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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2020 16:07:33 GMT -5
I've seen that people have qualms with the way characters with disabilities are written/treated in the Warriors universe, and I can agree? It feels like they spin a wheel that looks like this:  I actually ranted on Discord about how Jaypaw was handled back when I was first reading POT because I was honestly very annoyed. lol Now that I think about it, Toph probably wasn't a good example to compare with Warriors bc... prodigy with superhuman abilities, but I was trying to make a point at the time, and even then Jayfeather had superpowers as well. This is sort of a messy post, but how do you think the handling of disabled cats in the books could've been improved? |
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Post by Redfleck on Jun 7, 2020 16:14:24 GMT -5
Okay, but they're cats living in the wilderness. Predators are everywhere in the territory. You can't say that Jayfeather wouldn't be a hindrance as a warrior. Sure, maybe hunting is more dependent on smell than sight. He could probably hunt. But what's he going to do in battle? Cats use tail signals to direct their clanmates, and a sneak attack isn't something Jayfeather can mindread.
Just take this as an opinion from someone who hasn't read the books in years, though.
EDIT: Oof, I didn't even answer the main question. Yeah, I think Jayfeather, Briarlight, and Cinderpelt all deserved better. Cinderpelt could have learned to hunt and fight despite her injury, but she wouldn't be good at it. Briarlight has no hope of being a warrior. Like I said, I haven't read the books in a while so I'm probably missing the point of the other 28 cats who got shoved into the medicine cat den. But at least in Briarlight's and Cinderpelt's case, it's not like they're bad additions. A medicine cat is an actual job and shouldn't be dismissed as secondary to a warrior's job. However, the Erins never focused on the medicine cat. Those were always side characters (aside from Jayfeather). If they made the medicine cat role more interesting and as glorious as a battling warrior instead of a side character role, this might not be as much of an issue.
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Post by ᏞᎪᎠᎽ Ꮎf fᎪᏁᎠᎾms ミ☆ on Jun 7, 2020 16:49:12 GMT -5
moth flight the first medicine cat counts too, right? doesn't she have adhd? and the fact she's the first medicine cat and that her screw ups become the basis for the horrible medicine cat code...it sucks.
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Post by Skypaw13 on Jun 7, 2020 17:50:22 GMT -5
I think a lot of people focus on the politics surrounding Jaypaw's storyline instead of the actual point of it... Yes, out of context, having a disabled character be forced into a role he doesn't want is pretty iffy. But when you consider the actual context in the book, that all but disappears. Jaypaw is given a chance as a Warrior apprentice, and while all the cats in TC have their doubts, they still let him do it. No one (living) forces him into the Medicine role. His decision to switch has very little to do with his blindness, and is instead based on StarClan cats harassing him about his superpowers.
Jayfeather is less a realistic portrayal of a blind person navigating life and more of a supernatural being who's blind as a drawback to his powers. The story isn't about the struggles Jaypaw faces as a blind person, in fact they often forget that he's blind, especially later on. It's about a stereotypical reluctant hero who is forced to accept his epic destiny. That's the case in a million fantasy stories, just because he's blind doesn't mean that storyline should be off-limits. I really liked his growth from a reluctant, depressed apprentice into a strong, capable healer. By the end of Arc 4, he still thinks wistfully about being a warrior, but he's happy in his role that he's come to accept.
There's also the fact that his blindness, despite Vicky saying it's genetic (it's not), is implied to be because of his powers. In TLH, Midnight says something along the lines of "When all cats have closed eyes, we gave the gift of sight to the cat who is blind". This puts Jayfeather in the unique position of being able to sense all the things "normal cats" (i.e. warriors) can't. His blindness sets him apart from the beginning, but that separation helps him to figure out all of the supernatural elements present in this world, which normal warriors like Lionblaze and even Dovewing just can't sense.
Anyway, that was my Ted Talk on how Jayfeather is the best character in this series, Thanks for coming.
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Post by Skypaw13 on Jun 7, 2020 17:53:50 GMT -5
As for the actual thread question, I've already established that Jayfeather isn't a problem for me, but the other instances are.
