I’ve been thinking a lot about this discussion on fanfiction that’s been going on in (primarily Sherlock) fandom right now.
Putting this under a read more, because it’s quite long.
More smart people being smart.
To me, obviously, her last paragraph is the one I’m most concerned with, as for me this has never been about who reads what fic or draws what art, but rather how we interact with each other fans. It’s entirely possible to disagree with how someone else interacts with a show without painting them as evil, but that gets lost on Tumblr.
I am incredibly sorry that abuse victims feel that fanfic and fanart is responsible for their abuse and are hurt by it. I would echo the statement above that the ONLY person responsible for your abuse is your abuser. You didn’t do anything wrong, no matter what you read or didn’t read.
I’ve had a week of being called a liar, a rape apologist, a pedophilia apologist, and god knows what else because I said, without naming names, “This is bullying and abuse, and it has to stop” about a pattern of bad behavior that has since been well-documented (and yes, that link does name names). I don’t think anyone involved with this is evil. I think they’re wrong, I think they’re troubled, and I think they’re behaving poorly as a result, and no one is obligated to tolerate their bad behavior.
Bullying thrives in an atmosphere of silence. This has exploded the way it did in part because the victims of harassment at 221b con stood up and shared their story. Emma shared hers. Others have as well. The more people who have the courage to step up and say “This happened to me too”, the less power these people will have.
from Tumblr http://ift.tt/1Eq6HSZ