#NUANCE

[itsdirteclaire]

Yeah, same here, and it's the weirdest thing

I dislike porn, but I will go to bat for SWers because I can acknowledge that they need protections, and that making their job illegal will only make the industry more exploitive.

I feel like the movement to normalize and accept different sexualities and gender has now somehow made me a vastly different type of radical, in which I'm asking questions like "why are there so many labels when there were just complaints about being put in boxes" and "how did you create the oppression Olympics just to fight with your fellow oppressed peers instead of against the system" and also "If nothing determines gender except what you know to be yours, how do you know it to be yours" . It's confusing, and I keep trying to understand it, but not understanding how complex it has gotten doesn't stop me from defending the movements.

And gosh, even if you don't pick up anything addictive in your life, either out of no desire to (like me) or because you can't, you have to have a basic respect for people who do, because dehumanizing someone for a mistake isn't productive.

There are so many things I don't personally enjoy, like, or want to engage with, but the moment we start to put our feelings on the matter over the larger picture is the moment we let hatred win.

I'm so sick of defending shit I don't even like. I hate porn. I think gender and sexuality are boring. I've never taken an illegal drug and have no interest in doing so. But people won't back the fuck off and let people live their lives so here we still are, still on the front lines with this shit. "You guys make everything about" I'D REALLY LOVE NOT TO, MATE, BUT WE'RE NOT THE ONES CREATING PROBLEMS HERE. Stop trying to control people's lives and we'll all get a chance to shut up about it, but unfortunately the Moral Police are out here endangering lives and livelihoods so here we still are. Forever.

[unsolicited-opinions]

We've Made Changing Your Mind Look Like a Flaw Instead of a Virtue

The internet has taught people to archive your opinions and weaponize your growth. If you evolve, you're a flip-flopper. If you admit uncertainty, you're weak. If you take time to rethink, you're stalling.

So people fake certainty to avoid punishment.

Intellectual honesty, though, requires change. If your views haven't changed in ten years, that says less about your clarity than it says about your lack of reflection.

[sagegreenyaps]

When a cis man gets offended and says, "Not all men," it is generally in the context that he feels he is personally being attacked as an individual, and said to try and halt a conversation on sociopolitical issues that he is not generally a victim of (benefits from, even).

When transmascs get offended and say, "Not all men," it is generally in the context of them feeling erased from a sociopolitical perspective on the basis of their nuanced identity (not a cis man but not a woman-- or, in the case of some genderfluid / multigender individuals, not just a woman), and said to try and broaden a conversation on sociopolitical issues (because they are far deeper than just, "masculinity as a whole is evil, and men are trash") that they are being othered from, despite facing said sociopolitical issues as a victim of them.

Whether you acknowledge this or not, having the same exact negative reaction to both instances is a reflection of a cisgender-centric worldview.

[shyjusticewarrior]

"Jason's not the angry one" not as in Jason isn't angry but as in Jason is the emotional one and anger happens to be an emotion.

[thelandswemadeofpaper]

They want grey character but without them doing grey stuff

okay before i get into this rant let me state I haven't watched hotd in a bit and I also haven't been caught up so if I'm missing anything just lemme know.

I think people tend to struggle with black and white thinking with characters (and people irl of course) where they'll see "good" traits and then be like "well xyz CAN'T be in the wrong EVER" orrrr they'll only see bad traits and be like "well xyz is evil and nothing they do is right" and that's just not the way people work.

and I think that this applies to team green so strongly because I see so many people calling Alicent either a saint or evil and like....the point is that there is nuance. Like she (and her children) are complicated multidimensional people and that's what makes the writing so good. I LOVE the hightowers because of this and I am still firmly team Black. I think people forget with media that you can enjoy characters without them being perfect angels who did nothing wrong and vice versa you can hate characters without them being the devil.

I think a good example of this complicated writing is the situation with Dyana the servant. Again, I haven't watched the show in a sec so give me a break if I get some things wrong or forget something. But when Alicent learns of what Aegon did to Dyana, she is obviously distraught. She isn't heartless at all. You can tell she feels bad for this poor girl and heartbroken that her son could do such a thing. (tangent: speaking of nuance, Aegon has a lot of it. He is charismatic and fun to watch and you feel bad because he didn't want to be king but then you see how he treats women and those around him and you realize he isn't a good guy but you still feel sympathetic towards him. That's good writing)

But despite her sympathies, Alicent KNOWS that this could ruin them. So she helps her son cover up his crime. She pays Dyana so she won't tell anyone and gives her moon tea as a precaution. (side note: I know the intended reason for the moon tea was so that there would be no proof of what Aegon did but I also like to see it as Alicent not wanting motherhood to be forced unto Dyana so young like it was Alicent).

