#equalism

I want to start with the meta because I like to use the meta to inform the way nonbenders are seen in their society. In the meta, nonbenders have three ways they can be: evil, useless, or good at everything warriors. All nonbenders who are good and useful have to be smart and perfect at fighting and usually can't fight benders alone. Other nonbenders in any position of power are either evil and conniving or stupid and naive.

Nonbenders are also less spiritual than benders. They don't consider the environment. That's constant. In the show, in the comics, a nonbender looking for ways to become equal to benders or provide for their community is usually careless toward the spirits. They are almost insulting nature by thinking they can have power.

Bumi's plotline of being disconnected from his cultures because he can't bend was "solved" by him getting bending. After he gets his bending he tells Tenzin, "I never felt like an air nomad." Tenzin tells him, "Well you are now." Why only now? Why not you've been a part of your culture all along? Why couldn't the writers find a different way aside from giving him bending?

In TLOK they show nonbenders literally havinng to watch what they say around benders because it's so easy for them to be bullied into silence. The bender that harmed them for speaking their mind being Korra, by the way. Not to mention later when we hear them pleading "youre our avatar too."

Fanon has this issue too. The issue i lovingly call "the bumi problem." When trying to solve the way aang and katara made bumi feel excluded they say "he trained with sokka and suki, and became a great warrior." That's not the issue though. He doesn't need to be sent off to other people, he needs quality time with his own parents in his own culture. His siblings get a sacred practice that they spend hours paracticing with their parents each week. Obviously, bumi wants that too. But no one says "he learns how to cook air nomad food with aang" because that makes his skills less important. It's not about the fighting ability, it's about the culture and love.

Now, in universe stuff.

Bending is tied with power, inherently. The avatar, most powerful person, can bend four elements. That's how they show they are favored by the spirits and they are in charge. The fire nation sought to wipe out everyone who wasn't a firebender. They used their own nonbenders as canon fodder. (This colonial fire bending supremacy could have taken some hold in the places they harmed)

The racketeering from the triads also unfairly targets nonbenders as does all violence in the atla universe. They are the most helpless in any given situation. Hiroshi Sato brought his daughter up training in self-defense. That shouldn't be a requirement for nonbenders to feel safe.

The police in their universe, have a specialized team of metal benders to violently restrain people with whips.

In their universe, it just takes one bad night from a bender for your whole home and livelihood to be destroyed. This goes back to the racketeering, but also just one drunk earthbender getting angry. And the law does not seem to protect them.

Beyond that, imagine being raised your WHOLE LIFE knowing that the spirits didn't bless you, but they did bless the fire nation soldiers that murdered your grandparents. And they did bless the triad member who steals half your paycheck.

The nonbenders also seem to be shoved into on neighborhood according to TLOK season one which is just uncomfortable. Is there nonbender red-lining? Are they all so low income they can only afford to live there?

Lastly, in TLOK, after the equalist movement is brought down (firstly, i find it sort of disappointing in a meta way that nonbenders could only be granted power from a bender) no one even entertains the idea of looking at ways to make things more equal. No one even considers it.