the point that i think a lot of people are misunderstanding is that a push for critical thought and centering of source material is not an attempt to “police” the thoughts and opinions within a fandom. if i post an opinion that a lot of people like, it’s viewed as valid and good, and if i post an opinion that makes me a dissenting or critical voice, it’s automatically viewed as hostile. and that’s a problem. if you want everyone to play with characters in their own way, then that also must be true for people who care about canon and preserving the intentionality behind the way a character was created. and if someone asks you to examine the way you’re interpreting something, instead of immediately being on the defensive, maybe take it as an opportunity for discussion and growth. none of us know everything. we’re all here interpreting the characters the best way we know how—but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to care about the way we do it and how it might affect others or play into harmful rhetoric. please try to understand that.