This shows how far Alicent will go to have her son on the throne as she pushes away her morals in order to clean up Aegon's mess. But then when Helaena asks where Dyana went and Alicent hugs her, you begin to feel sympathy again. There are a lot of different explanations to this scene but I saw it as Alicent seeing what a monster her son was and realizing how he probably mistreated Helaena. Helaena who had no choice in her loveless marriage. I think she saw Helaena in that moment as herself, young and wed to Viserys. And I think in that hug she was expressing how she was sorry.

This was incoherent and a huge ramble I'm not even gonna proof read this or anything...the point is that characters such as Alicent Hightower are not just Good or Bad. They are complex. I Love Alicent dearly and yet I root against her. The way she is written is so Human and we need to stop acting like multifaceted characters don't exist.

[sunbeamedskies]

"Why are some people so mad at Kneecap?? Criticism of Israel isn't antisemitic"

Criticism of Israel isn't inherently antisemitic- that's correct. But Kneecap has waved Hezbollah flags in the past, and coupled with the ambiguity of their statement plus the context of this happening at a music festival, it has sparked concern among a lot of Jews

Hezbollah is a terror group which is explicitly antisemitic. They view Israeli and Jewish civilians as legitimate targets and supported the October 7th attacks. They are also funded by the Islamic Republic of Iran- a fascist group which movements like the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement have begged people to stand against. They are not freedom fighters for Palestine, and the fact Kneecap believed they are is concerning

Anytime anyone says Fuck (insert country name here) there is always ambiguity. When a country's civilians have repeatedly been dehumanized to the point their deaths and assaults are justified, and many have argued that they are just as guilty as their government leaders no matter what they believe, there are reasons Fuck (country name) statements are going to cause concern and have their true intents and meanings questioned

Could Kneecap's statement be simply targeting the Israeli government? Possibly. If they had specifically said "Fuck Netanyahu" I would see no problem with it. I also have no issue with any artist shouting “Free Palestine” or waving a Palestinian flag. Though I wish more in the music community would also acknowledge Israeli and Jewish pain and not act like they have to “choose” between supporting either people, Palestinian pain deserves a multitude of empathy and global attention. But due to Kneecap’s past support of Hezbollah and that statement sometimes being used by others to mean Israelis as a whole, its meaning and intent are unclear 

If someone projected a screen that put “Fuck” before Palestine, had a history of supporting Kahanism (a violent right wing ideology which promotes murdering and enslaving Palestinians and other Arabs) and other people dismissed it as merely being a statement against Hamas, how would you feel? Would you trust it to not be talking about Palestinians as a whole?

The lack of outcry from the global festival community after the October 7th massacre has left Jews feeling alone. It has made us feel as though Jewish festival goers are not valued, our deaths and suffering shrugged at by others we trusted would care for us in our time of need. The inability to see nuance as to why many are hurt by Kneecap’s actions just compounds our pain

[dduane]

Erotica and anniversaries

...The big E, first. Here she is. Isn't she lovely?

...Right there upstairs at the Library of Congress, on the second floor. (I noted at the time we passed through some years back—and continue to smile at the memory—that her artist has included his copyright statement right there, to make sure no one misses it.)

...Anyway, where were we? ...Oh yeah: the local takes on erotic writing and smut.

This subject seems to come up every couple of years. What nudged me into revisiting it this time was the notes off a comment to a post earlier today, responding to someone working on an explicit-leaning AU, and discussing the writing of (story) bibles for projects.

Anyway, the notes:

#love that the advice was not just 'stick to porn' or 'don't write porn at all' but 'ah yes; common problem; let me explain to you how to write a series bible'

Well, disclosure here: in my case, it can't really be otherwise. :)

Let this act as everybody's sort-of-biennial reminder (if needed) that I'm not going to be caught condemning people for writing smut, as I've written it myself. (And continue to do so when the mood moves me.)

The post from very nearly two years ago, discussing the issue in more detail, is over here. As you'll see if you read it, there were some folks who experienced brief episodes of cognitive dissonance on learning I was a cheerful writer of explicit material. Some of the surprise was probably due to the fact that a lot of people see me—mostly due to the relatively-higher profile of the Young Wizards books—as primarily a writer for younger readers.

But that's not how I got started. My (1979) debut novel centers a universe where the following exchange between two of the protagonists appears—they then being wrapped up in blankets and afterglow in the wake of a prolonged and enthusiastic post-reunion shag:

A soft chuckle in the darkness. “Lorn, remember that first time we shared at your place?” “That was a long time ago.” “It seems that way.” “—and my father yelled up the stairs, ‘What are you dooooooooing?’ “—and you yelled back, ‘We’re fuckinnnnnnnnnnng!’” “—and it was quiet for so long—” “—and then he started laughing—” “Yeah.”

