#we need to grasp joy in ironclad fists wherever we can get it now more than ever

[sage-nebula]

I see what you’re saying, but counterpoint: Why? Why do folks need to admit that things they like are badly made?

Setting aside, for a moment, that “badly made” is subjective and that some people might genuinely disagree on what is or isn’t badly made — who are these people hurting, when they make posts expressing their love for how this series was written or that scene was filmed? Who are they hurting when they gush over this character’s development or this ship’s writing? Are they hurting those who disagree? Because if so, those people can easily use the block or blacklist options. Are they hurting themselves? They seem happy enough, and I haven’t heard of Bad Fandom Opinions putting anyone in the hospital, so I don’t think that’s the case, either. If someone makes posts on their own blog about This Thing They Like, talking about why they like it and how awesome they think it is . . . they’re not hurting anyone. And if they’re not hurting anyone, then I see no reason why they need change their behavior.

There is this attitude that has, I believe, sprung up in recent years where you’re expected to list out all the flaws of everything you like. To call something you love, whether it’s a series or a ship or a character, “garbage” is seen as cool or enlightened. If you’re not constantly talking about this bit of bad writing in a show you like, or this bit of bad gameplay in a game you enjoy, or how X developer is trash because Y reasons, then you’re a stan or a shill and you clearly don’t have critical thinking skills. But I don’t think that’s true. I think it’s exhausting to have to list out all the flaws in something you love before you’re allowed to talk about liking it. It makes me sad to look at something I love and degrade it with insults. It makes me feel like I’m joining the bullies who would mock me for something I enjoyed, which was admittedly a form of defense I used in middle school to keep my peers from knowing that I (gasp) still liked Pokémon and YGO. If I mock these things, then I’m one of them, they’ll think I’m not a loser and I’ll be safe. But bullies will be bullies regardless and we shouldn’t be afraid to show unabashed love for something, without needing to simultaneously tear it down. Yes, you can point out the flaws in something and still love it wholeheartedly — but you shouldn’t need to tear it apart every time you make a post about how much you love it. You should be able to say, “This thing rocks!” and have that be the end of it. Not every place is a place for critical discourse, and just because someone doesn’t make a long list detailing all the flaws in their favorite thing whenever they talk about it doesn’t mean they aren’t aware those flaws exist.

And on that note, as I said above, “Thing Is Badly Made” is subjective. Even if a large group of people agrees that Thing Is Bad, that’s still a subjective opinion. It’s just a popular subjective opinion. For instance, you and I have very different opinions on your favorite video game. You think it’s wonderful, and I think it's the opposite of wonderful. But my opinion is NOT any more correct or valid than yours is. I may think that all of the choices that went into the development of that game were poor ones, but you might conversely think they were wonderful ones, and that opinion is just as correct as mine . . . because it’s an opinion, and a video game is a piece of art, and different people are going to view art differently. And heck, over time, our opinions can change as well. When I was nineteen I thought Supernatural was well-written in the first five seasons at least, but now at thirty-one I look back at even season one’s writing and cringe. But does that mean that Supernatural is, objectively, poorly written garbage? No, because it’s art. And art is subjective. And people who think that the early seasons of Supernatural are still good aren’t wrong, nor do they need to qualify their gushy love posts with “I know it’s garbage” first before getting into the praise.

So, ultimately, I do understand what you’re saying. And I agree with the point of “it’s okay to love something you consider to be garbage,” because it is. But unless someone who Likes A Thing picks a fight with someone who Doesn’t Like A Thing and screams at them about why they should actually Like This Thing, I don’t think they need to qualify their posts with, “I know this Thing Is Bad,” even if Thing Is Bad is the popular subjective opinion. Maybe they genuinely, wholeheartedly believe Thing Is Good. Maybe their opinion of what good camerawork, or writing, or game design is genuinely differs from popular opinion. And maybe they already privately struggle enough with everyone saying Thing They Like is garbage, but they’re pretending they don’t by making positive posts instead, and being told, “your thing is garbage but you can still love it” doesn’t actually make them feel any better, because they don’t want to call this thing they love, that they don’t think is garbage, garbage.

Bottom line, if someone is attacking others for having a differing opinion on A Thing, then they need to stop and check their behavior. But if they’re just making gushy posts about how they think A Thing is amazing, then they should be allowed to do so without qualifiers. They’re not hurting anyone, and it’s easy enough to block them and move on if their opinions are bothersome.

There's some folks who really need to just admit The Thing They Like Is Badly Made.

Like. Some posts read like a fucking hostage being forced to try and convince people The Thing Is Well Made lmao

It's okay, you can stop trying to deny raging flaws in a thing and pretend they're masterfully crafted. Really.

You can love a thing with all your heart AND it can be badly made. The two are not mutually exclusive.

I have deeply enjoyed things that I would not recommend to anybody, things that are just undeniably bad. But I found them fun anyway, because something doesn't need to be super well made to be enjoyable.

It's okay to admit the thing you like sucks in terms of how its crafted, and you like it anyway because there's nothing wrong with that nor is it something to be ashamed of.

I know a lot of stuff says otherwise but that's BS. You can just embrace loving something that's just. Not Good

It's okay. Embrace it.

It's honestly a lot less stressful than trying to pretend away glaring flaws.