With all the unrest in the United
States, I couldn't help but wonder about a few things this week.
First, I guess I should explain a small thing, at least, small to me.
I don't pay as much attention to current events as I should. It's
not just that I don't have television, either. I just got tired of
trying to watch the news as a kid for more of the important events
and finding glorified horror stories. Quite honestly, if you're a
writer and need a plot bunny, you likely don't need to go much
further than the evening news.
The next thing I should explain is that
when it comes to Facebook or social media of any kind, I am the least
likely of persons to actually use said outlet effectively. I use
Facebook as an example, but the same is true of Twitter and any other
social media site I have an account with. It's not because I don't
wish to connect with other people, though. I just don't heave enough
time in a day for everything I want to do as well as need to do. And
even though I'm of the generation that can still add, subtract,
multiply, and divide using either pan and paper or a calculator; I'm
not as computer savvy as people seem to think.
When users on Facebook used a rainbow
filter on their profile pics back when the United States legalized
same-sex marriages, I did not. It's not because I have a thing
against it either. No, I honestly believe that so long as a person
believes themselves in love with another person they should be
allowed to be together in marriage if that's what they truly want.
I'm just to lazy to edit a profile pic that shows support to
something I'm just not paying attention to in the news because I have
too many other things to worry about(like Christmas gifts for
numerous nieces and a few nephews!)
So, after explaining that no, I'm not
current events aware and that most of my information is minimum
secondhand (though more likely fifthhand...) I must admit I started
wondering why people have to be politically correct. And by
politically correct, I mean the BS of speaking the “correct” term
to describe someone's description. If I said a black man did
something or claimed that someone is black because that is the color
I perceive their skin to be or that someone appeared Asian by look,
suddenly I'm prejudiced, according to some. These are most likely
the extremists, but it colors our whole way of communicating.
The biggest thing on my mind was when
did we decide saying the truth was so offensive as to reasonable
grounds to call someone else prejudiced? It's not like we weren't
all raised differently based on the values of those who raised us.
Our experiences also likely changed our opinions as well as what
we've read and watched through various forms of media. I started
rewatching some old shows and I've found that when some of these
shows have a strong female character, they don't make them realistic.
Some books or short stories are the same. If you read fanfiction,
I'm sure you've noticed that some of the characters are taken to the
extreme “never wrong” standpoint. This actually annoys me and I
find myself enjoying shows that center on males.
This is not the way things should be.
Yes, jokes about women or blacks or gays are going to be commonplace.
Just as jokes about Pollocks, geeks, blondes, and moms (I've heard
numerous relating to all of these over my 29 years of life, and don't
find them offensive if delivered in a way that indicates the joker is
actually telling a joke) are abundant. However, when I'm
reading a story or watching as a story unfolds on a screen of any
kind, I want to be able to relate to the characters personalities.
I referenced a quote in an earlier blogpost, Tyranny through Shamefor what we Read?, about YA reading defenders admitting that part of
the enjoyment of reading YA had to to with escapism. I could not and
still cannot nor will I argue this point. I agree with it. Lucky
for me, this particular point plays to my advantage in this post.
When I read or watch something, yes, by
now I'm very well away of what the ending is likely to be. The guy
and girl end up together, the villain is defeated, and everyone lives
happily ever after. Or at least that is the general premise for most
stories. Sometimes it's annoying. Today I find myself looking for
the romances that people seemed to fall into with their personalities
rather than their hearts (mostly catered to in fanfiction.) I've
started looking for more in relationships that are meant to only be
either close friendships, frenemy status, or sibling-like. I'm not
saying it's wrong. It's just something I'm looking for that's
different. Mysteries end up with the lead detective or team figuring
out the case. We know everything will be wrapped up with a pretty
little bow and “happily ever after”. What we don't know and that
which intrigues us, is the journeys taken. That's why we tend to be
drawn in. It's the characters that keep us there. I can't get
behind a female who is always right, but lords it over her friends or
family or both and gets away with it. Characters that are able to
manipulate everyone around them and when their victims realize it,
the perpetrators are forgiven. They don't even hold or show
resentment for what the person had done!
It doesn't seem realistic enough even
if it's in a fantasy world. No matter how much time is given or how
much someone claims to have forgiven someone, there is still a little
piece of resentment in their heart at what was done to them.
Mercedes Lackey managed in her Dragon Jouster series to weave it in
such a way that while yes the main character held resentment toward
and for a certain person due to circumstances outside of their
control, the resentment was still there. It would peak through in
some of the interactions when they were of equal status again. Yes
the character understood and appreciated everything he'd done for
him, he also resented that the man had been a part of the system and
never seemed to try to fix it.
The journey is what is great. When I
read I jump in head first. When I watch a show, my brain keeps
trying to see things that don't quite exist or relate it to what I'm
aware of. The authors and creators don't worry about being
politically correct because they exist in a different world where
what they say while expected to be grammatically correct isn't
expected to be inoffensive. The characters take on lives of their
own and it's a lot more noticeable in written works than it is in a
show or movie. The nuances are in both, just more readily received
through the written word rather than a visual representation.
I know I got off whatever I was
originally going to type up for this post and part of that is because
I managed to get sick earlier this week. In fact I got sick just as
I was going to finish this post, edit it, and schedule it for posting
last Sunday. It didn't happen so instead I'll just have to post this
this Sunday and hope you understand what I've ranted about. Feel
free to ask for clarification or rants about something else. Yes I
still plan to type up Session posts for LANZ, but I'll probably start
them back up after the New Year.
Yes I do plan to go over last year's
resolutions and decide if they'll be the same this year or if some of
them may change. Last year's resolution post can be found as Resolutions for 2015.
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