• SU Crew and Other Creatives Tweet About Freedom of Expression


    The Twitterverse (and Tumblrverse) has been abuzz with recent Tweets from the SU Crew. It seems that not just the Crewniverse, but creators from other shows, are really tired of fandoms attacking people who like the same show they do. This isn't about one fandom attacking another, this is about a fandom attacking itself.



    Due to some recent issues in the SU fandom, Amber Rogers spoke out in a string of tweets about how toxic internet and Tumblr culture is:

    …I get it.. tumblr used to be my only social outlet and there’s this overwhelming fear of being singled out, so you dont go against the grain. But like after i got my job and stopped depending on some dumb website for everything i realized how bad it fucked me up, like i had an actual panic attack when a friend would say something super benign that could be misconstrued in a bad way online. like ??

    So people are afraid, of course, they don’t want to be bad, so they try to be good, and that means they try to bring justice to the bad guys. You see a callout post, you pass it along, because of course it must be true, just to be safe. you don’t know who they are. you dont care. You see proof of something stupid someone did. what’s it from, 2009? well it’s there in front of your eyes now so they’re just as guilty now.

    By their own words, things that you do online are important. they impact other people. that’s why it’s so heinous when people slip up, right? But they never stop and apply that logic to what they’re doing, what they’re letting happen. how is it okay to wail on someone online? like…blowing up their inbox, making blogs dedicated to categorizing all the bad things theyve done, spreading gospel of their sins to strangers

    It’s revolting, it’s inhumane. it’s public ridicule and it can fuck someone up bad. it’s abuse. it has to stop.

    i dont ever want to complain about this stuff because i tell myself it’s not my problem, why mediate a bunch of squabbling teens about stuff but.. the internet is like.. a second home? i grew up on it, i learned from it, it’s how i met most of my friends, its how i got my job. And to see it be so bad, all the time, it sucks. it hurts. my heart goes out to the victims of this online circus of finger pointing.

    i see people spin up reasons why some ship is bad, and then it takes root and a wave of people go harass people who ship that thing its like…who cares? really, who cares. please stop. let people like stuff, let people exist in their own spaces, comfortably. it’s not your place.

    And obviously that whole rant wasnt about ships. just.. tumblr culture. Anyway thats my two cents. please, dear god just be nice to each other, let small things go. please. for everyones collective mental health.

    Then later, Tweets from Ian Jones-Quartey (formerly supervising director and co-developer for SU), Alex Hirsch (creator of Gravity Falls), Matt Burnett (writer for SU), Grace Kraft (storyboard artist for Powerpuff Girls reboot, formerly worked on the SU comic), and more from Amber Rogers (storyboard revisionist for SU and also worked on the SU comic) surfaced, seeming to all relate to this same topic.

    (Notice, also, a retweet from Heather Breckel, who currently works on the Friendship is Magic comics.) The original tweet led to another nearly 2 hours later:

    ...because Twitter took the statement the wrong way.

    Ian knew full well when he Tweeted that the internet would use it against him, to attack him and other SU creators who agreed. The internet is merciless and predictable. The hostility is so bad that Amber Rogers can't even enjoy fanart, the works that BCB features and the works that you guys are out there creating, because it's polluted with hatred.

    Alex Hirsch even spoke up: 

    Michaela Dietz, voice actress for Amethyst, made a statement as well:

    As did Grace Kraft:

    Later, Matt Burnett spoke up:
    ...which was also misconstrued, like Ian's Tweet.


    This final Tweet is the one that grabbed me the most:

    There are so many young artists who have dreams of one day working on an amazing show, like Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Powerpuff Girls, Friendship is Magic, Over the Garden Wall, Star VS. the Forces of Evil, Wander Over Yonder... I could go on all day about all the amazing cartoons out there. And these aspiring creators are now watching the creators of their favorite shows be publicly attacked. Watching a fandom attack itself, watching people get hurt because of something they thought was so amazing to make. Now, aspiring creators have to be afraid of fandom backlash, of being the cause of someone being bullied because of a show they made or worked on.

    Shows like Steven Universe and Friendship is Magic are about love and acceptance, but oddly fandoms tend to act the opposite. With the accessibility of the internet, it's easier than ever to hurt someone. We all need to watch what we say, because the hurt has escalated from beyond the fandom, to now hurting the creators of the shows we love.

    Please heed the advice of the Crewniverse, even if it's hard. If you see something that offends you or you feel is inappropriate, just leave it alone. Block that person, mute that person, just cut that artist or blog out. There will ALWAYS be someone doing something offensive, but attacking them won't make the internet suddenly cleansed. The supposed misrepresentation of a character could be an honest mistake or an intentional one, and you can't know which it is when you attack someone. Let jerks be jerks and let haters hate. Stay positive, and only keep the company of positive fans. Think about what you say before you say it. Treat everybody with kindness, even if you don't think they deserve it. When one person in the fandom gets hurt, the entire creative crew behind that show gets hurt. Don't hurt the Crewniverse, and don't hurt creatives and aspiring creatives of other shows.




    Twitter: Emerald