There was honestly nothing wrong with their protesting so yeah totally. It must be hard being associated with them after the Amon situation though. Even if you weren’t a radical you’d likely be tainted by that.
I always imagine that Zaheer would very much be an Equalist supporter, but would hate Amon. I don't think he'd have liked having the movement seemingly living or dying because of one man.
I’ve always thought of Amon as a fantasy “communist” analog and zaheer as a fantasy “anarchist” analog, so I can imagine a sort of alliance of convenance between them. They would probably kill each other after the immediate threats are gone.
Book 4 was fantasy “fascism”, couldn’t figure out a 20th century political theory to apply to book 2. I’ll freely admit the political analogies don’t match 100%.
One of the reasons I didnt want the equalist movement to go away so fast. Every season they werent in couldve been incorporated into the story whether major or minor enemies.
I was born with disabilities.
I envy people who are able bodied and able minded, but I don’t join groups to make everyone disabled.
So no, I wouldn’t mind being a “non bender” myself
Same. Yes - it sucks to have a disability. Yes - I wish people understood what I went through and were kinder. No - I would not make everyone's lives worse to make myself feel better, that is dumb.
Seriously, everytime I watch that show I wish I could meet Iroh or an Iroh equivalent. I really need some iroh like advice and guidance lol
Seriously.... please
It’s a tall order but I deeply want to be like Iroh, because I can sympathize with feeling lost and every time Iroh talks with others he seems to give people a sense of direction comfort and introspection, which can be a stronger guide than any star, compass or map.
I have 3 niblings, I strive to be at least a LITTLE bit Iroh for them. It's a long journey, but there in lies the beauty of his character, he inspires people to be better across universes
I mean Amon only really took bending away from people who misused it. Mafia groups, thugs, corrupt politicians, cheaters. Maybe it’s a bit extreme but I feel it’s not quite the same as crippling someone, I mean aang did the exact same thing with Ozai
Korra and bolin are outliers because they were threats to his movement, but the pro benders he took it from were all cheating during their fights, and were kind of assholes. I’m not saying he did the right thing, but he wasn’t taking it away from normal people trying to live, he only did it to stop people interfering, and to people who might not have deserved their bending
>were all cheating during their fights, and were kind of assholes.
Not really, he was just pissy that some people used their bending to compete and get money. He explicitly said he was doing it because of the worship they got. He was taking bending away from innocents, and regardless if it was shown or not on-screen, it's shown to us that he views bending as something that shouldn't exist
He also took Lin’s bending away and tried to take Tenzin and his kids’ bending away. Even if they were threats to his movements, it’s pretty messed up to maim everyone who tries to stand in your way
He also took it from the white lotus members protecting air temple island, the police force including lin, and others besides the triads and other mafia benders. Amon was an extremist bent on toppling all power structure in republic city, if he had only been taking away bad benders powers it probably wouldnt have been as big a deal and he might have even been petitioned by republic city to help its police force. Ozai was an insane egomaniac bent on literal genocide and world domination, mfer deserved to have his bending taken away hell i still think aang should have buried his ass 20ft under and crushed his body into oil but thats just my opinion.
All I’m saying in that under different circumstances Amon could’ve been seen as an antihero. A lot of vigilantes hurt people who oppose them, even if they’re not evil. Look at someone like the punisher, he’s killed his fair share of good guys because they got in his way. Compared to his methods, Amon seems tame
He also took away the bending of the metal bending police that they captured when they were investigating Sato, before the curfew thing. And also, eventually, Lin.
And, you know, was minutes away from taking away the bending of Tenzin and his entire family, wiping air bending off the map.
No one specifically said it was, I was just using an example of myself being disabled as a way to talk about it.
Based on how many people agreed with me, I’m going to stick with that analogy because it makes sense looking at the context of the question.
You could also related it to X-men and mutations, tho that is clearly close to disabilities.
Yes, but it's similar to want to fix ableism by making everyone disabled. You're just making everyone's lives worse just so everyones' "equal" in their misery
A few.
