How come people are allowed to express what they like but not what they don't? Yeah, it may cause the likers to be discouraged and all that, but guess what? If someone expressing how they feel is enough to set you off so much, then maybe you're the problem here?? Not everything in this world will appeal to you.
I am assuming this is about my recent post about people being rude to fanfic writers and their works.
if you’re expressing what you don’t like in your own space and if what you’re expressing doesn’t make others feel bad then do what you want.
no, it’s not about whether or not you are “allowed”. it’s about whether or not you are being an asshole and deserving of being called as such.
“I don’t like this trope” posted on your own blog? sure. it’s your own space. express whatever you want. though personally, I’d rather focus my attention, time and energy on things I do like instead of things I don’t. to each their own.
“I think this fic is terrible, I don’t like it” posted on something’s fic as a comment? you are being rude and an asshole. and people can definitely call you out for it.
may I ask if you also go up to strangers in public, in real life, and “express” what you dislike about their clothes or how they look? do you see a stranger and go “hey, lose some weight” or “I hate your dress. it’s so ugly. I don’t like yellow”? do you also open a gift someone gave you and go “hmm actually I don’t like it”?
“if someone expressing how they feel is enough to set you off so much, then maybe you’re the problem here” = if someone being rude to you is enough to set you off, then you’re the problem. that’s how you sound.
maybe you might want to ask yourself why you need to tell others things you don’t like about them or their works. if it’s something you paid for, then sure, it’s within your rights to express your honest opinions about the service/the thing you paid for. but if it’s a gift, something you got for free out of someone’s kindness, someone else’s hobby that was made specifically for themselves, not for you, and if you weren’t directly asked to give your honest opinion, then you are being rude, entitled and an asshole to express to them what you dislike about their works/gifts/things they do as hobbies for themselves, something that weren’t made for you to begin with.
no, I am not saying “you must like every single fic you read”. hell no. there are a lot of fanfics that I don’t like. but guess what? I quietly clicked out of them without expressing to the authors how much I disliked their works. if I and millions of other people—who are decent people—can do it, so can you.
are you “allowed” to tell fanfic writers what you don’t like about their works? yes. it’s not illegal. but just because you are allowed doesn’t mean you should. it doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. and if you still go ahead and do it anyway, please know that—since you are rude and an asshole—other people are also allowed to rightfully call you out and block you too.
my advice? take your own advice. not everything in the world will appeal to you. so if you find a fic you don’t like and if you don’t have anything nice to say, quietly exit it and tell yourself “not everything in the world will appeal to me. not everything in the world is made for me”.
it blows my mind that there really are still people like you who think “why can’t I be rude and entitled to strangers 😡 this is so unfair to me”