Dude, you're always thinking thinky thoughts, and it hurts, yo! :)
IMO, it's easy because haters and bashers aren't well thought out, reasonable people (or aren't perceived as being such, same thing). They're easy to dismiss. They hate the character, well, just because. But a reasonable, intelligent, competent human being?
Gosh, if someone who's intelligent and reasonable dislikes my favorite characters then maybe there's something wrong with me. Maybe they're right! OMG!
If someone you don't really respect comes out with "Buffy's such a bitch, I hope she dies! Again. Forever this time!" it's easy to ignore. The same opinion from that feminist, highly respected, "Your brain is a scary thing", "We're not worthy", writer / person, well, far less easy to dismiss. Because it means that maybe the way you see the character is wrong. Maybe B/A is boring and B/S is the ship to end all ships. Maybe Spike isn't the most special vampire that ever vampired. Maybe Xander is an asshole that tried to keep all the women down.
And having your opinions challenged by people you respect hurts more than by people you don't.
Yes, right on, except for the part about maybe I'm wrong. Hahaha. I'm such a bitch.
When someone I respect and admire has a different view point, I do really respect that view point, and they do make me think and wonder things I hadn't before. But does that mean I'm wrong? No. Just that we're different.
But yeah, I guess it does boil down to the fact that I have trouble accepting that other people--other really intelligent insightful people I admire--don't like the things I like. And when they write a character I like, but they don't like, sometimes I can just *tell* they don't like said character, and for some reasons their attempt at a fair portrayal of said character strikes a deeper, and much more annoyed, chord inside me than if some random Joe on the street tried to convince me Buffy was a total h0r.
IMO, it's easy because haters and bashers aren't well thought out, reasonable people (or aren't perceived as being such, same thing). They're easy to dismiss. They hate the character, well, just because. But a reasonable, intelligent, competent human being?
Gosh, if someone who's intelligent and reasonable dislikes my favorite characters then maybe there's something wrong with me. Maybe they're right! OMG!
If someone you don't really respect comes out with "Buffy's such a bitch, I hope she dies! Again. Forever this time!" it's easy to ignore. The same opinion from that feminist, highly respected, "Your brain is a scary thing", "We're not worthy", writer / person, well, far less easy to dismiss. Because it means that maybe the way you see the character is wrong. Maybe B/A is boring and B/S is the ship to end all ships. Maybe Spike isn't the most special vampire that ever vampired. Maybe Xander is an asshole that tried to keep all the women down.
And having your opinions challenged by people you respect hurts more than by people you don't.
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When someone I respect and admire has a different view point, I do really respect that view point, and they do make me think and wonder things I hadn't before. But does that mean I'm wrong? No. Just that we're different.
But yeah, I guess it does boil down to the fact that I have trouble accepting that other people--other really intelligent insightful people I admire--don't like the things I like. And when they write a character I like, but they don't like, sometimes I can just *tell* they don't like said character, and for some reasons their attempt at a fair portrayal of said character strikes a deeper, and much more annoyed, chord inside me than if some random Joe on the street tried to convince me Buffy was a total h0r.
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