Comments | pyrrhiccomedy: Bigotry in the Hetalia fandom.

pyrrhiccomedy

Bigotry in the Hetalia fandom.

Jan 19, 2010 11:09

There's something going on in the R/A comm right now that's got me so upset I want to talk about it here. If you don't follow the R/A comm, this should still all make sense.

( I am angry and it goes behind a cut. )

discuss

Comments 83

neocloud9 January 19 2010, 03:15:02 UTC

Oh gosh, I didn't know anything like that was happening. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

Anything I can do to help?

pyrrhiccomedy January 19 2010, 03:18:34 UTC

I'm not trying to get my FList to attack this writer en masse, if that's what you mean. I'm not trying to get anybody to do anything, aside from having the courage of their own convictions.

It's obvious in that thread that a lot of people are upset by what the writer had to say...but unequivocable statements to that effect are few and far between.

neocloud9 January 19 2010, 03:21:28 UTC

That's good, because I'd really be of no use attacking anyone. "You...big...meaniehead! *flings pillow*"

What did they say? It must've been in a post I missed...

pyrrhiccomedy January 19 2010, 03:23:08 UTC

I would rather not post links to any of the threads I'm talking about in this space. That really would be begging for drama.

Thread 5

twistedsheets10 January 19 2010, 03:31:51 UTC

/hugs

I don't know what's happening right now there, but bigotry is something that I feel must be fought against vigorously. It's wrong. No sugarcoating will make it any okay.

And this just smacks against everything Hetalia is supposed to espouse, which is nations getting along and understanding each other.

pyrrhiccomedy January 19 2010, 03:37:04 UTC

I know, right? Hetalia is really kind of special, in that way, where it can be used to educate people, and help them understand other countries--especially countries they might historically have been encouraged to think of as an enemy.

Obviously these people are allowed to write and say anything they want--but I hope that when "anything they want" is "ignorant, hateful tripe," people will have the strength of conviction to tell them so.

twistedsheets10 January 19 2010, 03:45:25 UTC

Yeah. Hetalia is wonderful that way. And it is disappointing to see that perverted into bigotry.

Passive-aggressive can work, but there are times you have to take a stand and say clearly, that is is wrong.

(come on fandom, we can do so much better than this.)

pyrrhiccomedy January 19 2010, 03:46:12 UTC

(come on fandom, we can do so much better than this.)

This.

miaoujones January 19 2010, 03:33:12 UTC

I...don't really follow the R/A comm. Because R/A is dear to me, and I've found that fandom can sometimes ruin fandom for me. So as much as I'm dying to head over right now and see what you're talking about, I think I love R/A too much to do so. (I'm sorry.)

So I'll just say that this:

I was talking to someone last night when I posted my response to the R/A comm, and I was told that I sounded "combative." "Well, yes," I replied. "That's because I am being combative. I think that things like this should be combated."

This made me cheer aloud.

pyrrhiccomedy January 19 2010, 03:38:41 UTC

So as much as I'm dying to head over right now and see what you're talking about, I think I love R/A too much to do so. (I'm sorry.)

No, I totally don't blame you, and I'm not trying to get anybody to go read those threads (if I were, I would have included links to them). This isn't a "go yell at this person and tell them what a jerk they are" thread. This is a "people, please. If you know something is wrong, you can say so" thread.

miaoujones January 19 2010, 03:51:13 UTC

Oh, I didn't think that's what you were saying! I was reaffirming to myself aloud that I must not let curiosity get the best of me, as I have often regretted that in the past. I was just cheering you on, but felt the need to add a disclaimer that I didn't know the specifics.

pyrrhiccomedy January 19 2010, 07:16:34 UTC

Ah, okay! ♥

lynn_pryderi January 19 2010, 03:39:14 UTC

I'm just going to throw out there that there seems to be a huge meltdown going on across a bunch of fandoms right now about a bunch of things, and I just got flooded with journal entries on it and am puzzled as hell. o___o It's weird how this coincides...

But no, you're right, you ought to stand up for what you believe in. Ironically, an American principle. Or one we would like to claim as definitively American. Etc. Hetalia by itself is a fragile thing, if you can't act with decorum over it (read: NOT POLITICAL CORRECTNESS NECESSARILY, but general good old politeness and fairness and understanding) this is probably a very bad fandom to be a part of. And honestly I don't want people like that in the fandom. They're the ones that the people who call Hetalia racist latch on to to prove their point.

pyrrhiccomedy January 19 2010, 03:48:23 UTC

They're the ones that the people who call Hetalia racist latch on to to prove their point.

That's a very good point, and one I hadn't thought of; thank you.

(The comment has been removed)

pyrrhiccomedy January 19 2010, 03:50:42 UTC

I think one of the best things about this fandom is that it has the potential to bring people of different nationalities together (so we can laugh at our countries together!), and I hate to see that spoiled, to any extent, by prejudice.

Oh, absolutely! Hetalia can promote some really positive cultural exchange; that's something that should be protected, you know?

"Politically incorrect" is different from "hateful," and I hope everybody reading this is capable of making that distinction. I like to think of the Cold War as a ton of macking, and I'm pretty sure that's politically incorrect.