Someone wrote a straight couple cancer love/tragedy story, pretty standard stuff. However, they decided to dedicate it to the Orlando tragedy while ranting about how even though they don’t support gay people they stand with them in this dark time and recognize that hate crimes are very very wrong and why, some of their best friends are bi! …and they love them for it despite the terrible terrible fact they are bi. They’re so unbiased.
Where’s a Tumblr mob when you need one?
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12003296/1/Learning-to-Love-Again
[I don’t support gay people, but I also don’t hate on it. I am rather unbiased.]
Then you’re not unbiased, you’re ambivalent.
This is not a very respectful reference to the Orlando shooting. The story itself does not have anything to do with the tragedy; it’s about a straight couple, and a death from a disease rather than a death from murder and hatred. Quite frankly, by all appearances it looks like you wrote this story (or at least had the idea for it) long before the tragedy happened, and are now appropriating the tragedy for attention. Your passive-aggressive messages about how you don’t support the people you’re supposedly mourning for – in other words, informing us that you are part of the problem that creates the homophobic culture that led to the attack – does not help at all, and in fact is very hurtful to a lot of people. When you say things like “gay people are against the rules”, that you “don’t support gay people”, and that you like people in spite of being bi, as if that’s a flaw you need to overlook, you are *not* accepting gay people for who they are. You are telling them to hate who they are, and reminding them of the intolerant culture that led to the Orlando shooting and hundreds of other similar crimes.
If you need to write sad fic to cope with a personal tragedy, that is fine. But please don’t appropriate national tragedies in ways that make the victims feel even worse.
Afterwards, I got a fairly reasonable response:
6/19
A response to your review at https://www.fanfiction.net/r/12003296/
I’m sorry for offending you. I obviously didn’t word it all quite right, and I kinda see that now.
I have lots of gay, lesbian, and bi friends that I love and care for a lot. I would not be able to move on from it if they died.
When I said that gay people ‘are against the rules’, yes that was harsh. I see that now.
No, I meant that it’s none of my business if you are gay or lesbian, much less my right to take your life for it. I WAS truly hurt be this, because I wondered what would happen if the wonderful people in my life was gone. I have two lesbian friends, and two bi friends who are some of my best friends ever. I loved them no matter what their sexuality was.
And I actually did not write this ahead of time, and was not looking for attention. I did not put in the summary at all….which would not help me at all in ‘getting attention’, so that kinda offends me, sorry.
I’m sorry if you were looking for a fic that correctly represented the Orlando shooting.
My religion, is completely different from how much I love my friends.
And when I say I don’t support it, I meant that I will not go on parades, or petitions, but I do accept them. Some of them most amazing people, are gay, and now, I do’nt exactly know what it would be like if they WEREN’T gay.
I was not trying to target gay people, or make them feel worse.
I just wanted to honor those who died, and their lives, because even though they were gay, that doesn’t change the fact that they were probably amazing people with lots of friends, and loved ones who will miss them.
I will go back and correct the wording, but I am sorry for offending you if I have.
I wanted to honor them, and their lives, and I am truly sorry for making you feel bad.
Sorry.
They then revised the author’s note, though it was still pretty similar to the original:
“I am so so so sorry for Christina Grimmie’s death. I have followed everything she has done, from the very beginning. And…I can’t even believe it. She’s dead.
Murdered. Homicide. In cold blood. As you know, I follow the Voice, and well. It’s just…that could have been anybody.
I wrote this listening to Just a Dream cover Sam Tsui, for Christina and LOSS | Just A Dream (For Christina Grimmie) ft. KHS, Drake, P!nk, Wiz Khalifa, Alan Walker, Charlie Puth. Please go listen to them.
Then there is the Orlando shooting. I am sorry if I have offended any of you in any way. It seems I am not very good at wording things correctly. I did not mention the Orlando shooting for attention, or anything. I was truly heartbroken to hear this, and I was very very sad. I did mention that this does not have the same stuff from the Orlando shooting. I just wanted to send my condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of the victims. I am really really really sorry for offending anyone.
I find that it’s become a real life, more and more common situation. I have friends that are bi, and I know that they are beautiful people, even if they are bi, and it’s not fair to take someone’s life because of it. No matter what you believe.”
So they apparently missed about half of what I was saying. Oh well, it’s something?