. My mutuals are my friends, they have supported me in many ways, encouraged me to express my own love of the characters I enjoy, have put up with my weirdness, and have had my back at every turn. So, just as they have my back, I have theirs. To quote one of my favorite lines from the Lord of the Rings appendices about the hatred currently being directed towards my mutuals: "This cannot be borne." You attack one of us, you attack us all.
To those so-called "fans" who are writing such hateful and ugly messages on their accounts: just who do you think you are? What right do you have to call for the actual death of real people over their love of certain fictional characters and their fictional relationships? This is abhorrent behavior plain and simple. No one should be bullying other people and certainly never to the extreme of demanding death no matter the cause. These are real people, human beings you are threatening. Where is your compassion? Your empathy? Your ability to see others as equals and as fellow humans and fans of these characters? Clearly, you lost it somewhere along the way.
Many of these accounts -- I do note with a great deal of irony -- are fans of heroic characters or ships. I ask those fans: does being a fan of a more "heroic" character put you above reproach? That you are unable to ever be at fault because you chose to like a hero over a villain? Or like a ship you don't see as "problematic?" Do you think that makes your actions excusable? That you and the characters and ships you like are inherently better just because they happen to be the popular ones/heroes? If you sincerely believe that, then I am very disappointed in you. You do not truly understand what it means to be a hero or follow along the tenants that the characters you follow and love actually try to practice. Perhaps it is time to take a real good look at yourself and ask if the heroes you love and claim to support would support the hate you spread in their name. Knowing these heroes and what they stand, fight for, and believe in, I know what the answer would be. Do you?
In the case of X-men characters specifically, the entire message of that section of Marvel Comics is a message that asks for tolerance. Understanding of the minority and acceptance of others because of the differences they have. There is an understanding that mutants and humanity are not a monolith, and it is our differences that make us stronger. Allow us to see things from a different point of view. Challenge us. It's the same for the fandom. We are not a monolith, nor should we try to be. We all have our own tastes. Likes and dislikes. Things that attract us to one character over another. And people should not be hated, feared and bullied with death threats because of who they happen to like and connect to.
And I know what some out there are thinking. There is that hatred and disgust towards anyone would choose to like these characters and ships, asking: "Why them? Why these characters and relationships?" And I will tell you this: the things you hate and view as wrong with these characters and ships? Those things "fans" like you spout off as the reasons why people like these things? That is NOT why these fans like the ships and characters they do.
Speaking as an Omega Red fan, I know that there are people out there who dislike him. They have certain views about his character because he is a villain. But I still enjoy him as a character IN SPITE OF his flaws and worst traits. Why? Because I see a different side. I look deeper than surface level to see a human being in this fictional character, that human reminding me much of myself. I relate to his struggles. In Omega Red, I see a man who has been abused by the world at every turn, rejected by his family, society, and country because of what his mutant powers made him become. I saw a man trapped trying to chase for things he was never allowed to attain: a normal life. During the lowest part of my life thus far, I related strongly to his struggles and story -- looked forward to his appearances month to month in the Krakoa era -- because I related to Omega Red and his journey far more than I did any hero before or since. At that time, I was on the outside looking in at life. Left dreaming about a "someday" when my life wasn't so awful. And I found a character who best represented those real-life struggles I had. And I saw -- for once -- his life getting better. His journey as a character gave me hope that if his life -- as awful as it had been -- could actually get better, then mine could too. I just needed to hold on just a little bit longer. And I am in a much better place now because of that. Because I connected with the personal story of a villain over that of a hero.
Now, not everyone has a story like mine, and they don't have to. Everyone has a valid reason for liking the characters and ships that they do. They see something there that makes these characters and ships special to them. That they deeply relate to and oftentimes will never be comfortable with speaking out loud due to how personal those stories are. I ask that you try to understand that. Understand that these people you are interacting with are just that: PEOPLE. Real flesh and blood humans who have their own fears. Dreams. Desires. Hopes for life and parts of stories that they relate to and connect with over others. We are all different and do not look at these stories, characters, and dynamics in the same way. This is an art medium and, as such, is one open to quite a vast array of interpretation. It is NEVER right to dehumanize the people on the other side of your screen for the things they like. You don't know their stories, you don't know why they like the things they do, and speaking from ignorance makes you look exactly like the enemies that heroes like the X-men fight and oppose. You fear what you do not understand.
So if there is anything I want anyone reading this to take away from this essay it's this: stop spreading hate. Stop calling for death towards those who are different and who like different things. Educate yourself on these characters and ships. Try to approach these subjects through the lens of understanding and wanting to understand. I know it can be hard, but I sincerely ask that you try. Try to see that there is nothing that makes us different from you -- it's only in how our tastes are expressed that make us different.
And if you can't bring yourself to look deeper because of your hatred and disgust? Then I ask that you at the very least stop posting and commenting such hate. There are valid reasons for disliking any character or ship -- and there are places and times for such discourse -- but these messages my mutuals have been receiving aren't arguments or valid reasonings for disliking things, they're threats that can deeply affect the mental health of real people who use these stories as escapes from the harshness of reality. The world is cruel and difficult enough as it is. Must you make it harder?
To my mutuals: I stand with you. I support you. If there is ever anything any of you ever need, never hesitate to reach out. I'll do what I can to help you no matter what it is you're going through. And I extend this message to anyone else who is not a mutual of mine but who has similarly been threatened for the things they enjoy: you are not alone, and I stand with you.
Please, let us make the Marvel and X-men fandoms more positive places and at least accept fans of all characters and ships as equally valid in their own unique ways.