alwaysatrombonist:

undertheteacup:

After everything they’ve done to Regina, fuck ANY development that happens at the expense of Regina’s happiness. Even if it’s interesting from a storytelling point of view, or whatever the fuck.

At this point, even if they’re angling for some big…

This is an excellent point. It almost doesn’t matter what they change or how with regard to the way issues are framed at this point, because the damage is already done. The fandom is already set in the way it wants to view the characters and their motivations, and changing it now will just result in a lot of intentional misinterpretation to maintain the racist, misogynistic standards that have already been set. No one wants to see their own deeply-flawed world view paraded in front of their face for the farce it is.

katastrophicallynerdy:

Let me get this straight.

Regina:

• Murders
• Manipulates
• Curses an entire kingdom
• All to ruin the life of a woman who unintentionally caused her lover’s death as a child
• Still doesn’t really feel fully remorseful
• Fandom adores her

Snow:

• Kills once
• To protect her family
• After years of trying to give second chances to a woman who wants to ruin her life
• Immediately recognizes her error and feels remorse
• Fandom wants her dead

I DON’T UNDERSTAND.

Don’t get me wrong, what Snow did was wrong. And I find Regina fascinating; she’s really grown on me, and I really want her redeemed. But I am REALLY sick of the Regina apologists in this fandom. I’m tired of hearing that every horrible thing Regina does is excusable and forgivable, but if any other character does anything wrong THEY MUST DIE. Regina’s a great character, but that doesn’t give her a free pass to do whatever she wants, guys. 

I’m going to pull a quote from this much more extensive thread to help explain the crucial difference between Regina and Snow and how that difference can (and must) influence the way their actions are judged comparatively:

It’s just easier for me to forgive Regina for her own misdeeds, I suppose, because every evil thing she does is simply her not being strong enough (or not having a good enough reason) to override her programming. Because of their designated stations on the Good/Evil continuum, any good Regina does should be lauded more than the good Snow does, by virtue of the effort involved—and likewise, the evil that Snow does should be condemned more harshly, because she knows better and has the resources available to her to make better choices. 

You should really read the entire thread to get all the necessary context for what’s being said here, but I think this suffices as a basic summary at least. However, the issue as a whole is more complicated than even this explanation allows for. Your post presents a very simplistic view of very complex characters and situations, and that simplicity does a disservice to both the characters and the fans (especially Regina’s) who support or denounce them.

For example:

• [Snow] Kills once

You’re already missing the point here because it seems as though you’re assuming that the issue people have with Snow is that she wanted Cora dead. That’s not it at all. Even fans of Cora have acknowledged repeatedly that Snow’s desire to see Cora killed was entirely understandable, even if it didn’t have the noblest of motivations. Thus, the issue is not that she killed someone. The issue is that she didn’t kill anyone. Regina did. I can only speak definitively for myself here, but my disgust with Snow is rooted entirely in her decision to keep her own hands clean by manipulating an emotionally damaged, mentally unstable woman into killing her own mother with no consideration for what effect that would have on Regina’s already volatile psyche. She used her intimate knowledge of Regina’s desire for acceptance and love to trick her into becoming the weapon that would destroy the only source of that acceptance and love still available to her. Forcing Regina to do it was neither necessary nor justifiable. It was cowardly and cruel.

• To protect her family

This point immediately breaks down because Snow’s decision to kill Cora with the candle had nothing to do with self-defense or the defense of her family. To believably claim self-defense in that case would have required the presence of an immediate threat and a lack of other options to deal with it. While it’s arguable that Cora was an imminent threat, there was most definitely not a lack of other options. Snow chose to use the candle because it got her the outcome she wanted (Cora’s death), whereas her other options would most likely not have afforded her the same satisfaction. Once again, the issue people have is not simply with the fact that Snow chose to deal with the threat Cora posed, but rather with the way she chose to deal with it and why.

• After years of trying to give second chances to a woman who wants to ruin her life

Offering conditional forgiveness to someone you helped to systematically oppress for the way they chose to react to their oppression—all while refusing to acknowledge that they even had a reason to feel oppressed in the first place—is a shitty thing to do and does not deserve to be lauded as noble or anything else remotely positive. Especially when the only reason you’re doing it is to make yourself feel better. Snow is in no position to offer second chances, because to do so requires a moral high ground that she has never possessed.

• Immediately recognizes her error and feels remorse

Please refer to this post for a perfect summary of why this argument fails miserably in Snow’s defense. Allow me to quote a particularly relevant bit:

Note how, when Snow made the decision to murder Regina’s mother, what was most important was not the life of a human being or the devastation that would bring to another, but how she felt about herself.

That’s right: what matters most in a life-threatening situation is not Cora’s life or Regina’s psychological well-being, but that [Snow] feels good about herself.

Snow recognized her error only in the sense that she recognized how her actions were negatively affecting her. She felt remorse only in the sense that she regretted doing something that tainted her own saintly, self-righteous view of herself.

Snow White has effectively become such a selfish, self-important character that she even managed to make the murder of Regina’s mother relevant only to the extent that it related to her and how she felt about herself. If that doesn’t perfectly summarize how she views (and has always viewed) Regina as a person, nothing does. Regina and her feelings have no intrinsic value to Snow, and it’s doubtful that they ever will.