Nor was this a one-off. This book and its sequels contain a fair number of passages in which human (and occasionally non-human) sexualities, both in the abstract and the experientially concrete, take center stage. And the mode in which they're expressed and discussed is intended for adults. Those sequences can probably be described as at least borderline erotica. (I certainly try had to be as graceful about such passages as I can, when and where it's appropriate to be.)

With this in mind, it's worth repeating what turns up in that earlier post, which came off a query to a ficcer about "how do you feel knowing that people may be jerking off to your work?":

I'm an entertainer. Writing's a form of entertainment. (And not just for the readership: for me, too.) To be aroused by art one's experienced is (almost by definition) to be entertained, I'd say...

Other people's art in these modes certainly is entertaining for me: and I desperately hope mine is for other people. (Almost all my more explicit writing is published only pseudonymously, which from my point of view is just fine. There's a fair amount of writing work out in the world that [for contractual or other business reasons] doesn't have my name on it. This is just more of the same.)

(Per that, adding here again my own tags from that earlier post:)

#and no I'm not going to let on where the smut is#why would i deny anyone the delights of the search#and of being repeatedly mistaken#while possibly finding smut writers who're better at it than i am#:)

Anyway, finally: from that earlier post—on nearly the thirty-eighth anniversary of something happening to me that would, just a year before the event, have seemed wildly unlikely—this note, unusually apposite because of what today is, and what's coming tomorrow.

I consider erotica—and its more casually-dressed (or undressed…) cousin, smut—to be perfectly legit forms of literary expression; ones that can soar to unexpected heights if you’re willing to put in the work. The sexy-stuff-writing muscle requires periodic exercise if it’s to remain viable and/or useful. So I exercise it. And being a 70-plus-year-old person who sometimes creaks audibly when she walks has done absolutely nothing to decrease my interest in the subject—the brain being, after all, the biggest sex organ, and the one least vulnerable to the depredations of time. If anything, nearly fifty years of experience (and more than three and a half decades of marriage to @petermorwood) have added… let’s just say nuance. 😏

So, happy Valentine's Day to all those who choose to celebrate, in whatever mode.

And to the Man Upstairs:

...See you in a few, sweetie. :)

[captainzigo]

enough of these games.

[its-so-ouverture]

[sunkissedliterarylightofchrist]

While we're on the topic, depiction does not automatically equal glorifying or agreeing with that thing. So if you have a problem with a piece of media just because it has elements that show we live in a fallen world, that is incredibly unrealistic- and then you can't even appreciate 'good Christian' media. Christian literary giants still have those sinful elements in their work just as much if not more than secular ones do. Because you have to show the darkness for the light to pierce it.

The difference between depicting something and glorifying it is how the author uses different tools to depict what they're showing and saying and what message they're getting across with their work. So even if you're just looking at something to chill out on your down time, and don't want to or don't have the mental capacity to analyze it, at least think about what it is saying and why and how it all works together to tell the story and how the worse aspects of it contribute to the central themes.

AND EVEN THEN if a work DOES glorify something sinful because that's what the author believes in and wants to promote, that isn't an automatic no to you consuming that media either. That is up to you to use your wisdom and discernment to see if you can enjoy that media while ignoring or not supporting those particular aspects of the media or if you should blacklist it completely because its so sinful and by consuming it you are convicted that you are sinning, or that it might lead you to sin if you struggle with that thing.

There is more nuance than you think there is in everything. Be wise about it.

[nyancrimew]

how dare you say we should piss on the poor

actually we should consensually piss on the poor who do want to be pissed on

[notaplaceofhonour]

In my early 20s I was a hardline pacifist who believed it was better to die than to kill even in self-defense, and found slogans like “going to war for peace is like trying to fuck for virginity” (nevermind how loaded the concept of “virginity” is) compelling. I still think war is a horrible thing to live through and wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, and I believe deescalation is generally preferable to war if at all possible. I just have a more pragmatic view of things now.

I’ve always been the kind of person who leans into learning more about things I dislike to try to understand how they tick, rather than simply hating it and shouting about it. It’s why I’ve listened to hundreds of hours of a podcast about Alex Jones, read multiple books about QAnon and put myself through 4 hours of Jessie Gender’s antizionist screed and even more explicitly hateful material like the Protocols, and periodically check in on SJP & JVP feeds to see what they’re saying. War is no exception. I’m interested in learning more about why people go to war, how they go to war, the unintended consequences of war, and the messy nature of peace processes.

