#why is the one allowed sympathy and complexity while the other is judged harshly for the assumption of what they could have become

[isfjmel-phleg]

(back on my history soapbox, sorry)

#random personal stuff #I don't want to name any names and I'm not looking to get into arguments #but I struggle to understand how #the imaginary atrocities one assumes a historical teenager would have committed if they had lived to adulthood #are so much worse than #the actual atrocities committed by a related adult which are excusable because this person had a sad life #why is the one allowed sympathy and complexity while the other is judged harshly for the assumption of what they could have become #it costs zero dollars to be understanding of and fair to multiple historical people at once #this isn't black and white #and it really bothers me that it seems to be so difficult to find compassion for an actual child #who was as much the product of their upbringing and culture and circumstances as anyone else connected with them #anyway this is a frustratingly common perspective on these people and it showed up on my dash today #(from someone who isn't a mutual/friend) #and I am just...very tired of unfair takes on historical people and of selective compassion and designated villains #these were real human beings everyone