Personally, I love S6, especially when it comes to Spuffy. But I don't find it to be beautiful, romantic, pretty, or even lovable. I find it to be intriguing and very cutting emotionally. 🙂
You love it, but don't find it lovable. (Not trying to be snarky, but that one made me grin.
😉)
I find that to be very controversial. On one hand, somebody could argue that it wasn't actually an "Attempted rape" because Spike, in his mind, wasn't meaning to rape her. He was trying to give her what he thought that she wanted and needed. Spike was very twisted and screwed up, but I feel that it's fair to say that he didn't think "Oh, how 'bout I go and attempt to rape Buffy today?". On the other hand, whether he was in his right mind and was actually thinking that he was attempting to rape her or not, the fact of the matter is that he was. He may not have thought that he was, but he did. That fact is pretty undeniable. It's doesn't matter if he didn't mean to; He forced himself on her after she begged him to stop. That's attempted rape, plain and simple. And I don't believe that it should be defended.
I'll try it to be the last time to say it here (as there's the well known other threads for it)...
Spike had no reason to believe he was doing anything else than initiating
consensual sex. That is NOT attempted rape. It turned out to be a rape
experience for Buffy, but it was not a rape
attempt by Spike. (Anyone who argues otherwise, please look up the meaning of "attempt" in the dictionary.) He made an honest and forgivable mistake without bad intention, and took an extraordinary amount of responsibility for it. Seeing Red makes Spike a
shining hero, not a despicable monster.
And, as long as even one person in the world can argue convincingly against a statement, that statement is NOT "fact". So, once and for all people: It is NOT fact that Spike attempted to rape Buffy.
Accept it and get over it.
(Neither is it fact that he did not, as
hundreds of people keep arguing he did. And even though they do so pretty unconvincingly IMO and keep running into contradictions in their logic, they keep saying he did, so it is obviously
open to interpretation. The jury is out on this one.)
It should be explained/interpreted though. I can certainly understand why Spike forced himself on her, and, whether it's "Victim-blaming" or not, Buffy did have a role in it. Still, Spike had no right to do that to her.
100% agreement to all of that statement. It was an honest mistake with no trace of bad intentions, but a mistake it was. Accuse him of "reckless endangerment", which is certainly is an offense (even though a pretty minor one, especially forsomeone with no conscience), but NOT of something as vile as "attempted rape" - you will find me passionately defending his innocence.
I think that you're starting to take this issue personally, and now you're lashing out at the Bangels in general. Bangels make up a huge portion of BB, and they are all fabulous, intelligent, wonderful, and overall lovable people who enjoy the dynamic of Buffy and Angel. You really shouldn't bash an entire group of people with generalizations like that. They're just excited that their 'ship has a chance after years of people saying that Bangel is "Highschool love" and that it will never last and such. Although I disagree with them, I can definitely see where they're coming from.
I just hate hypocrisy... and when I see hypocrisy in people who like something I can't fathom the appeal of, I go harsh.
I don't think I generalized, but if I
did come across as saying
all Bangels were hypocrites with psychological problems, I honestly apologize for that. The majority of Bangels indubitably
are fine people, and even if I can't "get" how they like a ship, in which, for personal biographical reasons, I can see hardly any merit at all, I don't think they need professional help for that, itself.
🙂
Still, if someone takes their Bangel love to the extreme of whitewashing Angel for heinous crimes while slandering Spike for minor misdemeanors, I
will not stop to attack their viewpoint. I passionately hate hypocrisy and double standards, no matter if they come from a Bangel or not. You'll have me trying to convince them of the
obvious error of their ways (the error of
rabid hypocrisy, not the error of Bangelism
😉 ), until my dying breath. *resolve face*