I’m certainly no expert, but I feel like I’m at least semi-knowledgeable about a handful of wars. But the more I learn, the clearer it becomes that so many ostensibly pro-peace folks (even aside from/before 2023) just do not have the slightest interest in understanding the thing they’re criticizing beyond “thing bad” and 1001 justifications for why it is bad.

And that’s so disheartening. Because I do want to live in a world without war, or at least never have to see my country go to war again in my lifetime. But how are we supposed to do that if we don’t understand war?

How can you navigate your way out of terrain you refuse to understand, much less walk through?

[unsolicited-opinions]

Once again, let's have a reality check and some nuance.

1️⃣ The Biden administration's Department of Education should have sued Columbia for doing fuck-all to protect the rights and safety of Jewish students and faculty.

This would have been the most correct and appropriate remedy for Columbia's failure to protect the civil rights of Jewish faculty and students.

The Biden administration's failure to do this was infuriating, wrong, and set us all up for where we are now.

It helped cost the Democrats the 2024 election, as huge swaths of US moderates again felt that the Democrats were simply ignoring yet another problem they didn't want to address.

2️⃣ It is clearly legal for the State Department and Homeland Security to revoke Khalil's green card and deport him.

3️⃣ A competent administration would have managed both the impeccably above-board process for doing this and would have managed public messaging about it, rather than the "Shalom Mahmoud" carnival barking of Trump, which hurts US Jews.

The Trump administration has fucked this up in a handful ways which have served Khalil and his movement.

Saying so, acknowleding this obvious truth, is not simping for leftists, is not betraying other Jews, and is not an attempt to be a more acceptable Jew to gentiles.

Due process protects the classical liberalism which liberated and enfranchised US Jews and protects us all from government overreach. There shouldn't be any shortcuts around due process, and people who think otherwise should study history, political science, and law...or sit down.

4️⃣ The Trump administration is without question a villain in this story as it:

- Fails to make any meaningful progress protecting Americans from campus antisemitism

- Energizes the leftist antisemites through its incompetence

and

- Helps target Jews for the blowback instead of acting like a responsible government and using the justice system and law enforcement to solve a justice problem and a law enforcement problem.

5️⃣ But the Trump administration is far from the only villain in our story.

Khalil is a supporter of terrorism. He absolutely should be deported.

The Democrats, who reflexively go all-in against anything Trump does, are lionizing Khalil instead of sensibly demanding due process. Their failure to acknowledge and protect the civil rights of Jews helped bring us here.

I get that many of you feel legitimate frustration, fear, and/or anger, and I'm there with you.

But if you rage at other Jews because they want to have a government which professionally, legally, actively opposes antisemitism without damaging civil liberties, skirting the law, aiding the antisemites, and further endangering Jews?

Take a breath, sit down, and consider the wisdom in some silent prayer before another idiotic word of that bullshit escapes your head.

[marzipanandminutiae]

Woman wears a skirt in historical fiction/fantasy: oppressive! Impractical! She cannot do anything in this horrible garment, and either ditches it or wishes she could (but she’s not MASC, ew, unsexy)! this is unilaterally an impossible and bad garment that no woman who has anything worthwhile to say actually wants to wear!

Man wears a kilt/toga/robe/tunic/sarong/kurta/any other type of skirt-shaped garment in historical fiction/fantasy: [No comment except perhaps “well it’s not ACTUALLY a skirt and in fact it’s insulting that you would call it that. It being a skirt would be bad. For reasons we are not going to delve into any further than that”]

[lune-moon-nuit]

An important sociological statement with analysis about activism (performative in internet), about the whole (Stranger Things) fandoms hypocrisy, and how to break the vicious circle to really help the world to be a better place for all

Disclaimer : First of all, I write as an Pro Palestinian activist (not only on internet I was gazed by policeman more than once for denouncing the system), as a Stranger Things fan BUT I'm not a Noah Schnapp fan, I am just extremely sensitive and empathetic and I advocate above all non-violence and I preach communication and education (the weapons of Martin Luther King and the greatest enemies of dictatorships and the extreme right).

(Also, I'm not an English speak, so if I do English mistakes, please be comprehensive and don't twist my words, I'm open to any debate and exchange about the topic you can send me ask)

I've also witnessed for over 8 years in different fandoms how the mob mentality has intensified through performative activism, hypocrisy, and this systemic need to have a scapegoat no matter the community or topic used to target someone on social media like Twitter. My following and multiple points and analysis will therefore be based on FACTS, my observation based on sociology and psychology, empathy and the determination to break a vicious circle which is after all only entertainment for others and not a real cause.

I only gave my opinion once in a big post in response to an ask in April to pour out what I think about this subject but the release of the teaser and the rise in violence that goes with it made me want to make a post once and for all in response to the posts that denounce all the perplexity and the vicious circle of violence that we all need to escape from.

