Accepting Differences of Opinion...or Just because
you like something doesn't mean I have to...
Cyberspace... the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship... Okay, not really. But travelling the on-line world can seem like navigating the Delta Quadrant without a map at times. If you say the wrong thing at the wrong moment about the wrong character, you can find yourself wrecked faster than one those shuttles that Voyager seems to have an unending supply of.
That's enough with the Star Trek analogies, I think.
The point I'm trying to get to is that people are so damn touchy these days. You can't make a simple *joke* about a character without somebody jumping up on the 'We're not gonna character bash, are we?' soapbox. And the bad thing is that soapboxes tend to be attached to bandwagons. One person passionately defends the much-maligned "Snippolorp" as their favorite character, and then a bunch of other Snippolorp fans just have to register their approval of Snippolorp and complain about how shabbily he's been treated by TPTB, the fans in general, and fanfic writers in particular. There's not a thing wrong with that...*except* when, as it so often does, it takes an accusing tone. "How dare you bash Snippolorp? You just don't understand him!"
At times, I think we treat characters like our family. It's fine for me, or another of my siblings, to complain about or pick on my brother. Let an outsider say one word and a big united wall of familial defense goes up. And by the same token, it's okay for me to make negative comments about Snippolorp, because I know that the joke or complaint comes from a love of the character, not a dislike. As a dedicated Snippolorp fan, I can complain how stupid it was for him to go rushing into that burning poodle shop after Flooflsnerp distinctly told him not to, but I don't want some rabid Flooflsnerp fan saying how dumb it was. Why is this?
Is it some subtle form of character identification? Am I afraid that by someone saying that Snippolorp's a moronic coward, I'm somehow included in the indictment just because I'm a fan? Or is it more a form of rivalry? Some kind of 'my guy/girl is better than yours' thing? Maybe it's a simple compulsion that most humans seem to have...
We want people to agree with us. Boy howdy, was that earth shaking news, or what? <g> I've seen folks on lists make the claim that they're not trying to change anyone's opinion just present their view of things. If that is true, and it very well may be, those people have to be in a very small minority. It's been my observation that we *do* want people to agree with us and we'll make them if we can. We want them to see how great our guy is. So if somebody rags on him, we naturally feel compelled to defend, but there's always a threat of failure hanging over our heads because it's very difficult to change a strong opinion.
To continue using my silly made-up examples, I might say "Well, Flooflsnerp's all right, but he's kinda bossy. I don't see the attraction." Then a Floofl-fan may step up and say, "Yes, he *is* bossy, but he's the Supreme Commander so he has to be. Did you notice in ep #34, how incredibly tender he was with Captain Gergl after the incident with the exploding taco? And he was the first to notice that Snippolorp was missing in ep #126." Now, at this point, I may be thinking "So what? I still think he's a jerk, but I'm too polite to tell you." Or I may be starting to see that maybe ol' Flooflsnerp's not all that bad and he does have a rather impressive...set of antennae.
But if I have a very strong opinion, like "That Flooflsnerp's a prick. The show would be so much better without him." There's nowhere to go, really. The Floofl-fan can defend and explain until her face turns blue, but I'm most likely not going to change my mind. In fact, it may have the opposite effect and make me dislike Flooflsnerp even more because I have had a bad experience with the overzealous Floofl-fan. I've seen this happen in real life fandom and it's not pretty at *all*.
Fictional characters are just like real people in one respect: I don't like some, but I do like others. With some, I have a fluid opinion that varies with the character's actions. And there are some I absolutely adore no matter what they do. There's little or no logic involved in any of those opinions--a couple even defy logic like, for instance, Ryan O'Reilly. Here's a guy who has done some horrific things--usually in sneaky underhanded ways--and in real life I'd be terrified of him...but he's my favorite character on OZ. I like watching his manipulations and schemes, even though the consequences are often tragic, especially for poor Cyril. Even when I want to smack him for getting his brother both brain damaged and in Oz for murder, I just can't find it in myself to *not* love Ryan. He's harder to like than overtly sympathetic characters, but the sheer glee that comes from watching him go ballistic on Cudney or flirt with Jason Cramer (just for a couple of quick examples) makes it all worth while. [Okay, confession time: I'd pay money to sit in an uncomfortable chair in an icy cold room and watch Ryan flirt with Jason Cramer for hours. He's so damn *good* at it.]
So my point is I'm not going to jump down someone's throat for calling Ryan an amoral son of a bitch... He can be one, but he does it with such style that some of us love him all the more for it. And there's nothing wrong with calling him that--and meaning it pejoratively-- as long as one realizes that not everyone feels that way.
Flame wars get started when people can't let things go. They feel so compelled to make their point--over and over in increasingly strident terms-- that even people who may have agreed with them at the beginning start to feel alienated. No one wants to just let things *go*. There are certain people who dislike characters that I love and will rip them apart either in discussion or in fiction. Now I could stamp my foot and complain (and I have on a few rare occasions done so, just for the hell of it), but it wouldn't really change a thing. How do I know that nothing will change? Well, there are certain characters that I dislike or hate and I *know* I'm not gonna change my mind, no matter how many of my friends or listmates sing their praises. Strong opinions are almost impossible to change, and one shouldn't feel compelled to try to do so, but sometimes the desire is irresistible. Remember the old adage about teaching a pig to sing, and resist it. <g>
So the next time you see someone step up on a soapbox, listen carefully for the rattle of the approaching bandwagon. Now, I'm going to get off *my* soap box and go try to write some fic...