#okbjgm

He didn’t know what Lexa had decreed. And why should he trust her? Mt Weather massacre and soldier massacre aren’t the same (no imminent threat) but Tondc is interesting to consider. Also Lexa abandoning them at mt weather. (Pt2)

The parallel’s w skicru and colonialism aren’t exactly clear cut. And yes the writing of episodes leading to massacre failed to clearly establish this which is poor execution. Etc etc. If this is an inappropriate ask I truly truly apologize!!! Just wish someone could/would add to the discussion and I don’t have means to do it (pt3)

Well heck. Not only do I follow Javier, I was also just reading his blog last night before I went to bed. He’s on the west coast, so it sure seems like he got a lot of shit in the three hours after I went to bed. 

I have to be honest, Javier has taken a lot of hits from that fandom and he has been infinitely more accepting of it than I would be, feeling, I think, far too much guilt over his part in it. At this point, they are just beating up on him. And frankly, it’s time for that part of the fandom to grow up, and get ahold of their own mental state. You get empathy, you get understanding, you get support in wanting to change the way LGBT people are represented in the media.  

You don’t get to bully people and refuse responsibility for your own bad behavior because you had your feelings hurt. Lexa triggered me, too, for very serious and real reasons, that have just as much social weight as theirs and I never once attacked a writer, showrunner, actor, or fan over it. Because I am an adult and I accept that I am responsible for my feelings and my mental health, and the world doesn’t owe me a painless existence. 

You are absolutely right about your interpretation and your ask is not inappropriate, I understand it. But I’m not going over there. Their issues are too much for me to deal with. I’ve got my own things I have to take care of. I do not want them to target me. Not because I’m scared of them, just because I don’t have the energy. This is me taking care of my own mental health and not taking on their problems. Sorry I can’t help with Javi. He’s pretty level headed and he is an adult and a professional, I think he can handle it. 

I’m going to keep my opinions and interpretations here on my blog so that people who want a rational analysis can get it, or share it. They’ve kind of claimed Javier as theirs and see his blog as their space, and I’m not invading their space. 

Dear writers,

Please stop writing groundbreaking stories. 

I understand the writer’s impulse to distinguish yourself, to make a mark, and to move people through the power of your unique craft as a story-teller. 

I understand that your intentions are honourable (they always are), and that through your words, through prose and verse, you seek to present narratives that are groundbreaking; that, if they are beautifully, imaginatively, and empathetically written enough, can be game-changing and revolutionary.

The problem, however, is precisely this prevailing, damaging focus on ‘groundbreaking’. It is problematic when every writer is in identical pursuit of breaking new ground. You risk inevitably traveling along identical (broken) paths. 

Breaking ground requires looking down. As such, you writers seem to be constantly looking down to see what new incisions you can make in our already well-scarred and marked cultural landscapes, as you lay the foundations for your distinctive world building. But in so doing, you risk further exploiting an injured, historically vulnerable ground. It is problematic because all your necks and backs are in collective bent shape surveying that ground for undiscovered territory. In such a position, you invariably dig from the same perspective, and end up with devastatingly-too-familiar outcomes. It fills your lungs, and clouds your vision, with the dirt and dust of exhaustive, repetitive labour from digging the same holes, but in different places. It denies you, and us, alternative ways of seeing and engaging with the world. 

But, what if you shift (or lift) your gaze? What if, instead of always looking down, you looked up? What of writing stories that are sky-opening, universe-expanding? That elevates, that compels you to raise your heads? That asks us to breathe in a higher, different air? 

Art — film, television, literature — does not always have to break ground. 

It does not have to break. It does not have to break us.

Art, in its most ideal pursuit, should be creative, not destructive. It can reflect, refract, reimagine, or even distort. But it should never destroy. 

Yet, if look down you must, then I ask that you consider letting go of the notion that writing earthshattering and groundbreaking stories is the most cogent means toward having an impact as a writer. Aim for loftier and more meaningful ambitions, for the sometimes more difficult task of simply doing nothing. What if you left the earth un-shattered, our fragile ground un-broken?

Breaking things is easy. What if you sought to mend them instead? What if you sutured the deep cuts made by previous groundbreakers? What if you let old wounds heal before you pick up the shovel again? 

We want an apology 2k16.