I've been seeing a lot more posts bringing attention to the SMG4/Modmad situation on Twitter. I am happy that the situation is getting more attention, but some of the ways in which people are talking about this situation have been largely unhelpful.
A large majority of the posts I've seen discussing the topic are from SMG4 fans who, while they offer sympathy to Modmad for the harassment she has been facing, are unable to recognise the fact that SMG4 are also in the wrong in this situation, and that there is a possibility they plagiarised RGB's design.
Often times, the reaction from SMG4 to the Modmad situation is something along the lines of: "Modmad shouldn't be receiving harassment because RGB and Mr. Puzzles don't even look similar!"
And to that I say: No. Hold on. That absolutely should not be your takeaway from this situation.
The actual reason that Modmad shouldn't be receiving harassment from SMG4 fans is twofold.
1. I don't think I should have to say this, but you shouldn't be sending death threats to someone just because you believe they plagiarised another character. You shouldn't send anyone death threats or harassment period. If you believe someone has done plagiarism, then you should respectfully point that out and critique them politely.
2. People shouldn't even be respectfully accusing Mod of copying Mr. Puzzles, not because they don't look similar, but because RGB CAME FIRST! RGB and Mr. Puzzles do look similar, but SMG4 is the one who likely plagiarised Modmad, not the other way around. We should be respectfully critiquing them.
Trying to claim that RGB and Mr. Puzzles don't look similar is not going to help the situation be resolved, if anything, it kind of makes it worse. RGB and Mr. Puzzles do look similar and there is a good chance that SMG4 plagiarised Modmad, and we need to acknowledge that.
(Evidence: https://www.tumblr.com/modmad/813005594332102656/holy-shit-my-man-timmy-got-hands?source=share)
You can't just condemn the harassment and not condemn the plagiarism because the two issues are inherently linked.
(Explanation: https://www.tumblr.com/the-solar-system52/813061781438283776/an-annoying-take-ive-seen-around-the-smg4modmad?source=share)
Yes, the toxic anons are bad people and it is good to recognise that, but the situation won't be resolved until we realise that SMG4 themselves also fucked up. If the designs themselves aren't enough evidence towards plagiarism, then their silence on the matter sure as hell is. They are ghosting a disabled artist and leaving her alone to receive death threats from their fans to the point she nearly committed, either because they don't give a shit, or because they are plagiarists trying to save their own ass. Take your pick.
Modmad deserves justice for how SMG4 has treated her. Trying to water down the situation by only calling out the toxic anons and not recognising the bad actions of SMG4 as well isn't going to help Modmad all that much. A lot of these SMG4 fans seem to think that this situation (that has been going on for years) will just magically fix itself on its own, but it likely won't. This won't be fixed until Modmad receives justice from SMG4, and the more they ignore her, the more likely that justice will have to be legal.
The only way to handle this situation is by (respectfully) calling SMG4 out on their bad behaviour. You cannot claim to support Mod while also defending SMG4.
I understand how hard it is to accept when a creator you care about does something like this. A lot of neurodivergent people are expressing how they don't want to believe that Mr. Puzzles is a stolen design because he is one of their special interests. And I get that, I really do. I am autistic too. But if that is your experience, then maybe it is best if you just don't get involved in the situation at all. If you are unable to confront the facts of the situation, then don't try to! Seriously, just don't make a post about the topic if it means that much to you. No one is forcing you to talk about this. And if they do, just block them. I think it is the more responsible option.
Of course, spreading awareness is good. But if your version of "spreading awareness" involves misrepresenting the facts to make your favourite company look better, and getting mad when people rightfully try to point out what they did wrong, then maybe you're better off just staying out of it. To spread awareness in a way that actually helps Modmad, you need to be able to look at the situation objectively and not sugarcoat the facts to make SMG4 look better. If you can't do that, then you are just getting in the way of people who actually want Modmad to get justice.
I understand not wanting people to send hate and harassment to SMG4, I agree that we shouldn't! But there are other ways to hold them accountable, which you should be doing. Or at the very least, you shouldn't be disagreeing with the people that are trying to do just that.
