L.J. Writes

TL; DR: It's fine to enjoy "immoral" fiction and you're both being assholes

Fandom policing and villain woobiefication/apologia seem to be polar opposites, but at heart they agree on one thing: That your morality is defined by the wholesomeness of the content you make and consume.

They just go from that premise to different conclusions, with the fandom police (1) saying that some content is immoral and must be censored, and possibly its creators bullied as well, while the woobiefiers and apologists defend by saying shit like negging is true love actually and war crimes are fine.

( Nazi and genitalia mention, this may contain thinly-veiled references to Star Wars fandom )

Yeah yeah, it's another "LoK ruined everything" post. Run for the hills!

Reading this thread between chordatesrock and attackfish, I was reminded again of what made the Avatar: The Last Airbender fandom so awesome for me. In addition to the epic story, great characters, and cool martial arts, ATLA is also a fairly progressive cartoon particularly on feminism and disability. (Okay, so the feminism is a bit ham-handed, but better than nothing, right?) It correspondingly attracted a sizable number of fans who are interested in these issues, making for great  discussions and friendships with smart people who taught me new perspectives and ideas.

Legend of Korra Book 1, by contrast, is regressive on pretty much all social issues. On the feminism front there are a couple of strong female characters in Korra and Asami, though even their developments were stunted by unclear focus and rushed writing. Otherwise, the prevailing message in LoK seems to be that the status quo is awesome and those who complain are either deceivers or dupes. LoK Book 1 also has nothing to say about disability issues, and where the story could touch on disability it veers between being silent and ridiculously offensive.

I think that's why those of us who were drawn to the socially progressive and political aspects of ATLA were underwhelmed by LoK. The fans who primarily loved the fantasy martial arts and the characters from the original show seem to be fine with the new show, and I say more power to them. (It's not that I think the second group is any less intelligent or socially conscious than the first, of course. The two groups just seem drawn to different parts of the franchise, or at least the second group is more forgiving of LoK's faults in handling social issues. Or they're more optimistic about Book 2 and onward than I am.) In the end the differences between LoK and ATLA highlighted the different reasons fans loved the franchise, and brought home what makes the ATLA fandom special to me.

The post that set me off, arguing that Sozin's war had nothing to do with racism and Ozai perverted a war that was somehow honorable at the start. No really, he makes the argument that the tactics in the war were "sound and honorable" prior to Ozai.

My reply to that post, after I had cooled down a little bit, arguing that Sozin's "Fire Man's Burden" (I believe this is via lavanyasix) is itself horribly racist and Ozai was simply carrying out Sozin's legacy.

Basically I learned that a) different histories and experiences result in different perceptions, to the extent that what seems like deliberate provocation to me can sound sort of reasonable to other people, and b) I shouldn't write when I'm angry, and c) I need to limit my exposure to ASN, because they might not all be trolls out to get me but holy shit am I sensitive to certain subjects and the ways they are handled. I may be right (or so I would think, obviously), but being right ain't the same thing as being happy.

UGH. I feel dirty just for having read that history-twisting, victim-blaming shit. But then again what better do I expect of a troll's sock puppet?

Verbally beating up stupid people was only fun up to a point. After a while I don't know who to feel sorrier for, the kid on the other end who's so bored he spouts this crap to get attention, or me for spending time shooting down his "arguments."

If I have learned anything from this experience it's that my LJ flist rocks. I had a few fun discussions on ASN, but trying to talk to most of the denizens (even the ones who aren't gross) is like wading through mud. I've got the smart, stable people right here on my flist and I'm not venturing out there ever again. *curls up in a corner, shivering*

This was originally part of the Fire Nation culture essay, but it was off topic enough that I decided to expand it into an essay of its own. 

( If you're going to hate her, for the love of God hate her for the right reasons. )

In sum: It's perfectly fine to hate Mai. I just wish people would hate the character Mai who was actually in this show called Avatar: The Last Airbender, and not the imaginary show that was cancelled after Book 2. There are valid reasons to dislike Mai, but "cold and uncaring" and "lazy and whiny" are not two of them.