Some of them have argued “Lots of nonbinary people identify as gay.” Yeah, and a lot don’t…
It’s worse than it looks. Not only are people trusting hearsay and out of context quotes but it’s snowballed. It went from “He’s homophobic” and “He’s Transphobic” to “He’s pro-CP!” The reason? He wrote an essay a few years ago about why freedom of speech, even speech you don’t agree with, is important. He said, in that very speech, that he does not condone illegal activity or harming children but they ran with it anyway, cropping out what was inconvenient to the narrative. Including out right leaving out his explanation that it stems from a Jacksonville Florida sheriff trying to declare Death Talks about life obscene. Death Talks about Life was a pamphlet disguised as a comic book that Neil Gaiman wrote, debunking AIDS myths, providing helpful places you could call if you think you might be infected, and safe sex instructions, including the use of a banana to show the reader how to properly put on a condom.
The irony is I think most of them had no idea what the Hell Death Talks about Life even is. When I tried to explain it to one of them I got a sarcastic response of “Oooh, he showed people how to put on a condom. Ally of the fucking year. No one can top that!”
They didn’t understand that this was during the AIDS crisis, and even today much of America has “abstinence only Sex Ed” AND that even today you can get in legal trouble in many parts of the US for trying to teach that sort of thing. AND in the heart of the AIDS crisis he was providing discrete help tips and phone numbers BEFORE the age of simple googling. And no, there weren’t many other allies doing that at the time.
Some of the anti-Neil Gaiman crowd have openly admitted this is just some sadistic prank because ‘He’s an old, rich, white man. He can take it.” Funny how Jewish people are only “White” when it’s convenient for Tumblr. At least THREE times I’ve been told it’s “Just a joke” but others have fallen for the out of context quotes and just assume “If others are saying he’s homophobic, it must be true.”
Hell, some of the Good Omens fans who have blocked me even tried to “prove” to me he’s homophobic because he once said (in response to a question about an erotic fan fiction) “Sounds like someone is hoping I’ll make their slash canon.” They took that to mean he was against Aziraphale and Crowley being together even though most fan fiction writers know perfectly well that slash is more than just a ship. It’s usually sexual and requires a sex scene within the original story the fic is derived from.
One person tried to claim he’s transphobic because a serial killer in Sandman: the Doll’s house uses the word transsexual. When I pointed out that WAS the correct term at the time I got a “That doesn’t matter. It’s still offensive!” How? Was he supposed to use a crystal ball to see the term change? The woman who coined the term in 1969 was originally using it to distinguish between those that get surgery and those that don’t. And in the early 90s most of the trans community did not know he word yet, it was too new and didn’t gain common use yet.
Some are grasping at straws. One of the stupidest claims is that he’s racist. One claim toward that I’ve seen was “He uses the Mexican Jesus just to push the narrative of his white protagonist in American Gods.” And I’m like… “Uh… The main character in American Gods isn’t white. Also, Mexican Jesus is the only NICE Jesus in the whole story. The white one is an asshole.”
I even have to repeatedly tell people that he left the Sandman franchise in the hands of a transwoman in the mid-90s.
One of them was so disgusting that when I told them his wife is bisexual I got “Lots of homophobes marry bisexual women and then abuse them.” switching gears to claiming he must abuse his wife!
And when I tried to tell them he has several LGBTQ characters I got “That doesn’t matter! Saying he has other gay characters was never and should never be a valid argument.” Why not?!?? The argument was you claiming he doesn’t want to be seen with gay characters!
There are a few admitting it’s a “joke” but many others fell for it and are now desperate to justify their beliefs rather than admit they were wrong. I even came across a post just yesterday of “Think of the damage we could do to Neil Gaiman if we could still edit posts.” And it got at least two positive replies the last time I checked.
To quote Mark Twain “It’s easier to fool people than it is to convince them they had been fooled.”
If you look at who shared this very post, most if it were anti-Neil Gaiman people who thought it was hilarious that I tried to warn other fans that Neilman was not being used positively. Because God-forbid people remember what the Hell anti tags are here on Tumblr. One of them mocked the post saying I was calling it a “Slur” and “Hate speech” and others shared it to laugh at that, somehow thinking it was true even though the original post is right there to contradict them, right in front of them.
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