I absolutely love this shift in media we've since since like, ehhh 2018, where the classic narrative of "kindhearted person learns to save the day without fighting" is being tweaked to "kindhearted person learns fighting is ultimately necessary when you're up against fascists"

Like, "The Future of Another Timeline" I _thought_ was gonna be about how ONLY VOTING WORKS, NO VIOLENCE EVER but it's ultimately like "Actually, sometimes you have to murder a fascist, and that works"

And now with Kipo it's like

Yeah no trying to reform people is a good idea, and you totally should try to change hearts and minds

buuuuuuuut

you also can't be a coward when someone has stated their intent to kill you. You have to fight back

Likewise with Infinity Train, again you have this narrative of like, yes, people can change, people can grow and become better people

but.... sometimes actually... the fascist racist who has killed and will kill again... can't be saved... and you're gonna have to fight back

I think what I especially love is how it strikes the balance of emphasizing that people CAN change sides. People are not condemned to be good or evil. Transformative Justice is possible and we should not jump to jailing or killing people like they're disposable

Empathy is important

BUT

When there is a fascist, who is actively trying to murder you, you have to fight back, or there will be casualties. They are an active threat and it is not the time to take the "noble path" and refuse to fight them. Or you will allow others to die

And i just

I fucking love that children's media is striking that balance now??? That's really good. I love that. I mean books for liberals are also doing it more and more, but especially it's showing up in all-ages media, and I love that

It's like, the dialectic between the shows my generation grew up with where G. I. Joe just rampantly murders Baddies with guns like their lives mean nothing

and the shows we'd been seeing in response like ATLA where it's bad to fight the fascist emperor because killing wrong :(

I think having that nuance, that balance, is so important, and I love seeing it