He said WHAT?
October 7, 2021 2:59 am Leave your thoughts
I walked through the city. I saw three police officers standing in front of a lady who was probably under the influence of something, dishevelled and messy, acting kind of strange. This part of town usually has a few people hanging out in groups and clearly suffering some kind of mental episode or they’re angry and already drunk at 8am. She was being rude and giving snappy answers. Call it a sixth sense, but sometimes you learn to predict people’s behaviour through experience. Profiling? I don’t know if I’d go that far, but in that area, I knew something was either going to make me cry laughing or shake my head and roll my eyes.
One of the cops asked her name and how to spell it as I passed. Then he asked her “…Why is Tamara spelled with a Y?” and she SCREAMED back: “I don’t fucking know, ask my mum!”
It happens. Strange and “offensive” people exist. Although I’ve never had a complaint, let me make this clear for any future arguments; if a character of mine ever says something you don’t like or don’t agree with morally, ethically, whatever-ly…I. D. G. A. F.
I will reach into that fictional villain character and pull out his worst thoughts, and his most disgusting words. I will make you feel his horrible aura right down to your bones with the tools that I have…And if you don’t like the fact he called someone a name you don’t like, that’s too bad.
Just like it’s too bad when you walk down an urban street and a random homeless person calls you the same thing for no reason or throws things at you. Or when one of those young try-hard, thug-types walks past you swearing and threatening the friend he’s arguing with and using certain words that you aren’t allowed to say.
Do something.
Go on, tell them to change their behaviour because you’re offended. 😉
Dare ya.
I grew up in an area that wasn’t great. You learn early that you don’t have the right to command the sounds coming out of someone’s facehole. Not much phases me, be a douchebag if you want, knock yourself out. A person being shocked at this and having never come across anyone like this will never mean I won’t depict them in my works or that directors and movie script writers won’t either.
So why does the character have to say that stuff? It’s racist/sexist/mean/rude! It hurts my fee-fees.
Characters are only as good as you write them. A “bad guy” is weak in the story if he doesn’t make you uncomfortable through his actions and dialogue. Have you ever watched a movie where you despise one of the characters for their obnoxiousness or stupidty or aggression? Yes? That means the person is a good actor, they drew a response from you. That is a form of art.
Why/How?
What does that behaviour make you feel like in real life? If you’re walking past someone who is staring at you for no reason or calls you fat, or perhaps something racist? —- It intimidates others, makes people worry about what else that person may do. They obviously don’t care that people are witnessing their shitty behaviour so there may be no rules.
It makes you walk a little faster, avert eyes, get a little nervous…and the experience of those things is real, your brain often doesn’t move on logic, primal fear dictates the control over your immediate response. You’re supposed to feel weirded out by the bad guys in the books you read and yes, there are people out there who will be living the reality you’re reading about in the fiction book. How lovely your life must be that you’ve never experienced the things you’re reading, so much that it shocks and offends you to read words on a paper attributed to a make-believe person. ;P
That scene me feel funny because I’ve lived something similar!
So have I, sometimes. I’ve read parts of books that seem eerily similar to a scenario I’ve lived, even things I assumed weren’t common enough for someone else to think about writing them. It’s part of the story I’m reading, a fictional scene.
“Ahmergherrddd I’m triggered.”
I really do wish you didn’t feel that way and have the experiences you did, but that’s a you problem. At 4am when I wake up and jot down ideas…I’m not thinking about you. I have no idea you exist. I find this one perplexing eg the person had/has the opportunity to turn back at any stage in the process. They read the blurb before they downloaded or bought the book, they saw the posts or media around it. They read part of the book and had the chance to put it down if it was shaping up to be too violent for them (etc.) If they’re that susceptible, they should take care of themselves and the stimuli they allow in, It can’t be very comfortable to exist like that.
(I’ve written about this topic before, here) I just thought I’d refresh.
TLDR:
*Just thinkin’
*If you don’t like a naughty word in a fictional book, that’s a you problem. 🙂
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