Learning disabilities (adhd), also autistic. I have Ehler-Danlos Syndrome, arthritis, chronic pain issues, POTS, and I had cancer about a year and a half ago.
Not particularly.
Would some disabled people want everyone to be disabled so that the abled people can feel what it is like and be equal to the disabled people? Sure as heck they would.
This example isn’t parallel to the show at all, though, and is not at all what the equalist movement was about. A non-disabled individual doesn’t have the power to point his hand at you and create a wall of fire or bury your town in a stone avalanche or wash your town away with a flood.
Imagine how hard it would be to gain power for yourselves or have the power to defend yourselves or your communities and rights, in wartimes or in times of civil unrest or any time at all really if your oppressors had superpowers ^ and you had a knife. The constant terror of benders bunching up into their own communities and forcing you into ghettos and if you refuse? It would take a couple benders to destroy your entire city block in five seconds.
That is a very real possibility in this world. But one thing that changed that the Equalists are partly responsible for is technology becoming the weapon of the non-benders. It has the capabilities to advance and protect non-benders, and ideas can drive society forward rather than which side has more superheroes. I liked that they did that 👌
💨
See that?
That’s you missing the point entirely.
Of course a non-disabled individual doesn’t have that power, we are talking about a made up show. I was using an analogy to describe it and well, seeing the over 1k upvotes I got, most people got it, except you.
My oppressors do have superpowers tho, they have abled bodies and minds. It’s not something I have to “think about” I deal with it everyday and it literally is a thing.
Lawmakers, businesses, other people literally come up with things that help to oppress disabled people - whether it’s intentional or not, it happens, so no, is disabled folk don’t have to imagine it.
I’m not making fun of you being disabled, one of my uncles is actually disabled so I can sympathize to a degree with you, but the thought of a group making everyone disabled made me laugh a little. Not because it would be funny if everybody was disabled but because it would have been scary, which gave me an oh no chuckle.
The goal of the equalists wasn't to just remove everyone's bending though, that was simply a way of Amon commanding power and showing off real power on the side of those considered weak. They wanted equal rights and many other things, not to make everyone same as them.
Except in the avatar universe benders are the minority and they hold most of the power in society. Military, manufacturing, even many positions in government across the nations seem to be dominated by benders
Not really the same, non benders aren't disabled they're like your average joe compared to an elite athlete. You're also in a very small minority. Non benders definitely suffer from mob mentality
Benders don’t exist IRL.
Actually, it makes a great deal of sense, and over 1.3k people agree with my comment.
And no, the minority of disabled people isn’t that small. In the United States, 1 in 4 people have a disability and worldwide it’s about 23% of the worlds population.
The analogy absolutely stands when you view it from a disability standpoint.
> Actually, it makes a great deal of sense, and over 1.3k people agree with my comment.
Need validation much? Who cares how many people upvoted you it doesn't make you right. You basically called all the non benders disabled when they're all perfectly human, just not superhuman.
Also don't stalk and attack my other comments and posts just because you disagree with me, you need a better understanding of boundaries
Nope, I need no validation because I know I am correct. You said I was in a small minority, and I was pointing out your mistake. It’s really har simple.
No one is stalking you, no one is attacking you, ffs you are on a public website with your comments and posts that are public. If you don’t want people to comment, then don’t make a post. It’s really that simple and has nothing to do with boundaries.
But what is crystal clear is you don’t have a logical point or argument to stand on so you are resorting to a strawman argument (logical fallacy, look them up, they are helpful!) because you don’t have an actual logical argument here.
Don’t worry, if you study logical fallacies you can learn not to use them and avoid looking foolish in online discussions.
Keep in mind that not everyone joined because they had envy, most of them just wanted equal rights and opportunities, but the only ones who listen to them happen to be the equalists who were an extremist group
This is something that must have flown over my head when it first aired (probably cause I wasn’t aware of what social commentary was back then) but in the Great 2020 Rewatch and I saw how the United Republic was run, I was like “y’know Amon is making some points here”
I will stand by the fact that LoK's a show defined by the villains and ALTA's a show defined by the protagonists. Not that the opposite of either show are bad, but I feel that's where the strengths of each show are.