Alderheart becoming a MC actually offended me as a person with anxiety. Unlike Jayfeather, Alderheart didn't have any kind of supernatural or narrative reason to become a MC. They literally said "you suck at being a warrior, better try something else since you'll clearly never succeed in this". JUST HAVE THE DUDE BE A WARRIOR. Not everyone who passes a class aces every test, in fact, most people get Cs. That's fine. (Jay is too young to have an apprentice anyway, if you think about it)
It was clear to me that the authors just really wanted a MC POV since they threw Jay to the background-dumpster. They could have done that so many other ways. Have a kit who wants to be MC, for one. Or, and this is a good one, have Alderpaw start training as a warrior because he feels that's what's expected of him, not what he actually wants. He doesn't know what he wants yet. Have him slowly develop a relationship with Leafpool or Jay, and have him discover the joys of healing ON HIS OWN, and decide to make the switch for himself. This would do a much better job of showing the theme they were trying to go for, which is that sometimes, you make the wrong decision about your life, and that's okay. It also wouldn't be as offensive.
As for the other disabilities like Snowkit's or Briarlight's, I honestly think if you can't come up with a way for the character to be self-loving and feel useful, you should just not include the character. I would feel differently if this was adult literature, where you're a lot freer to portray any character however you want, but this is children's literature. You have to be mindful of what messages you're sending. Even Cinderpelt, who eventually found contentment in working as MC, was never happy with it. That's just discouraging to kids who feel challenged by their disadvantages, be they physical, mental, social, or otherwise.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2020 21:04:18 GMT -5
i find it weird when people are like "but a blind character WOULD be a hindrance theyre cats living in the wilderness!!" like when has realism been a major part of this series. these cats should all be rife with diseases and dying young, yet they defy this by having unrealistic miracle medicine. they amputate tails with sharp rocks, they talk to ghost cats and get literal NINE LIVES to revive from the dead with. this series thrives on its lack of realism. idk why they couldnt be creative with a blind warrior, or a warrior with only three legs (especially since DEADFOOT effectively only had three legs to work with, and brightheart is already half blind)
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Post by highprince on Jun 7, 2020 22:04:42 GMT -5
i find it weird when people are like "but a blind character WOULD be hindrance theyre cats living in the wilderness!!" like when has realism been a major part of this series. these cats should all be rife with diseases and dying young, yet they defy this by having unrealistic miracle medicine. they amputate tails with sharp rocks, they talk to ghost cats and get literal NINE LIVES to revive from the dead with. this series thrives on its lack of realism. idk why they couldnt be creative with a blind warrior, or a warrior with only three legs (especially since DEADFOOT effectively only had three legs to work with, and brightheart is already half blind) This ^^^ I always find it weird that lots of people seem to only bring up realism when it's to defend some of the more questionable choices of the Erins tbh. There's no problem with Jayfeather having a garden, or medicine cats in general really, but when you bring up disabled characters being tossed to the side or forced to become medicine cats, or the incest and weird age gaps, it's suddenly "they're wild cats! it's what makes sense" |
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Post by halogen on Jun 7, 2020 22:53:32 GMT -5
I think a lot of people focus on the politics surrounding Jaypaw's storyline instead of the actual point of it... Yes, out of context, having a disabled character be forced into a role he doesn't want is pretty iffy. But when you consider the actual context in the book, that all but disappears. Jaypaw is given a chance as a Warrior apprentice, and while all the cats in TC have their doubts, they still let him do it. No one (living) forces him into the Medicine role. His decision to switch has very little to do with his blindness, and is instead based on StarClan cats harassing him about his superpowers. Jayfeather is less a realistic portrayal of a blind person navigating life and more of a supernatural being who's blind as a drawback to his powers. The story isn't about the struggles Jaypaw faces as a blind person, in fact they often forget that he's blind, especially later on. It's about a stereotypical reluctant hero who is forced to accept his epic destiny. That's the case in a million fantasy stories, just because he's blind doesn't mean that storyline should be off-limits. I really liked his growth from a reluctant, depressed apprentice into a strong, capable healer. By the end of Arc 4, he still thinks wistfully about being a warrior, but he's happy in his role