#did y'all not listen to dacre?

[nerodmcdevilslayer]

Let's see here, hm... Who is the true villain of Stranger Things? Is it... the guy who kidnapped and experimented on children? Nah.

The man who murdered his own sister, mother, sent his father to an asylum, and killed countless kids? Nah.

The man who abused his wife, forced her to leave him and their son, then turned his abuse on their child? Nah.

The guy started a witch hunt for Eddie Munson, manipulated a boy who wanted to fit in, beat up and pulled a gun and SHOT AT said boy, and also caused said boy's girlfriend to go into a coma because he destroyed the one thing that could help her in the moment? Nah.

The woman who groomed an underage boy? Nah.

OH, AH, I SEE. It's the teen boy who was subject to aforementioned grooming and abuse, horribly misunderstood, was ripped from his home and placed into a conservative town a thousand miles away, who tried to do the right thing but his step sister kept inadvertently perpetuating his abuse by disobeying, who did all he could to protect her and himself by warning her to not interact with the people his father didn't like, and who ended up sacrificing himself when a girl showed him the slightest bit of affection.

Yeah... that checks out.

[saruma-aki]

Honestly--Please and Thanks

Wow, I don’t know what’s wrong with people nowadays, but man. I’m all for expressing ones opinions and views and stuff, but stop attacking people with different views.

So, I like Billy?

What does that matter to you?

So, I didn’t interpret Billy as racist?

What does that matter to you?

So, I think Billy can be redeemed and want him to be?

What does that matter to you?

Like, man, I don’t care what you think, and you shouldn’t care about what I think. It’s exhausting to see people acting like this.

Informing people is important, yes, but, damn, there are whole other sides to arguments that people are ignoring. I made one post–just one–on Dacre saying he doesn’t think Billy’s racist. The man said that he originally thought he was, but as he did his research and got to know the character better, he came to the conclusion that there was a different origin to that line. So, why the hell are people getting upset about that? And why are people getting upset at me for that?

Like, geez, calm down.

I’ve been on the receiving end of the “certain people” line. It sucks. But, at the same time, I’ve never jumped to the conclusion that it was about my race. Because I’m also poor, on top of that, and I wear pretty much the same five outfits every week. And I curse a lot on top of that. And I can be five different people in five minutes because I change with every person I interact with–which makes people think I’m two-faced. I dress nice sometimes and I’ve had people say not to hang out with me because it feels like a challenge to their position in the other person’s life. I’ve been there. I know how it feels. But I also know how I appear to others and that my race may be what they’re talking about, but that there are also other things about me that qualify as “certain types of people” they don’t want their kids or siblings or friends associating with.

And I’ve talked to people who have been abused like Billy has and ended up like Billy. And I’ve seen them change, listened to their stories, listened to them talk about how they reconciled with those close to them that they didn’t treat well. I’ve listened to them talk about how they cared for their siblings or their friends, but that life seemed like a constant power struggle, a fight for control, and that gaining any form of control over anyone felt good, like a victory. I’ve listened to them say that they didn’t even realize it was wrong until people started calling them out for it, until they had that “wake up call”. I’ve listened to them talk about the regret they feel and how they know they can’t change the past and that it kills them to know that they can’t go back and change what happened. But I’ve seen the smiles on their faces when they get a phone call from a sibling or friend they reconciled with. I’ve seen the hope in their eyes. I’ve listened to them tell me that even though the bridge was burnt in the past, that they’re grateful to have been given the chance to build a new one. I’ve seen them be redeemed. They can be redeemed.

I’ve scene people get a hard-on for the most basic, cookie-cutter, characters. But I’ve also seen people get sucked into complex, multi-faceted characters, characters like Billy that have depth and ridges and a complexity that is admirable in the sense that the character was crafted well and not given the illusion of being static–instead made dynamic and fascinating. I’ve been that person, am that person, that finds enjoyment in complex characters because the world is full of complex characters and isn’t it fascinating to have all this information presented to you and take it apart and find the person and not reduce them to a simple, one-dimensional being.

So, dammit, I get why people see things the way they do. I do my research. I try to talk to people and get the other sides point of view.

I get it.

And I never thought I’d have to make a post announcing that because I figured that people would simply stay in their lane, but, damn, I guess not. I guess that if I’m not agreeing with you then I must not know what I’m talking about and that I must be anti-black or an apologist or fucked in the head or whatever.

I’m not apologizing for what he has done, and I’m not excusing what he has done. But, dammit, I can see things differently, and I can have a different opinion.

So, hopefully, y'all get the message this time around, although you probably won’t.

I like Billy Hargrove, and that’s that.

Leave me alone.