I’ve been a bit hesitant to get involved in fandom discourse, mostly because I’ve only returned to the spn fandom in 2020 and I’m not 100% sure on my place here just yet. That said, since the rest of the world has felt entitled to jump in and share their opinions, I figure what the hey
so, disclaimer: Supernatural is a deeply flawed show, and there is no disputing that. The main cast is made up of four cis white men, and when there is representation on the show (poc/lgbt/women) the writers seem to revel in torturing those characters and killing them off as quickly as possible. Their handling of destiel also has many flaws – saving the ‘I love you’ for the third last episode EVER, queerbaiting for 12 years, kill your gays – all of that is HELLA VALID, and if you’re upset about it you 100% have that right.
but you know what?
stop taking it all out on Jensen fucking Ackles.
Jensen has said/done some profoundly fucked up things when it comes to destiel. I am not going to belittle the impact of his words/actions, and I also will not dismiss the hurt felt as a result. But it’s important to talk about the changes we’ve seen in him in the years since those comments/events.
I want to talk about lgbt spn fans, like myself, who have found a safe space in this fandom because of things like this:
I want to talk about the people who have found a safe space in this community as a direct result of the support they’ve got from the spn cast, and jensen specifically.
I want to make sure people who dont have all the details don’t just believe the shitposts, and see this part of jensen for themselves.
for me, it comes down to this:
Jensen has not always been an ally to our community, but he has become one. He is one now, and to dismiss that, to dismiss his growth, is reductive and nasty. It’s going for the easy joke, and honestly I think we can do better than that.