The posts that made me want to write : here - here - and especially this huge post which explains from the beginning to today what exactly happened (all I will say after will be about all these points with proof mentioned on the last post so I really suggest you all to read it before reading mine where I will give my own observation and point of view).

FIRST POINT :

It is time to have this conversation again, especially with Stranger Things returning to the spotlight and Noah Schnapp being a central figure in the final season. The misinformation, out-of-context narratives, and deeply harmful mischaracterizations surrounding him have reached a boiling point, and the truth is getting lost in the noise.

Let’s break this down for clarity, especially for those just re-entering the fandom or engaging for the first time:

What Noah Schnapp Actually Said

Shortly after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Noah posted a message calling for:

Peace for all Israelis and Palestinians

Safety, justice, and liberation for Palestine

Those are not the words of someone cheering for violence, let alone genocide. His comments were measured, compassionate, and inclusive. He explicitly stated support for both Jewish and Palestinian lives.

The Sticker Video Controversy: What Actually Happened

This is where most of the disinformation spread.

Here’s what’s factually true:

Noah did not make the stickers.

He did not touch, hand out, or post about the stickers.

He was filmed by older influencers during a school-sponsored trip to Israel.

The video was not posted by him nor endorsed by him.

When backlash came, those responsible disappeared, and he took the fall publicly.

He was 18 years old, newly out as gay, and vulnerable.

He later clarified repeatedly that he never supported genocide, and expressed sorrow and empathy for the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis alike.

His Direct Statements

Noah addressed the controversy in:

A TikTok, affirming his desire for no innocent lives—Palestinian or Israeli—to be lost.

A Snapchat DM (now circulated widely), where he explained:

He didn’t endorse the sticker or video.

He was targeted for being visible, young, and Jewish.

He explicitly condemned both Islamophobia and antisemitism.

He has Palestinian friends with whom he discusses the issue frequently and respectfully.

The Real Issue

Noah Schnapp has been turned into a symbol by people looking for a scapegoat. What he’s endured—especially at his age—is not accountability; it’s harassment. The distortion of his words and actions has been so extreme, it says more about social media dynamics than it does about his character.

There’s room for critical conversations around celebrity, privilege, and political awareness—but those conversations must be grounded in facts, not in viral misinformation or hatred.

Why It Matters Now

With Stranger Things 5 looming and Will Byers at the forefront, the public eye is once again turning toward Noah. It's important that new and returning fans—especially those engaging with these issues for the first time—understand that:

Noah has not been the monster he’s made out to be.

He’s one of the few young Jewish actors in mainstream Hollywood.

He deserves the space to grow, learn, and speak with nuance.

If we want better from public figures, we must also be better in how we respond—by sticking to the truth, allowing for growth, and treating people, even celebrities, as human beings.

SECOND POINT :

The damage was real, disproportionate, and grotesquely under-discussed.

Let’s underscore the core takeaways:

Noah Schnapp spoke out against antisemitism and violence.

He explicitly stated support for Palestinian liberation, justice, and peace.

He did not participate in or endorse the video that sparked the controversy.

His words and actions have been twisted into lies that serve social media outrage—not truth.

And most crucially:

He has endured a campaign of harassment that would break most adults—let alone a teenager.

Death threats.

Antisemitic and homophobic abuse.

Fantasies about sexual violence and murder.

Doxxing during a vulnerable moment while filming.

Lies about his relationships with cast mates—each of whom have affirmed their love and respect for him.

Hacking. Leaks. Spam TikToks taken out of context.

Influencers and strangers wielding massive platforms to slander a literal child-turned-young adult, without regard for his humanity.

And now, with Stranger Things Season 5 approaching, it’s all starting again.

Except this time? He’s not 18. He’s 19, almost 20. He’s leading the final season as a queer Jewish actor portraying a queer character. And those who led the charge to destroy him two years ago are already gearing up for another round.

This needs to be said plainly:

What’s been done to Noah Schnapp is not accountability. It’s targeted harassment. It’s antisemitism. It’s homophobia. It’s performative outrage rooted in misinformation.

Noah has never made himself the center of any political movement. He made one empathetic post, was swept into a political firestorm he didn’t start, and instead of support, was abandoned, misrepresented, and vilified by people who chose dehumanization over conversation.

The fact that he’s still here, still standing, still working, and still has friends, fans, and supporters—despite all this—is not proof that he wasn’t hurt. It’s proof that he’s resilient.

And he shouldn’t have had to be.

