If you’re not angry-

You’re just stupid, you don’t care

How else can you react

when you know somethings so unfair?

You just can’t talk to ‘em…

You just can’t please ‘em…

-Out of Range, Ani Difranco

Looking over the classism discussion on s_d, someone just flat out told the creator that “conservative and class issues are deeply steeped in comics, if that bothers you so much, maybe you shouldn’t read them.”

I. hate. it. when. people.say. this.

Yes, let’s just give up and not read them, let everyone have their little straight white male club. Who cares if I enjoy the characters! Who cares if I love the idea of dressing up in spandex and using kungfu to beat up power mad supervillians! I am not allowed to read them because I see the class, race and gender issues ingrained in the fabric and want that shit to change,

Let’s not bother to change comics for the better! Let’s shun all dissenting voices!

Yes, the idea that beating up pursesnatchers in spandex will somehow change the crime rate is inheritantly classist and conservative- let’s jail the assholes rather than face the consequences! Yes, Batman is the epitome of privelige as a straight white richer-than-God former-Catholic male.

But. Remember that superheros don’t fight pursesnatchers all the time- they fight supervillians. Why can’t we have Batman fight his villians, but try to understand the purse snatchers and get them help? Why can’t we see more of “Bruce Wayne” working on rehab and hospitals and stuff to change Gotham’s class issues? Why can’t we see Bruce confront how priveliged he is? How would that change the essential fabric of Batman stories? He can still fight the Joker.

My very first comics argument, I got accused, in a roundabout way of being “an angry young woman who felt left out”.

I am, and, hey, I’m proud of that. I don’t think my blogging style in general is an angry one, but I’m not ashamed of getting angry on occasion. I’m angry because I care, because I want more.

“It’s just comics” but comics are my escape. They are my fandom, my entertainment. I want to see the shit I have to face in the real world conquered, not enforced in the pages. If we don’t change our entertainment, how the hell can we change the world?

I’m always going to be reading comics. Maybe I’ll have to take a break on occasion when it gets too much but let’s face it as long as Cass and Babs and Steph are there so am I but you can’t get rid of me for good.