I know the expression is "don't mistake kindness for weakness" but I also wish more people would say "and don't mistake weakness for a moral failing" because while strength (mental, emotional, and physical) is a great thing to have, it's not actually the mark of a bad person to lack it.
With the anime, I'll TL;DR it to two points and then expand on them if you'd like more of my thoughts: 1. Liking anime (in the US, at least) is considered socially deviant for a variety of reasons you're probably more familiar with than I am, and social deviance is bad under this authoritarian mindset. 2. While "liking anime" isn't a marginalized class, it is *associated* with marginalized groups (Japanese folks and ND people mostly) and bigotry (even the covert bigotry that pretends it's super progressive and non-bigoted) does not care whether you're *actually* marginalized or just too close to it. (See also: theater kids and queerness, nerds and autism, very definitely straight dudes who enjoy makeup and fashion.)
no subject
With the anime, I'll TL;DR it to two points and then expand on them if you'd like more of my thoughts:
1. Liking anime (in the US, at least) is considered socially deviant for a variety of reasons you're probably more familiar with than I am, and social deviance is bad under this authoritarian mindset.
2. While "liking anime" isn't a marginalized class, it is *associated* with marginalized groups (Japanese folks and ND people mostly) and bigotry (even the covert bigotry that pretends it's super progressive and non-bigoted) does not care whether you're *actually* marginalized or just too close to it. (See also: theater kids and queerness, nerds and autism, very definitely straight dudes who enjoy makeup and fashion.)