![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reenkaThis will definitely come as a shock to nobody, but the fact remains, I just don't -like- `evil'.
Stephen tells me I'm a "very moral person" and that's just kind of ridiculous, in a way, since I severely dislike most ethical systems and "rules" in general. But I just realized that I think I have a bone to pick with the glorification of evil in the HP universe in particular or any universe in general. Its fictionality is besides the point to me, because it's not the hypothetical story that concerns me but the reactions to that story. I am just concerned about the trend to subvert "the authority" (the Good Guys) to such an extent that all empathy is left behind as the spoils of this war. There are definitely healthy ways to aesthetically depict and appreciate pain and sadness and horror-- but the sheer mindless enjoyment of them... I dunno. It concerns me.
I've liked mean characters that I'd avoid even looking at in real life-- I've liked fictional assholes of the highest order-- loved, even. But there's a huge difference between meanness (which in real life pisses me the hell off) and this amorphous, vaguely religious concept called "evil".
I happen not to believe in evil, but it's not a calm, accepting non-belief the way my atheism is calm and accepting. I think "evil" is basically a destructive meme which does nothing positive for anyone I've ever seen espousing it, and certainly not for any philosophical system that includes it. Most people don't even question what they mean when they call someone "evil". And this is what bothers me-- the admiration and enjoyment of someone's "evil" as a state-of-being. An "evil action" may get a positive response and it wouldn't bother me because in terms of actions, evil would be defined by destructive power, and if the action brings pleasure then it's not really "evil" except in some metaphysical intractable sense as far as the individual in question.
Calling a person evil bothers the living daylights out of me, whether you mean you love or hate them for it. It bothers me because people don't question this, because they throw around these terms with no sense of thought apparent behind them. And yes, this comes down to Draco and people claiming to like or love Evil!Draco (or Evil!anyone, or Death Eaters being oh-so-cool-'cause-they're-evil). It's fiction, and evil doesn't exist in my mind, but it does in -theirs-, apparently, and here are all these people finding this concept which is real to them appealing. And it's appealing because this person likes to cause pain and misery and doesn't apologize, because this person doesn't deserve forgiveness or hand it out, because this person is the lowest of the low and somehow that makes them... what??! That makes them what, exactly??!
How in world can someone judge a person so negatively on their own moral scale and then like them for it??! It makes no sense to me. I can appreciate Satanism, but then you are basically saying that Satan Is Good. As long as you have a different definition of good (or evil), it's perfectly understandable. But how does it work, when someone buys into the whole semi-Christian moral system and then labels a character like Draco with the weight of centuries of hellfire and vicious condemnation and then (in what I consider one of the few real perversities) goes on to enjoy and bestow affection on what to them is basically a being of Sin (with a capital "S")??!
This has been brewing for a long time, too. Every time someone goes on about the beauty of evil!Lucius and the wonderfulness of the (Oh So Evil) Death Eaters and the gorgeous malice of Voldemort (or Riddle)-- not in an exploratory fictional thematic context, in a cultish appropriation context-- that's where it crosses the line for me.
Rowling created a very black-and-white world, at least before OoTP. For some people, this is an invitation to feel justified in their happily rigid Judeo-Christian moral system (Draco sucks, Umbridge sucks, Harry & Ron & Gryffindor rocks, but OoTP!Harry, not so much). For some people, this is an invitation to subvert these binaries and try to tease out the ambiguities in this universe, to work within the grey areas, to aim for some sort of liminal space where change and redemption is possible for all. And then there are the people who've internalized their disenfranchized sensibility to such an extent that they take this fairy-taleish moral system and cast their lost with the Wicked Witch and the Koschei the Deathless of this universe. It's basically a pointless, simple reversal of the blind Good/Evil binary (which a closer reading of the text doesn't even fully support), and it's taking things completely out of context to promote what is most likely a prior Evil=Good agenda.
I don't know why it drives me up the wall like this-- but anytime that I see someone glorifying what is basically a horrible abuse or a mishandling of justice, I just see red. This is funny because I'm really not a justice-centric person, not at all-- as far as personality-typing (this is a common question), I'm much more on the `mercy' rather than the `justice' end. By endorsing the evilness of a character like Draco, the discourse leaves the level of possible "sexual kink" far behind and goes into something that reflects people's views of the world. And this is where my outrage lies, I suppose. It's not a question of me disapproving of someone's pleasure-- it's a question of me disapproving of a certain mind-set.
This is basically the Puritan mind-set, dressed up in pretty garters and spiked heels. Instead of obsessively venerating the Good and the Pure, this is venerating the Filthy and the Destructive and Wrong -because- it's seen that way. It would be -fine-, as I'd said, if all this -wasn't- seen as wrong (because I'm relativist like that). But the sheer mental acrobatics needed to admire in a character the very thing that disgusts one in a human being simply boggles me.
I don't admire Draco's mean streak, for instance-- I love him anyway, but I don't enjoy him because of it. Even if I did-- meanness is one thing, and sheer Evil is quite, quite another!
