All right, I'm going to engage with this because it's important to break down why I do not agree with this, why I have taken the stance I have, and the fact that I did not act without an understanding of both fannish history and its spaces of exclusion. https://twitter.com/autisticrickk/status/1306094588906606592

First, Rukmini did not name the writer, you did (and you note that this was subtweeting), so the claim that this is a pile on is ??? at best given how many #Nazi fics are on AO3. But aside from that, the first people to post about it were Jewish fans. https://twitter.com/autisticrickk/status/1306005660467953664

While I disagree that Jews don't experience racism (because Jews of colour exist), I agree that this is not as immediately harmful as many of the issues already in fandom, and that the refusal to see representation of #nazis (eg HYDRA, etc) as horrible is a genuine concern.

I think that the narrative of "what if one day I was a fascist and complicit in genocide, could I be redeemed?" is deeply questionable because it isn't one that usually talks about accountability or anything beyond the person's remorse. It centers the person over the survivors.

I have seen this repeatedly raised in Jewish critiques of literature that does talk about romances with SS officers, and made a point of to note that the #Shoah is not to humanise those who perpetrated it, but to acknowledge those who lived in & after it, to ensure to centre them

Until the point I read the fic in question, I didn't see that (though I'll admit I stopped reading part of the way through because I found it upsetting to read). I took time to mull over why I disagree with you on this, & it is because the idea /is/ applicable to more than #nazis

Fascism hurts everyone, and the implication that active action in fascism is by people who are just people is one that I've read a lot of, and a lot of it is apologists for #Nazis. This is what worries me and where much of my resistance to your argument comes from.

Do I have a say over whether or not you feel this fic is valid? No, I very much don't. But I do have a say in the fact that narratives are put about affect the world more broadly, and me in it. White supremacy and fascism do affect me. My solidarity is not abstract here.

Do I think that the attempt to centre extremely common narratives about humanising people who committed atrocities because "it was the time" or "it was their culture" or "it was their job & they were scared" are problematic? Yes, I do. Very specifically because these are ongoing.

Do I feel like that's where effort towards humanising people needs to be put? Um, no. Pretty vehemently no. I want people who have historically been dehumanised in a bunch of ways to have access to that kindness. Oppressors usually already have access to citizenship/ humanity.

There is so much racism and antisemitism in the world. I see it every day in the spaces I'm in. You mention that antiblackness is rampant and I agree. I also know that there are Black Jews, and they experience both racism and antiblackness. It /is/ the overlap of both for them.

I think that many Jewish fans tried to note these points, so I'm not bringing up anything new. Much of what I've said is from listening and reading Jewish thinkers, authors, and critics - and yes, speaking with friends - who've talked about WHY these things need care and nuance.

I've also paid close attention to the various times when the romance industry has tried to put out similar books that humanise #Nazis (or war criminals more generally) and seen the ways the playing out of a particular kind of masculine vulnerability for the non-Jewish character.

My takeaways during this period were to think very carefully about who is doing the writing, what they're choosing to centre, and where they see the impact of this kind of work. I applied the same basic set of principles to this fic. And I think it is harmful. I stand by that.

And I don't just mean to the Jewish community; I mean more broadly to the idea of what can be written about and who gets to see this as a romantic fantasy. And again, this is about me very much as well, about the ways in which fascism is playing out in various spaces I'm in.

In the future will this enable right wing Indian acafans to write about how they enabled mob violence but were eventually redeemed through the power of love? I'm horrified by the very idea (and it might seem far-fetched now), but this is something that is a possibility made open.

I think antisemitism is more than just overt name-calling and abuse; it is in what spaces make welcome and who is implicitly considered in that manner. It is about whether that lens is validated long term. It is about fascism. Again, my solidarity is not abstract. I fight for me.

I disagree with the idea that antisemitism can be absolutely defined because it shifts, just as racism shifts, and the choice not to acknowledge that harms us all. Do I think the author considered any of this? No, I don't. But I've seen them presume all "censorship" is bad.

I don't hold with that. I am not a believer in absolute free speech because (1) it's a joke anyway because access to speech is determined by power, so whose "freedom" defines this; and (2) it lets a great deal of violence run unchecked which dehumanises people constantly.

Do I think the author was antisemitic? Yes, I still do. I thought so because their choices centre a perspective that will make antisemitism more viable at the AO3. Do I think there is EVEN WORSE antisemitic content on the AO3? YES. That's part of why it needs actual processes.

But I don't hold with "this isn't antisemitic enough to be outright violent antisemitism" because I don't truck with the distinguishing of hard fascism and soft fascism. I just resist fascism and stand with those who do.

// That's me on this.

Additionally, the author added a person of colour into their tags on a fic about #nazis. They did this deliberately. Sit with that a second. You really want to tell me they're acting to undercut violence here? We then fundamentally disagree on that.