that he's come to accept. There's also the fact that his blindness, despite Vicky saying it's genetic (it's not), is implied to be because of his powers. In TLH, Midnight says something along the lines of "When all cats have closed eyes, we gave the gift of sight to the cat who is blind". This puts Jayfeather in the unique position of being able to sense all the things "normal cats" (i.e. warriors) can't. His blindness sets him apart from the beginning, but that separation helps him to figure out all of the supernatural elements present in this world, which normal warriors like Lionblaze and even Dovewing just can't sense. Anyway, that was my Ted Talk on how Jayfeather is the best character in this series, Thanks for coming. But that still leads to another whole can of worms. The whole "blind person has superpowers that let them really see things" is another tired stereotype that implies that blind people are not only useless unless they are somehow ultra special, but that they can't just have superpowers, they have to have superpowers that symbolically override their disability rather than something completely unrelated (like how Jayfeather can't just have invincibility like Lionblaze, no, he has to see through other cats eyes and see their emotions because he's blind and that's the stereotypical superpower to give a blind person). As you said, the blindness is positioned as a drawback, and using it as a symbol in that way is callous towards actual blind people rather than completely inoffensive. And it's especially bad because Jayfeather is perfectly aware of that connection and just wants to get away from being the "blind seer" archetype and be his own cat, but nope, the only way he can "fulfill his destiny" and have a purpose is by being a stereotype. I don't think the Erins entirely intended this; their authors' notes (the "Why is Jaypaw Blind" thing) makes it clear that he was intended to be a character who is similar to how you suggested Alderpaw be rewritten - someone who genuinely doesn't enjoy being a warrior and is genuinely passionate about being a medicine cats and all of the mysteries of spiritual power he can encounter in such a role, is too caught up in his pride and caught up in proving other cats wrong that he doesn't do what he actually wants, and eventually learns his lesson. But they botched this by having him be forced to learn the lesson rather than having him come to it organically, making the message, again, seem more like "You can only ever be a stereotype, whether you like it or not". Also, even if he isn't supposed to be a realistic portrayal, they still start out by setting him up that way. I (not blind, but I've had some similar experiences to the ones I'm about to list) definitely related to his anger at being defined by his disability, always looking to see if people are really judging you with pity or not as an equal, and the whole situation with Brightheart where he lashed out against her because of how she was only his mentor because supposedly only a cat with problems with their eyes could "really" understand him, and he couldn't just train as a warrior with a warrior chosen for him based on some other quality, as an equal with the other apprentices. Of course it was practical for him to have Brightheart as a mentor so he could learn the right skills to let him be an equal with the other warriors in the first place, and even if it wasn't, Brightheart was innocent and didn't deserve to be treated the way Jayfeather did, but he wouldn't acknowledge that due to a lifetime of being treated as different, and I could understand why he would act that way - I admit I have been that way to adult mentors myself, though I am trying to be more considerate and not be a bratty Jaypaw. In this context, to overlay this part of his character arc with a typical "hero must accept his destiny arc" led to a lot of unintended messages. And even if it didn't, as you yourself say, that sort of arc is overused and not particularly inspired, and always feels like a cop-out compared to giving characters organic motivation. I do like to see characters grow to a point where they are willing to take on a burden for the sake of accomplishing what they want to in life or helping others, and even growing happy with their new position in life, but the meaning of that transformation for the character is ruined if, rather than realizing this on their own and accepting it, they are forced into the choice. |
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Post by wheeledwarrior on Jun 8, 2020 10:07:47 GMT -5
Jayfeather didn’t bother me at all, to be honest. Was established in the first few pages that he was good at identifying herbs, so being a medicine cat was a natural pick for him (to the point where Leafpool ask him about being her apprentice). Not to mention it was also shown that he was bad at being a warrior and that it was dangerous because he couldn’t use all of his senses in battle. And once again, the story didn’t really focus on his blindness, but rather him working to accept his new position. Sure, there was some nudging from Starclan, but I feel like it would’ve happened eventually.
