I find Bad Guys fascinating. Particularly their portrayal in media. You see, I watched Andor a while ago, and, as laughable as it may sound, that series was a major factor in shaping my politics and, to a certain degree, my outlook on the world today.
I have a small issue with Bad Guys, or Villains, in most media. And that gripe extends to the way people view Bad Guys in the real world. You see, Bad Guys are often portrayed as this superhuman entity, not unlike the hero(es). They belong to the realm of the gods, or the ultra wealthy. Simply put, they are not your average person.
I am thinking specifically of Bad Guys like Dedra Meero from Andor, or even Darth Vador from the original Star Wars trilogy, but you're free to extrapolate to villains from Marvel, DC, or whatever media you consume.
These Bad Guys, to a certain extent, mirror the Bad Guys of the real world - be it through authoritarianism or fascism. Certain politicians come to mind. So do certain billionaires. Once again, you're free to compare my standpoint to your own perspectives of real world Bad Guys (and I'm fairly certain that this might still be politically neutral).
But Bad Guys, while being the face of Evil, are not the be all, end all of their fascist movement. And this is what a lot of media tends to overlook - likely due to difficulty portraying such a "situation" as well as time constraints.
Bad Guys are only there because there are bad guys who put them there (notice my change in capitalisation). These "lesser evils", unlike the superhuman entities of the True Villains, are normal people, like you and I. And yet, through inaction, or complacency, weaponised ignorance (or stupidity), or hypocrisy, these bad guys are the sole factors behind the fascistic Bad Guys.
We see this time and time again in the real world. Between Germans who were completely unaware of the horrors of the Holocaust, to modern day voters ignorant of scandals or harmful policies, history is littered with the lesser bad guys whose inaction or action through malice, brought about great harm and suffering.
My message, at the end of the day, is to stay aware of yourself, your political standpoints, and the ever-evolving political climate lest you find yourself blindly supporting (and even encouraging) atrocities which will mark history for generations to come.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
"Good Guys"
Unlike Bad Guys, who are actually bad and evil, Good Guys is a misnomer - these people genuinely believe that they are doing "good" all while supporting the authoritarian or fascistic order of the Bad Guys.
It is my opinion that Good Guys are the principal driving factor towards dictatorships and political atrocities. The drive of these Good Guys lays in having sufficient knowledge of a situation to form an opinion, but lacking so much that the opinion formed is often far off the mark from reality. This is weaponised stupidity, and you will notice it exploited by many politicians if you look closely.
It manifests through so-called "some concerns" which, if you were to map to history, always precede man-made horrors and the rise of fascism. For example, people had "some concerns" over black people using the same water fountains as whites. Other people had "some concerns" over "Jews controlling the State", and we are familiar with how this ended.
Furthermore, Good Guys will believe that they are honest with themselves, their friends, and the world around them. This is often not the case. You see, to persuade yourself that you are a Good Guy, you need to tune yourself to believe blindly in "your side".
Your side can be something like a political party or even just your own perception (though from my perspective Good Guys will always associate themselves with a political party such as the Nazi party from 1930s Germany and will even place that party's "morals" above their own).
What do I mean by this blind belief? Put simply, a Good Guy will nearly always be a hypocrite whose opinions and standpoints fluctuate rapidly as and when the situation calls for it. Such a person may one day believe that the police is a useful force to keep the people in line (often ignoring the fact that they are part of this people and nowhere near the actual Bad Guys), but will say the police must be disbanded the next when one of them is on the receiving end. The same concept applies to immigrants, women's rights, and LGBTQ+ rights.
I write this the morning after writing the segment on Bad Guys, realising that every one of the Good Guys will always associate "the other side" with being the Bad Guys without an ounce of introspection.