this post had SOO much attention i should have known i would be posted here too LOL. i explained in detail why i think abigail was not the campwhore multiple times so im just gonna copy and paste from twitter! if you read the whole thread there, its gonna just be repeating things and adding more stuff. also, this is gonna be LONG.
keep in mind i am not arguing with anyone nor i am being disrespectful!! i just dont agree with this so im explaining my point of view.
heres the detailed answer:
what I need people to understand is that back then, the Van Der Linde gang actually helped people. Dutch, Hosea and Arthur used to help the poor by stealing from the rich. Arthur became a wanted man because of a major bank robbery back in 1887 and made $5000 in gold. After the bank robbery, they literally went to town, going to hovels, shanties, and orphanages and they gave out the money they made in the robbery to those people in need. It's a huge point made in the game actually, and its the reason why they arent as big as the O'Driscolls. They're not as big as the O'Driscolls or Lemonye Riders because they're not supposed to be like them. They're not supposed to rob from the poor or rape and kill the innocents, they're meant to have morals and fight for what's right. They're supposed to fight for a better world.
Dutch used to care for whats right and whats wrong. There's actually a scene in the game where LH Arthur tells Sadie there was a time he robbed an innocent man and Dutch lost his shit over it. He got mad at Arthur and told him they don't take advantage of people in need. It's also the reason why most members are in the gang. Dutch literally helps them and takes them in to give them a better chance at life. We saw it with Sadie. He saw her losing everything and took her in without question. And the reason why Dutch ACTUALLY helped and took people in is up for debate because he's a very complicated character. It might be because he used to be caring, or it might be because he wanted people to follow him and took them in when they were in need for them to be loyal. But thats not the point here. The point is how he presented himself. He was the man who fought for a better world. It's why he took John in, and it's why he took Abigail in. He saw them in need and gave them a chance at life. He saved John from hanging, and Abigail from S/A (ILL COME TO THAT WAIT A BIT)
It's also why it took Arthur such a long time to actually see Dutch for who he was/who he became. Arthur kept hoping for things to go back to normal. Blackwater was their downfall, but they were doing things differently for a long time. They were not living, they were surviving. Dutch was getting reckless and the law was getting stubborn, they stopped giving money to the poor because they had to focus on surviving. It's not easy to feed and take care of about 20 people while you're on the run from the law.
There's a camp event in which John is talking about how he's feeling very guilty about the things they were doing now, and Arthur's response to that is something like: "Remember when we actually used to help people?" It's the reason why Javier and Bill sided with Dutch. It's the reason why the gang members stayed with Dutch until the 6th chapter. They noticed Dutch slowly losing it, but they believed it was because of the stress, and he would go back to normal soon. It's the reason why Dutch was adored by almost everyone. He was the man fighting for change in a very brutal and cruel world. It's literally a huge point in the story. Him going against everything he once fought for.
Abigail wasn't taken advantage of in the gang. Uncle probably saw her in a bar, doing what she needed to get money in a man's world, and he took her to camp because he knew Dutch wouldnt refuse. The gang literally saved her from child prostitution, she was NOT the camp whore. They call themselves bad men because they do bad things to do whats right. Not just for the sake of it. The gang has morals. Literally take any member in the gang to ride with you in the game and kill someone totally innocent, they get mad and ask you what the fuck is wrong with you. They do that because that is not how they do things. The idea of Abigail being the campwhore also doesn't make sense exactly because of this. Hosea and Arthur (and almost any other member, but I said these two because they have power) would NOT even allow it even if you doubt Dutch.
okay. so the detail answer is this. but afterwards i also added some more opinions on this whole thing to explain it to someone else. the reasons imma give now are more spesific so i think theyre a lot more convincing
someone said she was a campwhore because of
-interactions from the camp
-john in rdr2 because he doesn't believe Jack is his son
-so my answer to that is abigail was a working girl before she joined the gang. so yes, she was one, but it was when she was a child and it was to make money because she didn't have anybody she could rely on. with the gang taking care of her, there was no reason for her to continue
-bill and john are enemies in rdr1. and bill is very aware of what abigail had to do to survive, and he knows john is protective. at this point bill hates john, so he's just insulting his wife for the sake of it. an insult being accurate doesnt matter when you wanna hurt someone. bill was just simply insulting abigail to make john was upset. when you wanna truly hurt someone, you say things that arent true just for the sake of it. same goes with dutch
-in rdr2, it's just john that says jack is not his son. everyone else is very sure jack is his. arthur is sure. dutch is sure, hosea is sure... and i think deep down john knows thats his son too, but he is just scared to be a father so he's avoiding responsibility.
and that someone also brought up miss grimshaw's interaction with abigail in which she wants abigail to sell herself again. which, by the way, has NOTHING to do with her being a campwhore. miss grimshaw was talking about what she used to do BEFORE she joined the gang. she wants abigail to make money FOR the gang, and her being a campwhore would mean she would get paid BY the men in the gang. that would make them lose money. grimshaw wasnt talking about that. because abigail being the campwhore would only benefit the men in the gang sexually. miss grimshaw wants money so it doesnt make sense for her to want abigail to be the campwhore again. it just doesnt work that way. she was talking about what abigail did before the gang. (plus im not even sure if she'd get paid for being a campwhore) miss grimshaw is saying all that cause shes simply weird sometimes lol
another reason why i hate the "abigail was the campwhore" idea is because it puts other women in danger too. the easiest example is tilly. she was even younger than abigail when she met the gang. she was an orphan with nobody to look after her, and thats exactly why they took her in. they didn't gain anything from taking her in. in fact, she was another mouth to feed. but they took her in anyway because she was in need and they were the "robin hood" figures. when people say the gang took advantage of abigail because they were that kind of men, it puts tilly in danger too and there's nothing in the game that could imply such a thing. and its not just tilly. marybeth was also young. and its not just the women either. arthur and john were also kid orphans when they were taken in. how far is this gonna go? its disgusting
hopefully my points are made clear. also, OP, when you read my tweets and disagree with me, instead of posting here please go and comment under my tweet and let us discuss things there. if i hadnt checked tumblr i wouldnt have seen this post and i wouldnt have defended my opinion so im kinda upset lol. have a goood day
also i did NOT romanticize abigails prostitution why the hell would you think that