I won't even go into some preachy essay as to why Draco Isn't Evil In The Least, because the subject is also an emotional one for me and I don't think I can say anything useful when I feel like yelling GOD NO. Because what offends me even -more- is the idea of someone loving him for it. It's like shoving someone's face in the dirt and thinking you're giving them a hug!! It's not love! What is that? How can you like a character and have them be all wrong and twisted and psychotic in your mind-- not in an "ooh, madness + violence = sexy" sort of way, but in a "MINIONS OF ABSOLUTE(!!) EVIL ARE TEH BOMB" sort of way? Because madness can mean a number of enjoyable (dark) things-- delirium, loss of control, the fevered vertigo feeling of nightmares, one's own dark side.
The only difference here is that neither madness or darkness involve an element of moral judgement (like "Evil" does), thus they don't have much to do with any sort of ethical stance one way or the other. You can wallow in darkness & madness till your mind self-destructs and never touch any element of veneration towards Evil, which is at heart a monotheistic religious concept which offends the living fuck out of me (whereas Darkness itself definitely doesn't in any possible way).
I know getting this upset means I can't think and thus won't say anything useful, of course. Sigh. It's just... wanting Draco to be Evil basically goes against all my poor delicate sensibilities, I think. Wanting anyone to be Evil goes against everything dear to me. It's even more repugnant to me than -judging- someone evil (because well, everyone does -that-, don't they-- I'm used to it to some extent). Mind you, I'm not saying Riddle & Lucius Malfoy & Umbridge aren't dark and sadistic or whatever (though Draco-- just leave Draco out of this, okay??!?!)-- that just means they're dark to me, that they've made the wrong choices, that they have some inadequacy complex of some sort which means they get off on others' pain. Draco hasn't made all these choices. Labelling Draco evil is just a blatant misuse of the concept to "rub it in", so to speak, to appropriate him because Evil Is Better (as far as my small sample size goes). If Ron & Harry & Gryffindors Suck and Evil!Draco and Death Eaters and Pain And Torture Rule, then what other conclusion can I draw?
This whole post is basically just one long scream at the awful attack on my darling's character. I know I'm unreasonable and I don't even know all these Death Eater-venerating people and there's no reason to think they're much alike aside from my sudden burst of rage. But dammit!! My subject says it all.
DIE EVIL!DRACO DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE ALREADY!!!11!!1!!one! And take Good!Draco with you, 'cause he's just a wet noodle that reminds me of souled!Spike, except not crazy! Which isn't Good! Ahem. -.-
*breathes*. okay. um. yeah. i was a bit stressed today, why? :T
Stephen tells me I'm a "very moral person" and that's just kind of ridiculous, in a way, since I severely dislike most ethical systems and "rules" in general. But I just realized that I think I have a bone to pick with the glorification of evil in the HP universe in particular or any universe in general. Its fictionality is besides the point to me, because it's not the hypothetical story that concerns me but the reactions to that story. I am just concerned about the trend to subvert "the authority" (the Good Guys) to such an extent that all empathy is left behind as the spoils of this war. There are definitely healthy ways to aesthetically depict and appreciate pain and sadness and horror-- but the sheer mindless enjoyment of them... I dunno. It concerns me.
I've liked mean characters that I'd avoid even looking at in real life-- I've liked fictional assholes of the highest order-- loved, even. But there's a huge difference between meanness (which in real life pisses me the hell off) and this amorphous, vaguely religious concept called "evil".
I happen not to believe in evil, but it's not a calm, accepting non-belief the way my atheism is calm and accepting. I think "evil" is basically a destructive meme which does nothing positive for anyone I've ever seen espousing it, and certainly not for any philosophical system that includes it. Most people don't even question what they mean when they call someone "evil". And this is what bothers me-- the admiration and enjoyment of someone's "evil" as a state-of-being. An "evil action" may get a positive response and it wouldn't bother me because in terms of actions, evil would be defined by destructive power, and if the action brings pleasure then it's not really "evil" except in some metaphysical intractable sense as far as the individual in question.
Calling a person evil bothers the living daylights out of me, whether you mean you love or hate them for it. It bothers me because people don't question this, because they throw around these terms with no sense of thought apparent behind them. And yes, this comes down to Draco and people claiming to like or love Evil!Draco (or Evil!anyone, or Death Eaters being oh-so-cool-'cause-they're-evil). It's fiction, and evil doesn't exist in my mind, but it does in -theirs-, apparently, and here are all these people finding this concept which is real to them appealing. And it's appealing because this person likes to cause pain and misery and doesn't apologize, because this person doesn't deserve forgiveness or hand it out, because this person is the lowest of the low and somehow that makes them... what??! That makes them what, exactly??!
How in world can someone judge a person so negatively on their own moral scale and then like them for it??! It makes no sense to me. I can appreciate Satanism, but then you are basically saying that Satan Is Good. As long as you have a different definition of good (or evil), it's perfectly understandable. But how does it work, when someone buys into the whole semi-Christian moral system and then labels a character like Draco with the weight of centuries of hellfire and vicious condemnation and then (in what I consider one of the few real perversities) goes on to enjoy and bestow affection on what to them is basically a being of Sin (with a capital "S")??!
