[TheJaz]

(Appologies for double posting but this has been bothering me)

I keep seeing people saying stuff like "what Kimura did wasn't that bad compared to others", or "racism isn't a crime" so I just feel like I have to say "other people have done worse things" is an extremely flimsy argument, at least in my eyes

You have to take situations at face value not try to rank them by tiers

Yes some actions are worse than others, but that's not at all relevant to if an action was bad or not, it's not really logical or reasonable to just say "someone else has done a worse thing, so I don't care about this"

Tbh this reminds me of the type of behaviour from people who will tell you to "suck it up" when you've been badly hurt, because they've been MORE hurt before

"Oh you broke your leg? Suck it up, I've broken both legs before and I got through it"

That sort of reasoning is just flawed, if someone broke their leg it doesn't matter how many people have been hurt waaaaaay worse, they're still going to be in a lot of pain

It stands to reason as well that if an actor does something shitty, the fact that other actors have done waaaaaaaay shitier things doesn't negate that

You can always name a a worse thing, a more severe crime, a bigger problem, smth more offensive, it's just not a helpful mind set, it feels more like a way to make excuses more than anything else. People should be held accountable for their actions regardless of their severity

Like if I see someone verbally bullying someone else, should I just go "well they didn't commit assault or murder so there's no point intervening"? I think it's obvious that that wouldn't be a logical rationalization, it would just be an excuse to not get involved

This way of thinking also seems to pre-suppose that there's some sort of quantifiable level of bad actions that it's worth discussing, and anything below that level isn't even worth talking about? That just seems contrived and baseless, it just feels like a way to not have to think about how actors you may like may say shitty things occasionally

It doesn't matter that worse things have happened in the history of all time, Kimura did smth that can hurt and offend people, and regardless of if it's illegal, it's a shitty thing to do

I don't need Kimura to never work again or whatever, he does not deserve to be in an extreme situation like losing his livelihood or becoming homeless (no person really does), all I am expecting is accountability in equal measure to the action, evidence that he understands what he did was wrong and that he genuinely regrets it, not because it could hurt his career, but because it could have / has hurt other people

And if he can't demonstrate that, or if he hasn't grown, then my only hope would be that he doesn't portray characters (specifcally heroes) for children... adults can make informed purchasing decisions and have more control over what people they look up to, kids don't really have that same awareness about celebrities

I also just don't see how "someone who did black face shouldn't portray a hero for kids, or should at least genuinely apologize first" is somehow an extreme position to take, or why it's a stance so many people seem quick to argue against