Cinderpelt’s and Alderheart’s cases don’t really bother me either, because if they’re not going to be good as the Warriors, and another position is open, why not give it to them? Better to have them be something they’re good at or otherwise not slowed down at, then to throw them into a position that they end up doing badly at or otherwise holding others back. Snowkit also would’ve been interesting if he survived, but I can understand why he died.
The only case that really annoys me is Briarlight. The reason being is that she is supposed to be inspirational because she’s living life despite her disability, but she’s not really inspirational because there are better examples of that, and her disability prevents her from doing much. Not to mention it takes over her entire personality and could’ve just been written out of the plot entirely (unlike others who were disabled from birth or early on). And considering how bad her disability really was, I feel like she should’ve just requested to be mercy killed and then have the whole thing just be done with (or not have her be disabled at all). It would’ve been an interesting thing for the characters to face, since I don’t think anyone in the series has done that (even though I know it’s mentioned).
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Post by Skypaw13 on Jun 8, 2020 16:08:53 GMT -5
And considering how bad her disability really was, I feel like she should’ve just requested to be mercy killed and then have the whole thing just be done with (or not have her be disabled at all). It would’ve been an interesting thing for the characters to face, since I don’t think anyone in the series has done that (even though I know it’s mentioned). I'm in the "not have her be disabled at all" camp, because "mercy killing" a disabled character is yikes. Also, she does try to starve herself to death at one point, which Jayfeather isn't having any of. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2020 18:26:23 GMT -5
I’m curious who all the cats included in the pie chart (besides Crooked, Jagged, Gray and Bright) are, although I already know some of them.
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Post by vectoring34 on Jun 8, 2020 18:42:51 GMT -5
i find it weird when people are like "but a blind character WOULD be a hindrance theyre cats living in the wilderness!!" like when has realism been a major part of this series. these cats should all be rife with diseases and dying young, yet they defy this by having unrealistic miracle medicine. they amputate tails with sharp rocks, they talk to ghost cats and get literal NINE LIVES to revive from the dead with. this series thrives on its lack of realism. idk why they couldnt be creative with a blind warrior, or a warrior with only three legs (especially since DEADFOOT effectively only had three legs to work with, and brightheart is already half blind) This argument doesn't really work. By this string of logic, if the very next book involved all of the cats being struck by a bolt of magical lightning which turned them into Cthulhoid monsters with the only survivors turning into golden tabbies when using their superpowers to fight, if that all happened, then it'd be fine because "this series thrives on its lack of realism". I'm not equating disabilities to that, but I'm just pointing out the issues with the argument. Even in an unrealistic world, there needs to be a certain level of realism in order to maintain the proper tone. Warriors starts off with a premise that they have a certain level of intellect, societal development, and while there is a mystical element it's restricted to only a very legendary few(99% of cats have nothing mystical going on). Breaking away from that is as risky as if the series took on the type of magical powers utilized in SSS Warrior Cats. I'm sure some people would like it, but a great many also wouldn't. A fantasy series must still stay true to its own internal logic and realism, after all. Anyway, with regards to your specific examples, the difference between Brightheart and a blind cat can be measured in miles. Being half-blind means she lacks a little bit of depth perception and peripheral vision, other than that it has almost zero effect on her performance because you can still see perfectly with your remaining eye. It's easy to have Brightheart be a warrior, you can pull on depictions of many warriors throughout history who lost an eye and kept on kicking butt and taking names. Someone blind though? You get someone like John of Bohemia where he needed a retinue of aides to even get to the battlefield and once there he was unhorsed and killed quickly along with all of his aids because he wasn't able to properly maneuver on the battlefield. Now, in Warriors, there are mystical powers, and one could say they could be used on a blind warrior to help them. However, as halogen pointed out, giving a blind cat mystical powers to help him really see would be a copout. And with regards to three legged cats, there is a large anatomical difference between a cat missing a front leg and a hind leg. A front leg, like Deadfoot, is a bad loss but they can still pounce just fine, rear up on their hind legs in a fight for better positioning, and climb a tree. But one missing a hind leg? No pouncing, no rearing, and no climbing. A hind leg is a far more crippling injury. ALL THAT SAID, I think that disabled characters could certainly be written better. There should be MORE of them for one thing, we know from human hunter-gatherers that injuries are common and likewise it would be with cats. These can be more along the lines of Deadfoot's injury orFinleap's, which should be rather common in this world. Deaf cats also ought to be treated better, for they can probably hunt at least. For another, they ought to be more involved in simply doing what they can. Playing with kits, grooming, eating, these ordinary activities would do great to humanize them without focusing on their disability as nothing but a source of angst as page filler. T |
