#im gonna get peopoe calling me hypocrites for this bc back after s2 i posted a lot of kali hate

[themikewheelers]

I'm so freaking tired of Kali discourse on my dash like y'all are so freaking immature on both sides of it

Kali is a morally ambiguous character. She does awful things, but she does them for reasons that, to her, are justified. As the audience, it's a moral dilemma, do YOU agree that she's justified? There's nothing about her that's black and white, and treating her that way is a disrespect to her character. Demonizing her every action and giving her no empathy isn't right, but defending her like an angel who can do no wrong isn't any better

Kali is an abused kid who's been through a lot. She's never had the opportunity to live a normal life or learn normal morals, she's been exposed to cruelty her entire life, and now that she's free, she does the one thing she knows how to do, take revenge on the people who hurt her. And she does some bad things in the process. You can argue for years whether or not she's justified in killing the bad men, there's no right or wrong answer to a philosophical question of morals. She does also manipulate El. But she doesn't do it maliciously. In fact she really does believe that this is what's best for her. Kali's done a lot of bad things, and while there's no justification for that, there is explanation. Demonize her all you want, but that doesn't change the fact that she's just an abused kid trying to heal, even if she's not doing it the greatest way

But then on the other side of it, no one is obligated to forgive her. You may love her and think she's the best character on the show and have no problem forgiving all the things she's done, but that doesn't mean other people are required to do the same. I really don't think this should be a controversial opinion, but people are allowed to dislike ANY fictional character, no matter how perfect you may see them, because ALL characters make mistakes and no one is ever obligated to forgive any of them. And we're all human and we all have different lives and different experiences, so as a result the mistakes characters make will affect us differently. There's not a single situation where it's ever okay to attack someone because they dislike a character you love. And then there's the race thing. Of COURSE Kali's race comes into play, because of course people are gonna be more willing to forgive white characters for their mistakes than characters of color. It's naive to act like race isn't a factor. But claiming anyone who dislikes/hates Kali is racist? It's just as naive. She's a morally ambiguous character. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that there's people who do hate her because they're racist, but Kali has done a lot of things that can make someone not like her, assuming the only reason someone doesn't love her is bc of her race (and then attacking them over it) is rude and immature.

Kali isn't a black and white character and she's not meant to be treated that way. Yes she's done bad things, but she's done them for complicated reasons that's up to your own personal morals whether you think is justified or not. You can hate her, but you have to give her empathy and understand why she acts the way she does. And at the same time, claiming she hasn't even done anything wrong and that she's perfect is just as disrespectful to her character bc it's ignoring who she is and just painting her out to be what you want her to be.

To conclude: No one is morally superior for liking or disliking Kali. She's ambiguous and no one is required to love her or hate her. Stop attacking people over their character preferences and go outside and get some fresh air