#tired arguments

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Note: this post and the preceding three are related to the Fairy Tales V OUAT convention, which announced Jennifer Morrison, Colin O’Donoghue, and Jamie Chung as guests. The announcement set off a rehashing of arguments that arose in 2015, after Jennifer Morrison posted a statement about a photo op with herself together with Colin O’Donoghue that didn’t happen, which was chronicled on this blog under the xivents tag.

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Comment on this fanvid.

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Original post cut for length, can be viewed here.

[racebending]

I’m not particularly proud of the arguments my teenage self made to try and support what I firmly believe now was an erroneous belief....Four in particular stand out. Four arguments that I was guilty of using thanks largely to how frequently others around me said the same thing. The one thing all of these arguments have in common is that, on the surface, they seem generally positive and fair and in no way designed to personally offend or attack those asking for better representation and diversity in media.

I would learn in time that they were anything but fair and were incredibly offensive.

Brian at Tosche Station blogs about how he used to invalidate other fans' arguments and advocacy for diversity, and what he's learned since.   Really interesting read.   Here are some snippets but also check out the full article!

... I’d created an unconscious false equivalency in my head that if I wasn’t having a problem identifying with characters, other minorities shouldn’t have an issue either.

"Well, I like reading about/watching characters that aren’t like me"...  Here’s what you’re really saying with all of the unfortunate subtext thrown in:  “Because I can tolerate characters that aren’t like me sometimes, you should do it almost all the time. And if these characters that have nothing in common with you don’t resonate with you, you’re the one with the problem.”  

It’s rather unfair when you look at it that way. Was that my intention when I would make this argument? No, it wasn’t. But that was the message I was relaying.

Argument Four: "The only thing that matters are good characters and stories."

What does this even mean? ...Of all the arguments I made when I was younger to try and deflect whatever insecurities I had about underrepresented groups trying to be more represented in Star Wars or whatever fandom, this was the worst. This argument was the biggest load of bullshit, the most destructive, the most unfair, and most insidious one I used. It’s the one that I feel worst about ever using.

Look at how utterly loaded that argument is. It sets up God knows how many false equivalencies, straw men, appeals to [insert fallacy here]. Here’s some awful ways this argument can be interpreted:

Good characters and diverse characters are mutually exclusive.

If you want more diverse character representation, you’re not interested in good characters and stories.

Diverse representation and your need for it are unimportant and counter productive to creating good stories.

Read the full article here!  

[princess-passion-flower]

"The difference is we don't call ourselves cruelty-free"

Whoopy fucking doo.

Good, you recognize a problem, how are you going to help the disadvantaged workers picking vegetables now?

Oh you're not?

I am a firm believer in if you see something wrong then do something. Even if it is signing petitions or sending emails. If you can afford it, fair trade or grow your own food. You're not a better person for recognizing a problem and doing absolutely nothing to change anything if all you have is a smug grin for defeating the vegan.

If you wanna talk about veganism being ignorant to other issues then do so without the hypocrisy. 

If you somehow think most people, vegans included, are in any position to boycott vegetables by eschewing the consumption then you are delusional.