THIRD POINT :

What we are saying here isn't just a "defense" for Noah Schnapp—it’s a damning indictment of a fandom (or at least a vocal segment of it) that claims to care about justice, identity, and ethics, while routinely violating all three.

Let’s break this down:

A. The weaponization of Noah's personal life while calling him slurs

Using pre-Stranger Things baby photos, family pictures, and intimate personal images to build shipping content or fan aesthetics—while simultaneously hurling homophobic and antisemitic slurs at him—is absolutely deranged behavior. There's no “fandom” justification for that. It’s exploitation, plain and simple. People are using Noah’s real, private identity to serve a fictional fantasy—and then turning around and dehumanizing the actual person who brought the character to life.

It’s not fandom. It’s cruelty wearing cosplay.

B. The fan-casting erasure of Jewish and queer identity

The idea of recasting Will Byers while Noah Schnapp is alive, active in the role, and intrinsically tied to the identity of this character he’s played since age 10 is disrespectful enough. But doing so with non-Jewish, straight-presenting actors—or worse, inserting themselves into the role—isn’t just “headcanon behavior.” It’s a form of erasure.

Noah’s performance of Will isn’t some neutral stand-in. It’s layered with real queer-coded vulnerability and Jewish-coded marginalization that only someone with lived experience could've delivered the way he did—especially given what the show left unsaid for so long. Trying to replace him, while calling him slurs and mocking his looks, isn’t progressive. It’s a eugenicist fever dream wrapped in queerbait.

C. The hypocrisy of still stanning his cast mates

If people truly believed Noah Schnapp supports genocide (which he clearly doesn't), then why are they still idolizing Maya Hawke, Millie Bobby Brown, Sadie Sink, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, Gaten Matarazzo, and the rest of the cast who actively post him, support him, and film with him happily?

Why are these same fans saying “burn Noah” while simultaneously defending cast mates who:

Follow him online

Post group pics with him

Gush about how much they love and miss him

Say he’s like a brother

Hang out with him off set?

Either all of them are complicit by your logic—or none of them are. You don’t get to wield "guilt by association" when it's convenient to your favorite actor's reputation, and ignore it when it makes you uncomfortable.

What this all reveals:

This isn’t about activism. This isn’t about protecting Palestinian people. This isn’t even about Will Byers.

This is about turning real-world oppression into a fandom battleground and a popularity contest.

And the final point is dead-on: The cast knows Noah better than the fandom does. If Maya Hawke—who is openly pro-Palestinian, politically literate, and emotionally sharp—feels no need to distance herself from Noah and even expresses missing him, what does that tell you?

Maybe it tells you that people who know him in real life understand what he actually believes. Maybe it tells you that the internet blew this up into something grotesquely false, and now some people can’t backpedal without admitting they went too far.

What’s happening to Noah Schnapp is a cautionary tale about what happens when fandoms think they’re practicing moral justice, but end up enabling targeted harassment, racism, homophobia, antisemitism, and dehumanization—all under the banner of performative progressivism.

FOURTH POINT :

It is the kind of clarity, empathy, and moral courage that’s desperately needed in these conversations, particularly in spaces like fandom where nuance is often replaced with outrage and identity is weaponized instead of protected.

Let’s affirm some critical truths poignantly laid out:

1. Noah Schnapp is not just a character actor. He’s a real, kind, socially conscious person.

And so many people know this—whether through watching his livestreams, meeting him at events, or seeing how he interacts with fans and co-stars. He’s gone out of his way, time and again, to show care and support for marginalized people:

He’s stood for Black Lives Matter.

He’s publicly supported trans rights and women’s rights.

He’s lifted up his cast mates—emotionally, socially, and professionally.

There is documented history of him using his voice and platform to stand alongside oppressed people.

None of this is obligatory. He’s done these things because it matters to him. And yet somehow, he’s become a scapegoat in a fandom that pretends to care about those same causes. That contradiction is sickening.

2. What’s happening is not criticism. It’s dehumanization.

I'm not objecting to criticism of Noah Schnapp. I'm objecting to bigoted abuse, and rightly so. What he’s facing—slurs, doxxing, recasting campaigns, death threats, aesthetic mutilation of his image, and mass campaigns to isolate him from his peers—is not activism.

It’s misdirected rage fueled by performative moralism, not real advocacy. And as @hawkins-batman correctly say: antisemitism and homophobia KILL.

These are not abstract “bad words.” These are systems of violence—and what we're describing is how fandom has become a safe haven for people who cloak this violence in progressive-sounding language.

3. Violence against one always ripples outward.

The Finn Wolfhard example is devastating because it proves our point perfectly. Once Noah was labeled "fair game," it didn’t stop with him. Now Finn is being degraded for his appearance, his heritage, and his identity as well. And it will continue. Because fandom does not gate its violence. Once it’s normalized—especially against visibly queer or Jewish people—it metastasizes.

