kriadydragon | ???????? Yep, Another Inquiry

A small discussion coupled with a comment I read some time ago on Gateworld has finally provoked me into asking a question I've been wanting to ask for a while. For the record, this is merely an inquiry and should it escalate into a controversy causing unnecessary hostility then I will delete it. People have a right to their opinions and do not need to be bashed for it.

Is it just me (and possibly several other Sheppard fans) but does Sheppard get character bashed quite a lot? Or at least a lot more than McKay?

Now, being a Sheppard fan, rather protective of the characters I like, and with the broad spectrum of how a character can be veiwed, it might just be my personal opinion. Still, I've never really come across stories that dis McKay as badly as some stories have dissed Sheppard. Yes, I'm not a big McKay fan, but I would still never put his character down as badly as I've seen some writers put Sheppard down. Or maybe they don't realize they're doing it and it's simply the way they view Sheppard? I don't know. It's just that some stories come across, to me, as a slight toward Sheppard's character. Sometimes even as a way to put McKay's character on a pedestal.

As for the comment on Gateworld, it was extremely spiteful not only toward Sheppard but Sheppard fans as well. I was so ticked I couldn't even think of a response. After that, I refused to venture beyond my regular threads. I hang out mostly in the Sheppard whump and Thunk thread and I have yet to ever see anything said about McKay as mean as that one comment about Sheppard had been. And, from what I hear, there have been many of such Sheppard-bashing comments made leading to controversy that has driven many from the forum.

That's not to say Rodney bashing comments have not been made or Rodney-bashing stories don't exist. Story-wise, I've yet to come across any and I would assume that it would be Shep-whumpers doing the bashing. The authors I read, all mostly Shep whumpers, handle Rodney like Rodney rather than altering his character just to get a desired result.

What really has me curious is - if this is true and not just me - why all the dislike toward poor Shep?

I do know there are a lot more McKay fans than Sheppard fans. I also know that the majority of McKay-whump writers handle Sheppard 's character with respect.

But no matter who is bashed more, I find character-bashing in general rather immature. If you're not a big fan of a character, there's no need to write a story just to put that character down. I find it unfair to the fans of that character, as well as hypocritical if you're of the type who doesn't like to have their character bashed.