Being critical of what you consume doesn't mean you can't enjoy it. We have to talk about and discuss aspects of what we intake to make sure what's next is better.

Its like with The Mandalorian, I know people that love it, but much the same those same people agree with the problem of it having barely any female representation at the moment. It is a problem, it should be discussed, we can do better.

Or how about Death Stranding, I think its a really fun game, but also its got a slew of problematic aspects in parts of its world building. We should recognize this, we should critique it, and dammit we can do better.

No one is telling you to just not enjoy things, no. Everyone enjoys things, everyone rubs pop culture on their face, but if we're never critical, if we never listen to those hurt, then we can never do better.

So maybe you have a soft spot for a poorly aged movie, maybe there's a game you don't want to admit you like, that's fine. The important thing is that we need to not make these flaws and foibles the standard, we as a whole need to improve what consider the norm.

Be critical of jingoism, be critical of sexism, be critical of poor representation, be critical dammit! Look at the things you enjoy and understand their flaws and understand why people are hurt by them. We can do better, and we can be better people.

You can still enjoy things, hell go watch Rambo 3 if you want to, but dammit also be open to talking about the flawed and problematic political message of the movie. Listen when people tell you its racist, listen when people tell you its jingoistic, LISTEN!

That's all I want you to do to be a better person. Listen to people that have been put down, insulted, marginalized, and left out. Open your ears, shut your mouth, and let someone talk about why something is problematic.

There's a billion stories out there from people that don't feel welcome in entertainment because we won't be critical of the current norm, and for the sake of art and creativity please listen and understand critique.

So next time someone doesn't like something you're a fan of, Listen to how its impacted them. There's nerds of every kind of identity, and its about damn time we did better for them and stopped talking over people with valid criticism.