So I got a message awhile backâvery polite, and Iâm not gonna share any urls, donât worryâasking about why this fandom seems to argue so much.
And I did my best to answer that question, and I thought Iâd post my answer here too, because I sense this question a lot. Sometimes spoken, sometimes unspoken, but there:Â âWhy is the fandom arguing so much? It used to be so nice.â
And I guess I can see part of the point. Return of the Jam did prompt a new wave of discussion. Thereâs been a lot more criticism recently in some circles. As the fandom grows and shifts, so does discussion, and that can make it seem like these issues came out of nowhere.
But a lot of these issues arenât new. Iâve seen a lot of arguing in my time in the fandom. And some of it has been pointless, but some has been holding creators and people accountable. Ignoring issues like racism, the lack of epilepsy warnings, the animators getting stiffed, etc? It just allows people to continue hurting others without any repercussions.
Fandoms will always squabble, and fandoms will always be flawed. Creators will be flawed. Itâs impossible to find a piece of media, or a person, completely incapable of being criticized. So criticism continues to happenâand itâs an important part of improving ourselves and others.
Yes, thereâs often something controversial every month. Because these things have root issues! Theyâre steeped in ableism, racism, transphobia, and purity culture. They arenât the type of issues you can get a one-stop fix for. And by dealing with each issue as it comes, we continue to examine whatâs at the root.
These issues arenât isolated. They arenât individual things we get angry about for fun. Theyâre symptoms of larger, systemic issues that we work to dismantle. Through holding creators accountable, we hold ourselves accountable, and examine the biases that we are all given by society. And this will happen in any fandom, any community, and any place.
I donât blame anyone for being a bit burnt out by all the discussions, and if youâd like, you can block the #ts criticism tag. But know that this isnât at all a new thing. Debate, discussion, and criticism is an important part of any community. It canât be a safe space if itâs not safe for anyone to speak their mind, even if they donât phrase it very politely.
I think itâs a good thing that discussion is happening, and that people get support, and people are protected from being hurt. I see change in this fandom every day and it makes me smile. And I also see how far we have to goâbecause again, thereâs not an easy fix for most of this stuff. Itâs an endless journey of improvement.
Arguing can be tough. I get it. But if this fandom had no arguments, Iâd see more of a problem.
People disagree. People are hurt. People criticize. Iâd much rather have a place where those people can raise their concerns, than an isolated bubble where nobody is allowed to speak. A safe space with no safety for discussion isnât safe at all. Itâs just silent.
TLDR: Why does the fandom argue so much? Because we have things to argue about. And because nobody should ever be silenced.
(Reblogs are okay and additions are encouraged!)
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