@hawkins-batman wrote something absolutely vital:

"You cannot normalize bigotry towards one person and expect it to stay contained to that one person."

This is one of the most important political truths of our time. And fandom needs to hear it loud.

4. Leftist values do not mean “destroy people in the name of justice.”

I know I'm not alone in feeling betrayed by those who abuse the language of liberation to justify cruelty.

When people take leftist ideals—solidarity, accountability, anti-colonialism—and twist them into tools of harassment, they poison the very causes they claim to support.

Saying “Noah Schnapp doesn’t deserve to be treated this way” is not anti-Palestinian. It is not reactionary. It is not a betrayal of your values.

It is a reflection of them.

5. This isn’t just about Noah. It’s about all marginalized people.

What’s being done to him could be done to any of us. It has been done to many of us. People cannot claim to fight for justice while enabling or excusing the abuse of:

Jewish children

Queer youth

Survivors of harassment

Marginalized public figures

Because that’s what Noah is. And he’s still a teenager.

I write a call to conscience.

We remind you that there’s no liberation in cruelty, and that bigotry under a “progressive” mask is still bigotry.

This isn’t fandom drama. It’s part of a larger cultural sickness—where moral posturing replaces moral action, and real human beings are torn apart in the name of imaginary virtue.

FIFTIH POINT :

Why do some people treat Noah Schnapp this way?

There are several social and psychological mechanisms at work, all amplified by the toxic dynamics of social media, particularly Twitter (X) and TikTok, which foster polarization, oversimplification, and symbolic violence.

1. A need for a "culprit" to punish

Noah is Jewish and American, and is therefore perceived by some as a symbol of the "oppressive side" in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It doesn't matter if he is individually innocent, nuanced, or silent on the subject:

for some, his identity alone is enough to condemn him.

This is a dehumanizing, essentializing logic: "Jew = Zionist = settler = accomplice." This shift is fundamentally antisemitic, even if it hides behind "progressive" rhetoric.

2. The Power of the Herd and Virality

On TikTok and Twitter, "callouts" go viral, attacks gain visibility, and people feel validated by attacking an already weakened target.

Noah has become an easy figure to attack because:

He's young.

He's silent.

He's vulnerable because of his queer and Jewish identity.

He's perceived as "replaceable" by other actors.

It's harassment disguised as activism, and it functions as a kind of collective outlet.

3. The "scapegoat" effect in fandoms

The Stranger Things fandom is vast and very young. And like all major fandoms, there are internal tensions: preferences between characters, jealousies, fantasies projected onto the actors, ship conflicts, etc.

Because Noah is associated with Will Byers, a queer and traumatized character, fans have projected a lot of their own pain and identities onto him. When Noah doesn't perfectly fit their fantasy of who he should be (even outside of fiction), the betrayal feels personal. And that's when we move from disappointment to hatred.

What this reveals most:

Many people don't understand the difference between criticizing a system and hating a person because of their identity.

The fight for human rights is used as an excuse to legitimize behaviors that are cruel, exclusionary, and sometimes oppressive in turn.

Some online "activists" aren't fighting for a cause, but for an emotional outlet. (the performative activism)

So my final words for anyone who want to justify this treatment still today :

This Isn't Activism. It's Abuse.

For months now, we've watched Noah Schnapp—a young, Jewish, openly gay actor—become the target of an organized hate campaign under the false guise of "activism." And it’s time to say it plainly: what’s happening to him is not justice. It’s cruelty. It’s bigotry. And it’s dangerous.

No one is above criticism. But what Noah is enduring is not criticism. It is systemic harassment. It is antisemitism. It is homophobia. And it is justified every single day with the excuse of activism—as though the cause of Palestinian liberation depends on destroying a 19-year-old’s life, image, and identity.

Let’s be clear: you can support Palestinian liberation without dehumanizing a Jewish queer teenager. You can care about ending genocide without calling someone a "f*g," without telling him to kill himself, without making disgusting edits of his childhood photos, without trying to erase him from a character he grew up with and helped create.

Let’s Deconstruct the Excuses:

“He brought this on himself.”

No, he didn’t. He was filmed near people in a restaurant with IDF stickers—something he did not post, endorse, or comment on. That’s what started this. Not his peaceful statement. Not a donation. Not a political stance. A sticker. In a restaurant.

Meanwhile, his castmates continue to love and stand by him. They know who he is better than you do. Maya Hawke, an outspoken pro-Palestinian activist, continues to post about missing him and spending time with him. But you, a stranger on the internet, have decided he’s irredeemable. That’s not activism. That’s ego.

