I usually have a strict policy of not talking politics on my Blogger journal; I keep my political ramblings limited to my LiveJournal. But this is something that's been bothering me for some time, and it's relevant to my interest in comics, so I've decided to post it here.
There's been some discussion in the comics fan community lately over the cover to a collection of various Batgirl stories from the '60s (and the same has happened many times before over many other matters) that shows Batgirl putting on make-up rather than, you know, kicking ass like a super-hero should. The reaction has been the same as it always is: The fangirls on one side saying how demeaning it is, and the fanboys on the other side saying how they just don't see a problem with it and that the girls shouldn't worry their pretty little heads over it.
News flash, boys. YOU DON'T GET TO TELL ANYONE NOT TO WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING.
See, that's what I think is wrong with society. It's not the the Klansmen, the wife-beaters, or the gay-bashers who are the real problem here. We can see their evil for what it is and deal with them accordingly. No, the real problem here is, just like MLK said, the status quo-worshiping moderates who just don't understand why all those coloreds, broads, and queers have to be so darned uppity. After all, things look awful swell from where we're sitting; why do all of them have a problem with it?
If someone has a problem with anything in our society, it is their right -- it is their DUTY -- to speak up about it. You don't have to agree with their viewpoint, BUT YOU CANNOT TELL THEM THEIR OPINIONS ARE NOT WORTHWHILE.
I'm not even going to get into my own opinion of the cover. I just wanted to get that thought out there.
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3 comments:
I feel you on this Filby.
I saw that collection at Borders and immediately thought "why haven't I seen more outcry over this"? I mean, of all the covers they could have picked, they went with one where Batgirl was applying lipstick while Robin kicks more butt than her? They couldn't go with, I don't know, the cover from her first appearance (which I believe was the solicited one)?
Sometimes I wonder if the comic companies are trying to piss people off.
Given everything I know about Dan "Smugger Than Thou" Didio, that's a distinct possibility.
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