This has been brewing for a long time, too. Every time someone goes on about the beauty of evil!Lucius and the wonderfulness of the (Oh So Evil) Death Eaters and the gorgeous malice of Voldemort (or Riddle)-- not in an exploratory fictional thematic context, in a cultish appropriation context-- that's where it crosses the line for me.
Rowling created a very black-and-white world, at least before OoTP. For some people, this is an invitation to feel justified in their happily rigid Judeo-Christian moral system (Draco sucks, Umbridge sucks, Harry & Ron & Gryffindor rocks, but OoTP!Harry, not so much). For some people, this is an invitation to subvert these binaries and try to tease out the ambiguities in this universe, to work within the grey areas, to aim for some sort of liminal space where change and redemption is possible for all. And then there are the people who've internalized their disenfranchized sensibility to such an extent that they take this fairy-taleish moral system and cast their lost with the Wicked Witch and the Koschei the Deathless of this universe. It's basically a pointless, simple reversal of the blind Good/Evil binary (which a closer reading of the text doesn't even fully support), and it's taking things completely out of context to promote what is most likely a prior Evil=Good agenda.
I don't know why it drives me up the wall like this-- but anytime that I see someone glorifying what is basically a horrible abuse or a mishandling of justice, I just see red. This is funny because I'm really not a justice-centric person, not at all-- as far as personality-typing (this is a common question), I'm much more on the `mercy' rather than the `justice' end. By endorsing the evilness of a character like Draco, the discourse leaves the level of possible "sexual kink" far behind and goes into something that reflects people's views of the world. And this is where my outrage lies, I suppose. It's not a question of me disapproving of someone's pleasure-- it's a question of me disapproving of a certain mind-set.
This is basically the Puritan mind-set, dressed up in pretty garters and spiked heels. Instead of obsessively venerating the Good and the Pure, this is venerating the Filthy and the Destructive and Wrong -because- it's seen that way. It would be -fine-, as I'd said, if all this -wasn't- seen as wrong (because I'm relativist like that). But the sheer mental acrobatics needed to admire in a character the very thing that disgusts one in a human being simply boggles me.
I don't admire Draco's mean streak, for instance-- I love him anyway, but I don't enjoy him because of it. Even if I did-- meanness is one thing, and sheer Evil is quite, quite another!
I won't even go into some preachy essay as to why Draco Isn't Evil In The Least, because the subject is also an emotional one for me and I don't think I can say anything useful when I feel like yelling GOD NO. Because what offends me even -more- is the idea of someone loving him for it. It's like shoving someone's face in the dirt and thinking you're giving them a hug!! It's not love! What is that? How can you like a character and have them be all wrong and twisted and psychotic in your mind-- not in an "ooh, madness + violence = sexy" sort of way, but in a "MINIONS OF ABSOLUTE(!!) EVIL ARE TEH BOMB" sort of way? Because madness can mean a number of enjoyable (dark) things-- delirium, loss of control, the fevered vertigo feeling of nightmares, one's own dark side.
The only difference here is that neither madness or darkness involve an element of moral judgement (like "Evil" does), thus they don't have much to do with any sort of ethical stance one way or the other. You can wallow in darkness & madness till your mind self-destructs and never touch any element of veneration towards Evil, which is at heart a monotheistic religious concept which offends the living fuck out of me (whereas Darkness itself definitely doesn't in any possible way).
I know getting this upset means I can't think and thus won't say anything useful, of course. Sigh. It's just... wanting Draco to be Evil basically goes against all my poor delicate sensibilities, I think. Wanting anyone to be Evil goes against everything dear to me. It's even more repugnant to me than -judging- someone evil (because well, everyone does -that-, don't they-- I'm used to it to some extent). Mind you, I'm not saying Riddle & Lucius Malfoy & Umbridge aren't dark and sadistic or whatever (though Draco-- just leave Draco out of this, okay??!?!)-- that just means they're dark to me, that they've made the wrong choices, that they have some inadequacy complex of some sort which means they get off on others' pain. Draco hasn't made all these choices. Labelling Draco evil is just a blatant misuse of the concept to "rub it in", so to speak, to appropriate him because Evil Is Better (as far as my small sample size goes). If Ron & Harry & Gryffindors Suck and Evil!Draco and Death Eaters and Pain And Torture Rule, then what other conclusion can I draw?
This whole post is basically just one long scream at the awful attack on my darling's character. I know I'm unreasonable and I don't even know all these Death Eater-venerating people and there's no reason to think they're much alike aside from my sudden burst of rage. But dammit!! My subject says it all.
DIE EVIL!DRACO DIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIEDIE ALREADY!!!11!!1!!one! And take Good!Draco with you, 'cause he's just a wet noodle that reminds me of souled!Spike, except not crazy! Which isn't Good! Ahem. -.-
*breathes*. okay. um. yeah. i was a bit stressed today, why? :T
