#if you're just as DONE as i am ihskjsdkjsdkj

[kittyandco]

am i just in different spaces than a lot of people or have i legit never seen anyone earnestly being like "this character was justified for doing bad things because they had a rough background"? i feel like that's a complete fabrication at this point. more than likely it's just a lot of people don't seem to understand sympathizing and/or empathizing with someone while simultaneously disagreeing with their actions. you can (and should more often) do that! it's a good exercise in empathy (as an aside, it's important to understand why bad things are the way they are, and how they came to be, so they can possibly be prevented later).

fictional characters (and real people but this isn't the blog for that. just treat people with respect.) who do bad things aren't suddenly zapped of their humanity, feelings, relationships, or experiences that led them to this point. and it's fun, cathartic, and interesting at the very least to explore these aspects... and even, god forbid, feel for them and cast them in a sympathetic light in certain contexts.

they still feel pain and clearly they didn't deal with that pain constructively given that we're talking about Bad Guys here. so i will continue to talk about them in this way, especially because i perpetually commit the grave sin of connecting with characters like this... because we have similar experiences or outlooks on certain parts of life. and just because we may have perspectives that align in some ways, that doesn't mean i'm just as evil or "excuse it," because their thoughts don't solely revolve around EVIL TERROR BADWRONG CRIME MURDER KILL.

there are many influences on a person that come from all over. even the guys with the most one-track-mind think about other things and approach multiple facets of their lives based on their general life outlook. WHY do they want to do the bad things they do? why did they (possibly) once do good things? who or what is important to them and why? why do they see themselves as above others? what do they think about their autonomy, and the autonomy of others? did they once feel powerless, and what do they do about it when they feel that powerlessness now? what happened to them?

why aren't we allowed to acknowledge the potential suffering they went through and why/how they're here now, doing the things they do? why are we only allowed to do that when it's a Good Guy?

if i dare to connect with Bad Guy and want to explore their justifications and commit the horrible crime of feeling for them, i guess that means i condone all the crimes ever. at this point, yeah!!! fine!!! if that's what it takes! fine, yes, they suffered and that means they can do whatever they want now. go forth, babe, be terrible. you have my seal of approval. i do not see it 😪 but if i did, let's say hypothetically i did, just know it was hot