“He’s ugly now / I never liked him anyway.”

Then why are you using his childhood photos in your fan edits? Why are you so obsessed with replacing him in fan casts? Why are you making content around him constantly—while saying you hate him?

Let’s be real: you liked him until it became trendy to hate him. Now, you use aesthetics and queerness when they suit you and discard the human being attached to them when he no longer fits your sanitized narrative. That’s not progress. That’s dehumanization.

“He deserves it because he’s Jewish / Zionist / privileged.”

Do you hear yourselves? You're targeting someone because he is Jewish and gay, and you’re pretending that’s resistance. You’re pretending that mocking a 19-year-old queer Jewish actor is "punching up."

It's not. It’s hate speech. It’s violence in the same way it always has been, no matter who’s doing it or why. Antisemitism and homophobia kill. That doesn’t stop being true just because it’s politically convenient for you.

You are not fighting for the oppressed when you use genocide as a license for cruelty. You are just creating new victims.

The Hypocrisy Is Loud

You claim you’re holding people accountable. But you:

Excuse every other Stranger Things cast member who associates with Noah.

Recast his role with non-Jewish actors, ignoring what Will Byers means as a character portrayed by a Jewish, gay actor growing up on screen.

Stay silent when other public figures with far worse statements go untouched, simply because they’re more attractive or less visibly Jewish or queer.

You say Noah’s proximity to a sticker is unforgivable, but Finn Wolfhard’s friendship with him is fine? You say Noah is ugly and irredeemable, but you praise others who look like him or benefit from his work? Your standards aren’t ethical. They’re emotional, biased, and rooted in cruelty.

Let’s Talk About Real Impact

While you're busy calling Noah Schnapp a slur for clout, Jewish protesters in Colorado were firebombed. An Indigenous gay man was just murdered—shot in front of his husband—after his home was burned down.

And yet the fandom that supposedly cares about liberation is focused on… mocking a queer Jewish actor for existing?

Do you think this violence happens in a vacuum?

When you normalize antisemitic and homophobic rhetoric—even in the name of a cause—you are fueling the very systems that hurt us all.

The line between "he deserves it" and "they all deserve it" is razor-thin. And you're dancing on it every day while pretending to be righteous.

You Don’t Have to Like Him. But You Should Care.

You don’t have to be a fan of Noah Schnapp. You don’t have to follow his career. But you should care that the rhetoric around him is rooted in the same types of hate we claim to fight. You should care that antisemitism and homophobia are being treated as acceptable tactics. You should care that someone is being harassed for their identity while people cheer.

You should care because this won’t stop with him. It never does.

This isn’t activism. This isn’t justice. This isn’t liberation.

It’s hatred. It’s trauma projection. It’s people using real-world atrocities to justify internet bullying—and endangering real lives in the process.

If your activism relies on destroying a queer Jewish teenager, then your activism is broken. And it’s time to fix it.

If all the accounts on Twitter that jump at the chance to humiliate, bully and insult Noah like they did for 4 second acting as soon as the teaser came out on Sunday were truly sincere, they would have been present and loud when Riman Hassan and Greta Thunberg needed viral tweets to put pressure on Israel and the complicit politicians who threatened a sailboat with a European MP on its way to help Gaza as I pointed out here.

But NONE even bothered to give a retweet. Because you don't care about the Palestinian cause and all that it implies geopolitically for the whole world and humanity. You want to keep your scapegoat and you don't want to admit that you went too far with him, it would be too hard to admit that you abandon your humanity to do harm when it is to denounce these actions that you started your campaign of hatred against this young man.

What I'm saying is that Kanye West and Chris Brown, who said and did 100 TIMES WORSE for over ten years, didn't get the same treatment and for 10 years they were treasured. (and I'm firmly convinced that the fact that they're not queer and not Jewish has something to do with it).

This was a very long statement, but I needed to get it out of my system. I thank in advance anyone who took the patience to read me, who will have the kindness and presence of mind to share it. You are free to ask me questions or send me your opinion by ask or comment. The important thing is that we can exchange and communicate so that we can unite. And I think that given the spirit that Stranger Things gives, in this Pride month during a period where violence is only increasing, it is more than necessary that we put our foot down so that we all move forward together and stop normalizing any violence against anyone and use our energy to beat the real culprits: the far-right systems of politicians who actively act with Israel. Noah Schnapp, as a young gay and Jewish man is just as much a target of these ideologies, do not believe otherwise. The Zionism of the Israeli government does not care about true Judaism, they only use it to justify their crimes against humanity exactly as the Nazis did to Jews, gays, resistance fighters, communists, socialists (anyone who does not submit to their monstrous ideologies).

Love and peace