#telling people it’s morally wrong to simp for makarov

[siilvan]

i am once again disappointed but not surprised at the COD fandom only caring about “sensitivity” when it’s convenient for them

#telling people it’s morally wrong to simp for makarov #whilst simping for graves or valeria #or ANY character in this damn series #just shows that you only give a shit about ‘sensitivity’ when it doesn’t inconvenience you #‘but he’s bad :(’ my brother in christ. let’s talk about western militaries #price nikolai and gaz literally kidnapped and tortured an innocent woman and child #the UK and US militaries have DEVASTATED vulnerable countries #y’all wanna talk about sensitivity?? then acknowledge how even the ‘good’ characters like the 141 are shitty! #none of these characters are good people! #i cannot stress this enough. eliminating characters because they’re ‘problematic’ eliminates the entire cast. every single one of them. #MAYBE farah would be safe?? i’m not knowledgeable enough to say for certain. but everyone else— 141. los vaqueros. laswell. alex. nikolai. + #valeria. graves. every last warzone operator. EVERY single character is ‘off-limits’ with that logic. #COD fandom is also horribly racist despite pretending it’s not. notice how people only talk about this when it’s white folks being impacted #no one gave a shit when a middle eastern woman and child were kidnapped and tortured. or when fans were romanticizing cartel violence. #or how the SAS CIA and Delta Force have histories of terrorizing vulnerable people; especially in the middle east and asia #i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again before anyone accuses me of smth false: #sensitivity is important. it can co-exist with letting people enjoy problematic things. the source itself is problematic — #ergo. everything that comes from it (even the ‘good’ things) is as well. #you can’t cherry pick which characters people are allowed to be critical of. you can have your faves and have the ones you dislike #but don’t act like you’re doing something noble when your sensitivity is biased. #sylph.talks

[eenochian]

it’s very funny how this fandom suddenly cares so much about sensitivity, meanwhile no one was up in arms about folks calling valeria shit like “cartel mommy” and simping for her. and, if you point this out, you get told that it’s “less important” or incomparable. way to tell victims of cartel violence that they don’t matter. y’all can’t preach about sensitivity and mindfulness while doing the exact opposite of that.

sensitivity is something that needed to be brought up a long time ago. people need to be mindful about the content they’re engaging with and producing. COD and its characters are based on very real issues and very real situations, mindfulness is needed for every single character.

seeing this only be brought up in the context of makarov and graves is honestly so, so frustrating. they’re not the only problematic characters that you need to consider when making content. western militaries like the US and UK are incredibly controversial and have devastated vulnerable people and their countries. price, ghost, soap, gaz— any member of the military, especially the special forces, is problematic. they’re not good people and should not be treated like saints, nor should they be idolized for what they do.

that all being said, the concepts of “be mindful and sensitive when making content” and “let people enjoy problematic media” can absolutely, 100%, co-exist. art is not meant to be a paradigm of moral goodness, it has always been a medium for people to explore things that are considered "taboo" in a safe space. there's a reason why "dead dove: do not eat" exists as a genre – with proper warning and precautions put in place, people can explore darker topics. for some, it's morbid interest. for others, it's a way of coping with trauma and experiences they've had in real life.

i want to repeat this just to make it very clear: be mindful and sensitive with the content you're producing. do not romanticize topics that should not be painted in a good light. don't minimize the impact of characters' actions or act like people are in the wrong for being uncomfortable with them. in this fandom especially, people treat atrocities like jokes because we're becoming desensitized to them. it's up to every individual to ensure that they don't forget how impactful a lot of this stuff is in real life. war is not a joke. terrorism is not a joke. people dying is not a joke. do not romanticize any of these things in your content, even if you're exploring the different sides of the people behind these things.

humanize the characters all you want. horrible people are still people, after all. humans are not one-dimensional beings. humanize them, but do not romanticize them.

be kind to victims, be sensitive, and be mindful about what you engage with. no one is perfect, no thing is perfect, but we can always do better. we need to approach every topic through this lens instead of picking and choosing who to support. everyone is deserving of it, everyone is entitled to basic respect. we don't need to compete and argue over who has it worse, we just need to be better across the board. support real victims. don't let media warp your perceptions of reality. be conscious of the content you make and consume.

#call of duty #cod #cod mw2 #mw2 #modern warfare #putting it in very clear words because i'm scared people may misinterpret what i'm saying: #for the love of god— LISTEN when people tell you that you're doing something wrong. #especially if these are victims or people knowledgeable of the topics you're portraying. #do your research. learn about the things you're writing or reading about. #do not portray bad people or harmful things in a positive light. #it's completely possible to “simp” for villains without disregarding or defending their actions. these characters are fictional. #it's better to get your rocks off to a set of pixels modeled after a normal person than a REAL person that does harm. #but be cognizant of what you're looking at when you do. #if you can support real victims— please do. #donate to ukraine. educate yourself on the war. learn about the harsh reality of cartels. study the impact of colonization and racism. #not only is it good to be informed of things in the real world— but it allows you to better understand these topics in the media. #i'm FAR from perfect. i'm not immune to doing wrong. i'm no exception to this criticism. #also wanted to throw this into the post but i may make another to address this specifically: #it is VERY telling that this fandom only started talking about sensitivity once (predominantly) white folks started being impacted by it. #no one cared about valeria being called “cartel mommy” or the cartel being romanticized. #graves gets criticized for being racist. but even he's often given a “pass” by the fandom.