Please Remind Me To Not Get Into It Over Scott McCall On Fandom Secrets, Because Several Users There

Please remind me to not get into it over Scott McCall on fandom secrets, because several users there should have degrees in being wrong all the time. 

They’re so sure that because THEY hate Scott and they know THEY’RE not racist, and because “they didn’t even know Scott was anything but white”, that racism plays no part in how Scott was treated by the fandom at large. Scott’s just a terrible character, they cry, bringing up how he was a little sidetracked by Allison in S1, how he never wanted to be a werewolf in the first place, and oh, of course, that old chestnut, what he did to Derek in the finale of S2. 

Apparently, Scott is never punished in the narrative the same way Derek is?! Did you know this? Because, like, I seem to recall him breaking up with his first girlfriend because of werewolf things, that first girlfriend dying in his arms, him being repeatedly hunted by Peter and Hunters, his autonomy being snatched away from him by Peter, trying to commit suicide, being stabbed by the Nogitsune, being straight-up murdered at one point… the list goes on. 

Babes. Babes. You, as an individual, may not be racist. But when that large a number of people are willing to write about a character one way, to constantly invalidate their pain, to never show sympathy or empathy for them, to spin them as a villain for trying to do the right thing, and the only discernible difference between them and all of their other co-stars at that point are their features… could it your brain is being a bastard and loading you with unconscious bias?

The level of vitriol that is leveled at a character who is no worse than any other, who makes the same mistakes as the others, who suffers just as much (if not more!) than the others, who overall is trying to do the right thing is just… horrible. The trends in the fandom of how Scott was and is treated always say a lot more than the individual actions of fans.

I’d like to say that these trends don’t have any basis in racism, but fandom is as fandom does, and fandom unfortunately reflects a lot of the macrocosm of the world – which is racist.  It’s worrying, and frankly a bit horrifying, but many white people are preconditioned to dislike/mistrust people of color - to notice darker skin and features and mentally ascribe personality traits to those people - and not even register that they have done so. And people in fandomsecrets kept telling me they didn’t even notice that Posey is a person of colour, but that is why I say ‘unconscious’; because like it or not, sometimes that’s what’s at work. Brain processes your conscious mind would be rightfully disgusted by are going on! (And then, one person said ‘I don’t hate Scott just because he has more of a tan’, and I decided not to reply directly to that person because what the actual fuck.)

Once again, I don’t think every single person who dislikes him hates Scott for racist reasons. Like, sure, maybe you find him annoying because he tries to do the right thing but in ineffectual ways, or because he wants to be a normal teenager and does dumb teenaged shit. Or because he rarely apologises for his fuck-ups and they tend to get glossed over. But how does that make him different from any other character in this show? Why are you so willing to put aside any kind of empathy, why do you want to see him suffer so, why do you label him a bad friend? Why do you always point out how shitty the writing is in regards to Scott’s characterisation but none of the others? 

Do you hate him because he’s the main character and it’s perfectly normal to hate the main character? - that’s why no one in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer fandom likes Buffy and only a vocal minority like Harry in Harry Potter, and no one has fucks to give for Dean and Sam in Supernatural — oh. Wait. [For the record, I know there are some fans who hate Buffy, Harry, Dean and/or Sam. They’re just not usually thiiiiiiis loud, y’know?]

If you hate Scott for how he treated Derek, do you hate Derek for how he treated Scott? Boyd? Erica? Isaac? Or do you recognize that Derek was floundering around in the dark and dealing with deep-seated trauma? And if you recognize that in Derek, why can’t you recognize that in Scott who at this point is 16 - 17 at the most? If you hate Scott for how he stole people’s autonomy, do you hate Peter for the same deal? Peter – an actual show villain, who I haven’t seen anyone actively hate, I don’t think? If you hate Scott for mooning over Allison and getting distracted by her, do you hate Stiles for being the same way about Lydia? If you hate Scott for thinking he knows what’s best for others and choosing not to let them in on plans, do you hate Chris Argent, Noah Stilinski, Derek once again? 

I 100% think that a bunch of people need to examine their unconscious biases and try to watch the show putting themselves in Scott’s shoes. Genuinely imagine how it would feel to be in his position. They seem more than capable of doing that with the others, so give him that same consideration. 

Smoke & Mirrors

*crashes into the teen wolf fandom ten years later having left in 2013ish as it really sinks in how delusional the majority of you got in the meantime*

Somehow I read somewhere in passing that Scott was a homophobe because he didn’t like Derek and Stiles together even if they weren’t.

Mental gymnastics and flawless logic and yadayada

@slice-of-magenta !!!

THUNK!