Fandom is Supposed to be Fun not Toxic

Why is the world so toxic? And it's not like you can escape into fandom because even that's teeming with toxicity. Last month, some racist fans had targeted actress Anna Diop because she was cast as Starfire in the upcoming DC Comics Titans TV series. They harassed her to the point she finally disabled the comments to her Instagram account.

A similar harassment incident happened to actress Kelly Marie Tran who stars as Rose Tico in the Star Wars movie. She recently wrote an essay for the New York Times describing how that harassment made her feel and that she is no longer going let herself feel like she doesn't belong.

It's horrible how much hatred and entitlement these so-called fans have and how they don't care that they are harassing someone. Many of these "fans" seem to think that diversity is ruining their fandom and want to "push back" by spreading their hatred in their way to "fix" things.

What they don't seem to understand is that they don't own fandom and their hatred is not going do anything except make themselves miserable. Which is why they try to pass it on to others but fans, actors, artists, writers, creators, etc. are not putting up with their negativity and toxicity. We are standing up against it including doing the one thing that angers these fans the most, we are enjoying fandom and making it fun for others to be a part of.

I don't want anyone to think they can't criticize something because there is nothing wrong with giving your opinion. However, my issue is when the criticism is steeped in racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, etc. because then it's not about sharing your opinion but promoting hatred. 

I feel like fandom should be a fun source of entertainment and not this unfortunate toxic environment that cause some fans to feel like they don't belong. Which is absurd because fandom is for everyone.