so I have a thing I want to say about that Zootopia comic. spoiler warnings for frank discussion of abuse tactics, manipulation, and domestic violence, and I guess a spoiler warning for that Zootopia comic. and yes I'll put it behind a CW tag, but I wanted to preface it with this explanation first.
Zootopia comic, abuse, domestic violence
there's a thing abusers do, where they antagonize or physically annoy/assault their victim until the victim has an anger/self defense response and hits the abuser, which allows the abuser to claim that they are actually the one being abused, sometimes able to show off a bruise or mark as "proof."
this is EXACTLY what Nick did to Judy in that comic. EXACTLY.
Zootopia comic, abuse, domestic violence
when Nick grabbed Judy by the arms and shook her while yelling into her face, THAT WAS A PHYSICALLY VIOLENT ASSAULT. but when *Judy* reacts to Nick's escalation and threatening behavior by hitting him, in what would normally be seen as a self-protective response, it's instead framed as if *she* was the aggressor, the one initiating violence, as if *she* had crossed the moral event horizon into domestic abuse.
Zootopia comic, abuse, domestic violence
the *comic* framed it that way; both of the characters reacted to it that way. and that is BULLSHIT. because NICK was the one who escalated the situation into physical violence. NICK was the one who initiated the domestic abuse situation. but he leaves with a mark on his face and a sob story of being the victim, the wounded party. and this INFURIATES ME.
Zootopia comic, abuse, domestic violence
I have been in the situation of being the victim of verbal, emotional, and "borderline" physical assault *specifically intended* to get me to respond with violence. I had one person TELL ME after spending nearly two hours antagonizing me when I was already emotionally unstable that he'd been trying to goad me into hitting him. I can only imagine it was so that he could play the Nick in that scenario, so he could retreat in righteous anger.
Zootopia comic, abuse, domestic violence
I have seen abusers showing off the marks on their faces after having physically restrained their victim for hours-long assaults, mostly verbal but including physical violence (pushing, grabbing, blocking doorways) and claiming that they are the victims. it's a *known* tactic, therapists are trained to look out for this shit.
Zootopia comic, abuse, domestic violence
anyway I guess that's all I wanted to say. the whole abortion thing is also terrible, btw, because the odds would be for the fetus to be nonviable anyway; I'm sorry but two such vastly different species wouldn't be able to produce anything with a sensible digestive or endocrine system without the aid of serious biotech or magic, neither of which evidently exist in that world.
GRRRWARRRRGHHH *snarrrrrrl* *deep breaths* OKAY. done. *snort*
if you want to repost any of that thread, or respond to it, feel free. I feel very strongly that most forms of abuse are not properly portrayed or recognized in most media, and seeing it normalized like that is deeply disturbing to me. if somebody reads my thread and thinks "oh hey, this thing being done to me is WRONG," I'll consider myself having redeemed that godawful comic just a tiny bit. :|
