Fandom Discourse
It makes me sad to see people (especially an awesome person like Rebeca) feel like they need to leave the Doctor Who fandom and even Tumblr itself because of the all the hate that they feel on the outside for actually liking the show. Obviously, I have felt the same way and have left the Doctor who fandom for periods of time, but that is not what fandom is supposed to do. Fandom is supposed to foster camaraderie and discourse while bringing people together through their mutual love and admiration of something.
However, the level of intelligent discourse has been replaced with an endless sea of wank that has swallowed everyone up, with the exception of the few people still fighting against the current to keep their heads above water. But it seems like we will all drown in it eventually, because fighting against it is just too exhausting.
This fandom has evolved on the basis of a mob mentality with everyone feeding off each other, justifying their hate. Everyone is preoccupied with checking off their "social justice" obligation these days to the point of absurdity. Social justice for the sake of social justice is trite.
I'm not saying that you should love anything blindly. I think that critique and review can be very positive, even if not everything you are saying is positive. But instead of a healthy, open forum where people can discuss different views and opinons, this fandom has created an atmosphere that relies on anger and preconceived notions of guilt. They have created an unobtainable expectation of a social justice ideal and then criticize the show for not reaching it. That's no way to critique anything, let alone try to induce change.
Everything can be construed to be racist or sexist if you want it to be, especially when you completely disregard intent and context. But, this is not about my personally views about Doctor Who or Steven Moffat. It's about the discourse in the fandom and how it is actually driving people away and, I believe, hindering others from entering. Where's the kindness, the compassion, the respect for your fellow fans?
That's one of the biggest problems now. Even if I wholeheartedly disagree with your position, if you have presented your argument in a respectful, intelligent way, I am going to consider it with a much more open mind. However, if right off the bat, your premise relies on fallacies and hateful language, you have already alienated me and any future discourse is tainted.
This is something I've personally had to learn, and I think it has certainly made me a much better member of my fandoms and increased my enjoyment of fandom itself. If everyone could just garner a little bit more respect for the people around them, this world that we have created would be a much better place.