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Post by highprince on Jun 8, 2020 20:44:01 GMT -5
Cinderpelt’s and Alderheart’s cases don’t really bother me either, because if they’re not going to be good as the Warriors, and another position is open, why not give it to them? Better to have them be something they’re good at or otherwise not slowed down at, then to throw them into a position that they end up doing badly at or otherwise holding others back. As a person with anxiety, this is a really bad take ngl. I don't remember Cinderpelt as clearly because I last read TPB years ago, but Alderheart's case was not just an offering of "Oh, why don't you take this job instead?" His mentor didn't believe in him, his clanmates didn't believe in him, hell, even his own father thought he was a disappointment. Sparkpelt was always better than him and no one thought he could be a warrior, so he was thrown into the medicine cat's den with the other cats that didn't belong. "if they’re not going to be good as the Warriors" this makes it sound like being a warrior is a limited position, like a medicine cat. It's not, though. There can be as many warriors in a clan as there are cats, there was no reason to not give Alder some more time to prove himself. Also, telling him that he'll only hold others back is the worst thing to say if he has anxiety. The thought of letting other people down and only being a nuisance really messes with you, and being told you can't do the job you want and be with your family because of something you can't control is honestly.....really awful? He was a smart kid and trying his best, and he got thrown in the medicine cat den for being different. Honestly, they 100% could have gone an inspiration disabled character story with Alderheart if he had been a warrior. He could have proven himself in spite of his anxiety, proved his clanmates wrong, proved Bramblestar wrong, and would have been a good example for people dealing with anxiety disorders that feel like they can't achieve their dreams because of it. Instead, the Erins wanted a medicine cat PoV that they basically just ignored later on, and frankly, it really frustrates me to hear that it was justified or that he has to be a medicine cat because he would "hold other's back" as a warrior. This......this just isn't it, chief. The options for Briarlight should not be "able-bodied or dead", wth. I agree that her optimism was rather ham-fisted, but the options you suggested were infinitely worse. At least Briarlight had a good idea behind her. Despite the adult themes, these are still books for kids. Imagine you're a kid in a wheelchair and you see the one character in these books that's like you, and she asks to die so she doesn't have to live with her disability? Can you seriously imagine sending the message that it's better to be dead than disabled?? That's one massive yikes and I'm really not okay with it in the slightest. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2020 21:28:53 GMT -5
Despite the adult themes, these are still books for kids. Imagine you're a kid in a wheelchair and you see the one character in these books that's like you, and she asks to die so she doesn't have to live with her disability? Can you seriously imagine sending the message that it's better to be dead than disabled?? That's one massive yikes and I'm really not okay with it in the slightest. i think this is a thing thats forgotten a lot when adults argue about this stuff- these are books for kids. the cats already have superpowers, theres already magic out the ass with starclan sending mystical prophecies that foretell the future and manipulating the weather (and even killing cats with lightning on TWO OCCASIONS that i can immediately recall) and saying that there shouldnt be physically disabled characters with a positive life as a warrior because its unrealistic is just... oof. i think people forget just how much positivity good rep brings into the life of kids, and good physically disabled rep in popular kids media isnt common enough for my liking. a three legged warrior will not break my immersion (and it shouldnt break yours- deadfoot already existed). a warrior without a tail shouldnt break immersion (we've already had multiples of those). blind and deaf warriors are not immersion breaking for me- if kittens can talk fairly well when theyre a month old, i can buy easy lip reading. with all this series has thrown at us- ghost badgers, superpowers, future telling prophecies, cat heaven and hell invading the real world, being able to kill ghosts, magic spirit weather, miracle plant medicine, cats farming, cats amputating with rocks, magic water that lets you visit the afterlife and talk to ghosts, cats literally dying and coming back from the dead, and more, i can live with disabled characters, and im not sure why its such a big deal that would absolutely destroy the immersion for other people. im sorry, but i dont think i can be convinced that its immersion breaking. this will always be an "agree to disagree" deal for me. |
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Post by Brindlefern on Jun 9, 2020 1:09:44 GMT -5
Where did the idea that Bramble was disappointed/embarassed by Alderheart come from? Because I do NOT see where that came from a all. Bramblestar probably felt pity at worse, and knew his son was having issues being a Warrior and saw he felt useless about it, but this just sounds like people still believe Dra/ik's bullshit that "Bramble forced him because he was disappointed/embarassed in his son" when that is not the case. Bramble didn't want Alder to be a MC out of ill-will, he wanted him to stop thinking of himself as useless and wanted his son to feel like he was useful and wanted him to be HAPPY doing something for his clan that he knew he could do.
