Say NO to Bullying - Andrea, her Mitch drabble, and Me
Say NO to Bullying - Andrea, her Mitch drabble, and Me
I NEVER expect my second journal will be something like this.
Several days ago I received a VERY NASTY message from Andrea (grieving_pln) accusing me to be a fraud and loser. At the same time she said there are readers there (at least five of them, with number increasing by the day) who want to know what I am up to.
If she had not made this malicious accusation I will NEVER write this journal. Now I feel I am obliged to make my opinions clear. I promised her that I would write a journal and explain EVERYTHING to readers. So here it is.
I have seen many authors who hate to receive comments that are NOT complimenting, but it is the FIRST time I met someone who actually has the nerve to call a reader names and bully him/her simply because the reader dares to question her story. And I am honestly shocked by this kind of arrogant, conceited and narrow-minded behavior.
1. The Mitch drabble and the gay-friendly Riverton
I read her Mitch drabble several months ago. When I first read her story I pointed out it was very difficult to believe Ennis would share a happy life with his new lover - right in the homophobia Riverton in front of his family in the 80s, when gays were feared and shunned like deadly diseases. I think it would be impossible.
And g_p’s answer? She simply asked me to read ALL her drabbles, and there are over 250 of them. Still I made a real effort to read it, as I was really curious how Ennis could undergo such miraculous transformation within such a short period of time.
I realized the really huge change in Ennis’s character early on when he accepted an expensive gift of a new television from Mitch; the original Ennis will NEVER do that. Remember how proud he was and how he consistently refused any monetary help from Jack? In the deleted scene Ennis refused to accept a hunting rifle as a gift from Jack, yet this Ennis has no trouble accepting an expensive gift from a virtual stranger.
Still I read on. I read most of her drabbles, and it struck me how friendly and easy the homophobia Riverton turned out to be in the 80s. Nobody gave them ANY trouble. I mean that everyone accepted them living together with good graces, and I didn't see anyone making any ugly comments or refusing to serve them in any places, and they were NEVER shunned or shown prejudice in any places, including work. I see them having VERY LITTLE, if ANY trouble at all in Riverton. Does anyone truly believe WY is so accepting in the 80s? I worked in Atlanta for the State of Georgia in 2002 and I heard ugly comments about gays there. So is it possible Riverton in the 80s is more gay-friendly than Atlanta in the 21st century?
I came from China. My country has a glorious history of 5000 years which, you will be happy to know, is FREE from homophobia prejudices. But in the 80s because people were so scared of AIDS there were ugly voices against them in a society that is traditionally free from such prejudices. The 80s were a HARD time for gays everywhere. The society was scared of them and shunned them off, treating them like a deadly disease. In America before AIDS people didn’t like gays and would say mean things and even hurt them but they weren’t terrified of having gays around. I can only imagine how even more horribly homophobia WY was like in the 80s with the fear of AIDS. Isn’t it a miracle that Ennis and Mitch had so little trouble??
Last but not least, Matthew Shepard's murder didn't occur until 1998, another FOURTEEN years. It is NOT until that many people began to realize how wrong and cruel homophobia prejudice could be. So much for the gay-friendly WY in the 80s.
2. Ennis, Mitch and Jack
Then there is Ennis. I can HARDLY recognize him. Yes he had some hesitation at first, but he decided to live a happy life with Mitch within a year after they met. His main demon in the OS - Earl's mutilated body NEVER seems to trouble him, nor does Jack's untimely death. Remember at the end of the OS Ennis was absolutely sure Jack was murdered by gay-haters; because they found out Jack is gay. Yet Ennis happily shared a life with Mitch, without the least fear that it might lead danger to one of them?
In the original story, the reason Ennis turned down Jack's offer for a life together is because he was absolutely sure two men living together will result in deaths in the ditch. First Earl, then Jack's death confirmed his fears. Yet this Ennis was NEVER troubled by the grim memory, and lived a life with Mitch happy and worry-free, NEVER worried about tire irons.
If Ennis could be persuaded to live together with Mitch within a year, then why did Jack fail for 20 long years? Either Jack was NOT right for Ennis, or he did not try HARD enough. Seriously, think about it, Mitch turned Ennis into a better person and share a happy life with him within a year, while Jack failed so miserably for so long. So what conclusion can you draw?
If Mitch transformed Ennis so successfully and completely and gave him the sweet life so easily, then Mitch is the TRUE LOVE of Ennis' life, while poor Jack was only a passenger, who failed to do what Mitch accompanied so quickly and successfully. Jack’s only role in the story is to lead Ennis to his true love Mitch.
Her version of Jack approves everything between Ennis and Mitch. Doesn't Jack feel bitter that Ennis is so easy to be persuaded to share a happy life with some other man but for 20 years turned him down again, again, and again? That Mitch succeeded in changing Ennis into a better person and living a happy life so quickly, while he failed so miserably for so long? Seriously, think about all the driving, all the trying, all the giving Jack tried so desperately for so long and was so cruelly turned down, again and again, does it really make sense Mitch simply waltzed in and succeed within a year?
3. Post-canon or Anti-canon?
What bothers me is that this Mitch drabble is NOT post-canon but ANTI-CANON. Think about the original story. It is about two cowboys deeply in love but forced to live a life of lies because of the homophobia society, it is about Ennis who is scared and paranoid, living under the shadow of Earl’s mutilated body, firmly believing two men living together means death.
Andrea’s story basically said the homophobia society in the OS doesn't exist. People are friendly and accepting. There is NO tire iron (so how did Earl and Jack die?), there are no prejudices, and gays don't need to fear about losing jobs or business, or be shunned by families and society (so why don't they just come out?). I guess Matthew Shepard was NEVER murdered in WY, was he?
How About Ennis? He NEVER lived under the shadow of tire irons, and he was NEVER troubled by Earl's mutilated body. He doesn't think it is dangerous for two men to live together. He doesn't worry about tire irons. And oh yes, there is no ‘I am no queer’ from Ennis. He is comfortable with his sexuality.
Trust me, I do sincerely hope Ennis will have a good life after Jack, but depicting a worry-free Ennis living a happy gay life in the friendly and accepting Riverton in 80s is Anti-canon. It is FANTASY. And the Ennis who NEVER worry about tire irons and ready to share a life with a man WITHOUT fear is the OPPOSITE of the original feature.
4. Say NO to Bullying
Andrea made the ridiculous accusation that I am a fraud and loser, that I am actually a dummy for bbm-citygirl.
I have to say I am shocked that she had the nerve to make such a rich accusation. The truth is that I have NEVER heard of this name before reading this drabble. I haven’t been in this community for very long but I already left over 800 comments for a vast variety of journals. And many friends here know me personally.
The most ridiculous thing is that I should NEVER have to write this. This is a country with the freedom of speech. G_p can write WHATEVER she wants, and I can comment WHATEVER I want. Simply as that. If she hates negative comments that much she should put a clear warning at the top of the story - ONLY complimenting comments are ALLOWED here!
I sent my son to school the other day and saw this big slogan on the wall
SAY NO TO BULLYING!
And I know what I have to do. I have to say NO to Andrea's bullying, LOUD and CLEAR.
Andrea, I heard you are a grandma. Here I ask you to take a minute and think about your grandchildren. Do you want them to grow up to be bullies like you? Or do you want them to be bullied like me?
If I am bbm-citygirl, Andrea is the Queen of England.
Let me finish this by a famous saying by Voltaire
I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.
I wish everyone a very happy day.
Hua