#also you cant just act in pure anger all the time even irl

[mid-nighttiger]

i wonder how much of the common fandom misconception that the dark side is not actually bad comes from a misunderstanding of where the dark side actually comes from. from what i gather from folks who argue that the dark side isn't actually bad, it seems they think that someone falls to the dark side because they 'care too much' or because of anger over some injustice that must be corrected. if this were true, then the dark side seems pretty reasonable or even the right thing to do, especially for those of us who've felt that anger in real life due to an injustice we've faced and used it to galvanize our actions

but the dark side isn't rooted in anger. it's rooted in fear -- fear of loss of power, or control, or life, or another person. fear that can lead to anger, yes, but it's not the righteous anger of a protector for those less fortunate, but an anger that twists one's principles and causes hate and suffering. honestly, the dark side has more in common with the hateful people in real life who cause the very injustices we're angry about, who are often also afraid of a (perceived) loss of power that leads them to mistreat others