Leaf and Jay were the ones that forced him anyways, the former noted to fricking STARING at him constantly every time Alderheart even so much as mentioned her. (There's also the destiny bullshit but let's not go into that gargantuan pile of worms)
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Post by Skypaw13 on Jun 9, 2020 1:48:21 GMT -5
Where did the idea that Bramble was disappointed/embarassed by Alderheart come from? Because I do NOT see where that came from a all. Bramblestar probably felt pity at worse, and knew his son was having issues being a Warrior and saw he felt useless about it, but this just sounds like people still believe Dra/ik's bullshit that "Bramble forced him because he was disappointed/embarassed in his son" when that is not the case. Bramble didn't want Alder to be a MC out of ill-will, he wanted him to stop thinking of himself as useless and wanted his son to feel like he was useful and wanted him to be HAPPY doing something for his clan that he knew he could do. Leaf and Jay were the ones that forced him anyways, the former noted to fricking STARING at him constantly every time Alderheart even so much as mentioned her. (There's also the destiny bullshit but let's not go into that gargantuan pile of worms) In the third or fourth chapter of TAQ (which I know because I just read through them for another thread on this topic), Alderpaw feels like he's disappointed Bramblestar, and in typical disordered thinking fashion, goes into a total thought spiral about how he'll always be a failure and Bramblestar will never be proud of him. It's Alderpaw's (somewhat unreliable) interpretation of the situation, not what Bramblestar is actually feeling toward his son. |
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Post by Brindlefern on Jun 9, 2020 1:52:41 GMT -5
Where did the idea that Bramble was disappointed/embarassed by Alderheart come from? Because I do NOT see where that came from a all. Bramblestar probably felt pity at worse, and knew his son was having issues being a Warrior and saw he felt useless about it, but this just sounds like people still believe Dra/ik's bullshit that "Bramble forced him because he was disappointed/embarassed in his son" when that is not the case. Bramble didn't want Alder to be a MC out of ill-will, he wanted him to stop thinking of himself as useless and wanted his son to feel like he was useful and wanted him to be HAPPY doing something for his clan that he knew he could do. Leaf and Jay were the ones that forced him anyways, the former noted to fricking STARING at him constantly every time Alderheart even so much as mentioned her. (There's also the destiny bullshit but let's not go into that gargantuan pile of worms) In the third or fourth chapter of TAQ (which I know because I just read through them for another thread on this topic), Alderpaw feels like he's disappointed Bramblestar, and in typical disordered thinking fashion, goes into a total thought spiral about how he'll always be a failure and Bramblestar will never be proud of him. It's Alderpaw's (somewhat unreliable) interpretation of the situation, not what Bramblestar is actually feeling toward his son. Yeah I remember that. I think it's just that folk take Alderheart's thoughts on that as fact. But to be fair, I think a lot of kids when facing their parents in such a scenario would feel they disappointed their parents, and thus get super stressed about it, not so much their parents DO feel disappointed. So I do see Alderheart as somewhat unreliable a narrator in that regard. (Not saying he is unreliable as a narrator as a whole, but in this case I'd say so, as it has the readers thinking it too, and folks can probably (and realistically) relate to that) |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2020 3:38:13 GMT -5
(Another crappy post, will edit later ig)
Thanks, I guess I misinterpreted the Jayfeather situaton, it still would've been nice to see him be a warrior like he was so adamant on being though...
