There’s a lot going on in the world right, but I thought I’d share a couple of things.
The ACLU of California said that White Supremacist Violence is not free speech. The National ACLU said they agree with this statement, but will protect their speech until it turns violent. It’s a little disappointing- since in my opinion, hate speech is inherently violent. You don’t need to be wearing weapons for their words to harm others.
If you’ve heard people talking about “sheetcaking” and are lost, you missed Tina Fey’s appearance on the special edition of Weekend Update. This post is a pretty good summary of what the sketch was (and there’s an embedded video) and why it wasn’t funny.
I hadn’t seen it live, and I’d only seen reactions online. So I was pretty disappointed when I actually saw it. The linked post above sums up my thoughts pretty well.
Nick Spencer, the head writer for Marvel’s Secret Wars (and the man who made Steve Rogers be an agent of HYDRA all along), took to twitter to complain that people were missing the whole point of his story arc.
Also: Those heroes are being led by Captain America. Sam Wilson is Captain America.
— Nick Spencer (@nickspencer) August 17, 2017
As a writer, I have to say that if you need to explain what the point of your story is? You’ve failed. Could this have been amazing? YES. But the problem with corrupting Captain America in the current political climate has been well established. It’s all too easy to pull out one issue, one image and turn it against its’ purpose. (And it’s succeeded, people spotted white supremacists wearing HYDRA shirts) The other problem is that this is happening in the main timeline for Marvel. Sure, things will change and fix it. That’s how comics work – but if you want to tell a political story like this, make it an AU storyline that’s not just reconned the second it’s over.
And put it in the hands of someone who can handle the story. I have zero faith in Spencer based on the execution thus far.