Axe Cop Win: Ethan Nicolle Apologizes, Is Classy
So since my last post on the subject of Ethan Nicolle's interaction with one fan w/r/t media & stereotypes, he made the following public apology, reaching out to her:
Last week in the comments on one of the blogs, an Axe Cop reader named Keisha brought up some PC issued she had with the movie Scott Pilgrim and I kind of went off on her. It's a subject I am a little bit passionate about and it had been kind of building up in me, and I sort of took it out on her. I do need to be more sensitive to people when they are sensitive about things that I am not sensitive about. Keisha, I apologize because I know you didn't come to AxeCop.com to get lectured by me. Anyway, Keisha was saying she feels under-reresented in modern culture because she is bi-south asian and female. Now, I am not going to lie and say that she should keep her chin up and expect a bunch of movies with heroes that fit that description... but I did do my part. Among the zombie world heroes I have included... Keisha.
And as a reconciliation offering, he drew her as a zombie super hero helping Axe Cop:
Keisha responded here and since I can't link to individual comments, here's hers:
Holy doody soldier.
First of all, caring is not a zero sum game. I can care and do activism work on, say, Prop. 8 measures as I can voice my disappointment over the racial attitudes over a movie I wanted to like very much (Scott Pilgrim). It surprised the hell out of me, because I wasn’t expecting to see the casually presented things I saw (I loved Knives growing so much as a person that she could stand on her own at the end, BTW).
Sometimes activism and entertainment even intersect!
My 6 year old cousin, for example, who loved pretending to be Aang from Avatar The Last Airbender, a Nick cartoon with asian heroes and culture! Well, when the movie version was announced- the live action one direct by Shymalan? When my little cousin saw that the hero Aang and his companions where recast in the movie version as white kids he was confused. He was wondering why Aang “got changed” from heroes that looked like him and his friends. He actually asked me it it meant he wasn’t supposed to be Aang anymore. It broke my heart.
So I suppose it does mean that under or mis-representation hits harder than it might for someone who, culturally or whatever, isn’t personally affected by it.
This was a very, very big gesture. First, you acknowldged exactly what you did. You explained why without looking to excuse the behavior. You showed a willingness to step towards empathy when you said “I do need to be more sensitive to people when they are sensitive about things that I am not sensitive about.” because that is the first and BIGGEST step to greater empathy.
And then you went above and beyond, and included me which is something I could not have forsaw in a JILLION years. I admit, I teared up a little because this was a very, very gracious gesture.I feel honored in helping fight the bad guys. I feel grateful that you were able to use this moment to learn about yourself and the impact your actions can have on others, and hopefully you can encourage your readers to do the same.
Despite our dustup last week, I have been printing out the comic and reading and giggling along with my cousin. And now I can poit out the cameo and REMIND him, yes we have our secret attacks, too!
Keisha also appeared in the next page as an example of how the heroes punched the doody soldiers' heads right off (remember, the comic is being written by a six year old).
I think this was pretty classy. It's not easy to admit you made a mistake, but Nicolle showed a willingness to own up tp taking things out on someone who didn't deserve it and that he was also willing to consider that just because something isn't an issue for him doesn't mean it's not or should be an issue for someone else.
Last week in the comments on one of the blogs, an Axe Cop reader named Keisha brought up some PC issued she had with the movie Scott Pilgrim and I kind of went off on her. It's a subject I am a little bit passionate about and it had been kind of building up in me, and I sort of took it out on her. I do need to be more sensitive to people when they are sensitive about things that I am not sensitive about. Keisha, I apologize because I know you didn't come to AxeCop.com to get lectured by me. Anyway, Keisha was saying she feels under-reresented in modern culture because she is bi-south asian and female. Now, I am not going to lie and say that she should keep her chin up and expect a bunch of movies with heroes that fit that description... but I did do my part. Among the zombie world heroes I have included... Keisha.
And as a reconciliation offering, he drew her as a zombie super hero helping Axe Cop:
Keisha responded here and since I can't link to individual comments, here's hers:
Holy doody soldier.
First of all, caring is not a zero sum game. I can care and do activism work on, say, Prop. 8 measures as I can voice my disappointment over the racial attitudes over a movie I wanted to like very much (Scott Pilgrim). It surprised the hell out of me, because I wasn’t expecting to see the casually presented things I saw (I loved Knives growing so much as a person that she could stand on her own at the end, BTW).
Sometimes activism and entertainment even intersect!
My 6 year old cousin, for example, who loved pretending to be Aang from Avatar The Last Airbender, a Nick cartoon with asian heroes and culture! Well, when the movie version was announced- the live action one direct by Shymalan? When my little cousin saw that the hero Aang and his companions where recast in the movie version as white kids he was confused. He was wondering why Aang “got changed” from heroes that looked like him and his friends. He actually asked me it it meant he wasn’t supposed to be Aang anymore. It broke my heart.
So I suppose it does mean that under or mis-representation hits harder than it might for someone who, culturally or whatever, isn’t personally affected by it.
This was a very, very big gesture. First, you acknowldged exactly what you did. You explained why without looking to excuse the behavior. You showed a willingness to step towards empathy when you said “I do need to be more sensitive to people when they are sensitive about things that I am not sensitive about.” because that is the first and BIGGEST step to greater empathy.
And then you went above and beyond, and included me which is something I could not have forsaw in a JILLION years. I admit, I teared up a little because this was a very, very gracious gesture.I feel honored in helping fight the bad guys. I feel grateful that you were able to use this moment to learn about yourself and the impact your actions can have on others, and hopefully you can encourage your readers to do the same.
Despite our dustup last week, I have been printing out the comic and reading and giggling along with my cousin. And now I can poit out the cameo and REMIND him, yes we have our secret attacks, too!
Keisha also appeared in the next page as an example of how the heroes punched the doody soldiers' heads right off (remember, the comic is being written by a six year old).
I think this was pretty classy. It's not easy to admit you made a mistake, but Nicolle showed a willingness to own up tp taking things out on someone who didn't deserve it and that he was also willing to consider that just because something isn't an issue for him doesn't mean it's not or should be an issue for someone else.