Can We Please Stop?

Life is good, and writing is going well. I'm gearing up for NaNoWriMo, during which time I will be working on a fractured fairy tale middle grade, unless something more pressing comes up. Because, dang it, I have been wanting to write this book for a long time and I'm going to do it!

But I also have deadlines, so there's that.

So, while I'm prepping, I've been doing what I always do: getting into arguments with people or just the people in my head about good writing and bad writing and the problems with fandoms.

I've touched on this before, and you should know by now I'm a fangirl and have no problems with fandom as a concept, or in its best forms. However, there are some things that irritate me about it, and today I want to talk about a big one:

Can we please stop glorifying Nazis? Can we please stop it?

I know what you're thinking: Nazis are terrible, and of course we don't glorify them! We make them the enemies of every story and we have Captain America punch them! Well, folks, I would like to present for your consideration Star Wars and the Harry Potter books. Where we have Nazis, in other forms, and unfortunately, it seems the fans can't get enough.

Let's talk Star Wars, briefly. The Empire is obviously a reference to the Nazis. Look at their uniforms. Look at the fact that the Empire only hires humans, no other races. Look at their blatant disregard for life and desire to spread their Reich everywhere, subjugating anyone who disagrees with fear. And yet I see fans who love the Empire and Dark Side enough to put stickers on their cars. They can't really align with the philosophies here, can they?

This issue compounded with the newer movies, with Kylo Ren. So many people online LOVE this guy, and frankly, I don't get it. He's a neo-Nazi: he is bringing back the aforementioned oppressive regime because he's a fan of them, their methods, and their aesthetic. Might he be an interesting character with nuance and depth? Sure, but I'm sure not going to ship him with Rey, who is strong and smart and can make a much better choice than a guy who literally captured and tortured her because he wants to be edgy and dark and bring back mass genocide. Which brings me to a secondary idea...can we stop glorifying predators? Can we please stop it?

Now let's chat Harry Potter, because this one I really don't get. Let's talk the Death Eaters and how you can buy so much merchandise with their marks and costumes. There is enough of a market that loves these people that Amazon sells tattoos and robes and more (follow that link, if you don't believe me). Why?

Seriously, why? The Death Eaters are Rowling's Nazis. They are terrorists who kill and torture people they believe inferior to them by birth, or people who associate and help those they think inferior to them. Wait, forget the Nazis; they're a fantasy KKK.

I would hazard a guess that if I went to someone wearing a Dark Mark on their shirt and asked them if they supported the Nazis or the KKK, they'd be horrified that I'd suggest something like that. "No, of course not! They're evil!" Well, so are these organizations, these characters.

So why would they wear it? My guess? There's something edgy and cool about relating to the villains. I've seen this attitude that the bad guys are misunderstood, and broken, just like so many fans. That's fine. It's fine to relate to bad guys and to see the good in them, or the relatable. That's often a sign of good writing. But I would suggest to fans everywhere to consider what exactly you see in these villains that makes them relatable to you and to check yourself.

Do you really want to relate to a science fiction version of the Nazis? To the fantasy Ku Klux Klan? Is that who you are? Do you want to wear their memorabilia and marks, and make yourself one of them?

You may be thinking that it's all fantasy. The Death Eaters aren't really out there hurting people, and I get it. It isn't real. If you dress up as a member of one these organizations for Halloween, you're not offending anyone, not even me. It may be fun to do. I'm not here to complain about dressing as something dark and scary for Halloween.

I'm here to talk about the other things, when we put on the costume and start to feel like the person we dress as. When we choose a shirt with a logo or symbol because it's "so us." When we start wearing the team colors of teams whose values we'd never openly say we associate with. And, even worse, when we start emulating the behavior of the characters, calling people racial slurs or turning to violence over peaceable communication.

(Is that not what "mudblood" is, after all?)

Keep in mind, the values that these characters hold are very real. Racism, hatred, fear, and cruelty to other groups of people are very real, and very painful. What I'm asking for is please, can we stop glorifying these characters? Can we stop fanboying and fangirling over these organizations and justifying their actions? Can we remember that they're meant to be the bad guys for a reason? Can we stop buying HYDRA merchandise and remember that they're based on the guys Captain America punches in the face?

Can we please choose to glorify characters and organizations who represent who we, as a society and individually, would like to see ourselves become?