A queer Mexican girl’s take on Rick Riordan *if you don’t want to read the entire thing, the important bits are in bold*
I’m not in the habit of engaging with with disrespectful people. If you want to yell/name-call/whatever, do so to your heart’s content. I won’t reply. Otherwise, I’d really love to have a discussion with you!
I try not to deviate from the main focus of my blog too much, because I want this to be a space for sharing a love of learning, books, etc.
However, there are times when I feel it is necessary to speak up, and this is one of those times, because Rick and his books were, and still are, one of the most important parts of my life. So.
First of all, pjo and hoo has an enormous impact in my life, in two ways. One was Nico Di Angelo. His coming out scene was the first thing that sat my 10-year-old self down and told me that it was okay to be gay, that it wasn’t abnormal, and perhaps most all, that it was also okay to wrestle with it.
The second was Leo Valdez. The amount of times I had seen a Mexican character portrayed in media, let alone children’s media, were very little. I was young when I read the books, so a lot of the things that people are pointing out right now flew over my head. I was too busy being happy finally seeing myself and my culture in my favorite book series. This brings me to my main point:
The representation Rick gave us was not perfect, but it was still really ahead of its time, and it was still well-intentioned. I don’t even think it was bad! Sure, there are many opportunities for improvement, but the characters are still well-rounded and developed. Keep in mind: this is a straight cis white man, living in a society that, at least when pjo and hoo were written, did not encourage that demographic to venture outside their comfort zone and care for minorities (in fact, you could argue it even discouraged it). He was one of the first white cis straight male authors to have that kind of inclusion in their books. The care that he has for his audience is palpable in the stories, starting with the fact that he wrote for his son w/ ADHD. He has always listened to and engaged with readers, on a level that not many authors do. He is not perfect, but he tries and he cares, which at the end of the day, is what being human is all about. I think people tend to forget this-that we’re all human. The world, people, is much more complex than good and evil. We are all in such a rush to spot other people’s mistakes to signal our own virtue that we are holding people-and ourselves-to impossible standards. Whenever an author writes outside of their own voice, there will undoubtedly be flaws. It will never be perfect (which is why Rick actively encourages us to read own-voices authors!!!!!). By pointing fingers and acting “woker than thou” all the goddamn time, all we’re doing is discouraging authors from having diversity in their books by alienating them! Anyone is going to get exhausted and defensive when people are insulting and yelling at them about how what they do is WRONG and how they’re RACIST and whatnot. Rick is human, Rick cares, and Rick wants to learn and be better-so let’s help him do that, let’s cultivate a culture of compassion and learning. He is not a racist. His mistakes don’t invalidate all the good his work has done.
Finally, on a broader point: if we’re constantly attacking and invalidating anyone who makes mistakes, there will be no one left, including yourself. Point that finger at yourself before pointing it at anyone else.