Gonna sound like an echo, but I agree with Nettle and Highprince. At the end of the day it is fantasy book for kids where a lot of the realism is just tossed out the window for mystical stuff and plot convenience. Trying to compare Warriors with real life cats and human examples is a stretch. I don't see how a warrior missing a leg/paw/tail (though vectoring is right about missing hind legs, that would just be like throwing a human with one leg and a stump right into a battle and would actually be a hindrance but even then they can still do stuff to help the Clan) or a blind/deaf/mute warrior would snap me right out of the story and ruin my enjoyment of the books. I would actually be pleased if it was handled right. Even if said character can't perform all the warrior duties, they can still help out around camp with kits and repairs and whatnot. They could get a character arc, something, instead of being tossed aside or not included at all. Like people have said positive representation would be nice for kids.
And I mean, is it really so hard to visualize? We have dreamwalking and invincible cats, cats being able to die nine times over, dog tooth claws, super medicine, Mistystar, etc. Plus the Erins have broken their own rules and lore before (StarClan cats fading, ghosts being able to materialize in the mortal realm and being able to actually injure/kill living cats, just StarClan in general as the series progressed, Tigerheart being resurrected like kitty Jesus that could've been useful for a lot of cats who died young...), so is a blind or deaf cat surviving and becoming a warrior so implausible? I'm not asking for them to be perfect or OP and climb the ranks to leader, but still.
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Post by wheeledwarrior on Jun 9, 2020 9:32:34 GMT -5
The problem with Briarlight’s situation is it’s played like it’s someone in a wheelchair. The problem is it’s not, and it’s actually something that has a poor prognosis. If you read the essay the truth about Briarlight, it’s actually a horrible way to live simply because of the damage to the spinal cord. Warriors glosses over that, but you can find analyses that give no holds barred explanations for what is really happening. Suffice to say, it isn’t pretty. Now if this were the Warriors equivalent of being in a wheelchair, such as someone losing a leg or something, then I’d be fine with that person living and doing what they could. At that point, they’re not suffering. But if someone has that horrible prognosis, and isn’t going to be able to do much, then mercy killing might be the better option.
As a person who is disabled (I use a walker, and have since I was young; I have cerebral palsy), I was actually offended with how Briarlight was portrayed. She is portrayed as being inspirational because of her disability, but she doesn’t really do much, or rather can’t, because of what it is.
People with disabilities in general aren’t inspirational just by having them; they’re inspirational because of what they do despite it. And the problem is Briarlight can’t do too much in comparison to other warriors, so there’s nothing that really stands out from every one else other than her disability. Additionally, her disability is a large part of her character, but I can say is a disabled person the last thing I want is my disability being thrown in my face. It’s part of my identity to an extent but it’s not the only part of me. With Briarlight, I felt as soon as she got disabled, her disability took priority over almost anything else with her character, and like I said that’s not a good image to portray.
There are characters that I do find inspirational, and their disabilities are shown far less. Cinderpelt is one of my favorite characters, but especially after what happened to her and the fact that she was able to find another position in life after she got her crippled leg. And after that it wasn’t mentioned too much. She became very good at her job, I was otherwise able to re-integrate and was treated normally. Crookedstar here’s another case, where he might have broken his jaw, but he learned how to adapt despite it and became a powerful leader. After that he was able to be mainstreamed back into the clan life, and his disability wasn’t the main focus of his character. Cases like that I find more inspirational because not only did they go above and beyond, but it showed that the character is not defined by the disability. It’s the same thing with Jayfeather, to be honest.
As for Alderheart, it’s been a while since I read his chapters, so I didn’t remember the full conversation there. But I still stand by the idea that if he was bad as a warrior and could be better at something else, then there’s no reason why he should stay as one.
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