#now don't get me wrong this kind of thing absolutely isn't free of bigotry

[creature-once-removed]

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#I've been having thoughts about perceived racist/queerphobic/otherwise bigoted side character arcs #and I think a lot of times what people get worked up about and accuse writers of isn't what's really happening #because what happens is: side character is let's say queer #side character gets killed off #and what people make of that is 'they were killed off because they are queer' #but I think a lot of times it's that they were killed off because they are a side character #now don't get me wrong this kind of thing absolutely isn't free of bigotry #because the problem has different roots here #because the reason that people are pissed off is because the main cats that don't have these arcs aren't queer/... #and that way the violence feels targeted #when really what happened was probably 'thing took off' #'new side characters are added; side characters are made to pose representation because that's what you do' #(which is A GOOD THING! people deciding to add representation upon cooking up a new character is good!) #so the problem isn't that side characters are queer and then die #the problem is that being queer (/poc/disabled/...) still isn't seen as default #and therefore not included in the original cast of protagonists #and another problem probably is that people aren't sure how to write these side characters #which is why sometimes minority-representing side characters die while majority-representing side characters don't #so it still is queerphobia/racism/... but the underlying cause is different #and going at (especially young) creators like 'you killed them because they are gay!!!' doesn't help because it's probably not true #and we won't get better stories until we learn to identify and address the correct problem(s) #it only serves to flatten the things a queer character's story arc can contain in a different direction #especially with young/impressionable creators who are reading/listening to this kind of presumptuous outrage on a daily basis #I'm not saying don't be angry. I'd never try to take that away from anyone #I just think it won't help until we recognize there's nuance #this somewhat falls into 'don't assume malice when you can assume incompetence' territory #especially in that we need to not yell at people but educate them instead. help them see