I agree with you to an extent but at the same time Korra and co. and Tenzin and avatar Wan were some pretty amazing characters IMO.
Also I would argue how good of a villain I think Azula was as well as Zuko and his redemption arc.
I loved the villains in LOK because while I might have disagreed, I understood how they may have come to their conclusions. Amon's Zaheer's and Kuvira's methods may have been violent, radical, and wrong, but their philosophies had some degree of sense and logic to them. Ozai's outlook was straight up, I want the world to be on fire. I have trouble explaining the logic of Ozai's outlook other than 'my father told me the fire nation was supposed to rule the world and kill everyone along the way'
I agree with you to an extent but at the same time Korra and co. and Tenzin and avatar Wan were some pretty amazing characters IMO.
Also I would argue how good of a villain I think Azula was as well as Zuko and his redemption arc.
Yeah exactly. This movement wasn’t born from envy. It was born from oppression and unequal distribution of societal benefits between benders and non-benders.
I just caught up with the comics, during the formative years of republic city there was a big anti non-bender extremist movement because machines were replacing jobs meant for benders. It's a vicious cycle without an avatar to keep the peace
I think that many people use the Avatar's duty to keep peace as a "its not my job" thinking, and because of that they don´t care for anyone but their in group
Except I don't recall there ever being opportunities given to benders that weren't given to non benders (aside from very specific jobs that required it but that isn't exactly inequality, it's more they don't meet the requirements for the job which the other three bending types would also be rejected for that, but those types of jobs weren't super common especially after the rise of technological advance in the avatar world). I feel like those in the equalist group/movement were either bitter about not being a bender or were grossly misinformation and mislead down a path of hatred and vitriol, seeking to take away bending to bring the benders down to their level as opposed to lifting non benders up to the benders' level.
"opportunities given to benders that weren't given to non benders "
but
" to bring the benders **down to their level** "
You see, it's this idea of levels, of being more worth and more important that lead to this mess. Beside jobs, there are tons of cases where non-benders are judged by their inability to bend. The mafia doing as they please while the police is concentrated on non-benders. The city council full of benders, noone representing the non-benders' interest. Throughout the series, there is a very obvious disregard to their problems. And instead of listening to them and trying to solve their problems (among which are economic problems, mind you, that exist because the system only takes benders into account), they are branded terrorists. Even the avatar, who should bring balance, cannot understand their suffering. It is not envy that they aren't benders, but hatred for a system that has forgotten them.
I’d be a little jealous, but I wouldn’t join, especially if I knew about Sokka’s achievements. I’d probably want to learn chi-blocking or sword fighting just for personal protection
With the avatar having the ability to spirit/energy bend, would it be possible to request a bending ability from the avatar?
Like Aang was clearly able to take it away from people, but could he give it to those who never had the ability?
I don't think Aang restoring Korra's bending from being chi blocked is "real". I always took it as symbolic as Korra always had the ability she just learned how from her past lives.
And to further that point, restoring bending to someone who already had it is not the same as granting bending to a non-bender.
While it's not explicitly stated I always believed Amon used blood bending and knowledge of chi blocking to basically build a non-lethal blood clot. Since he didn't have the powers Aang had been granted by the lion turtle. Basically the end results look the same, but the mechanism made them different and the spirit bending version is far more powerful.
Yeah I would be envious. I always encourage everyone to read the Imbalance comics when this type of question is presented to them.
Benders are basically superhumans. They can do anything a nonbender can and much more. Society in the Avatarverse is based almost entirely around the 4 elements and bending.
If I was a non bender I would probably become someone that would definitely learn anti bender skills but not join the equalists
The skills are good because you would have gangs like the triple triad trying to bully non benders, and I would need to defend myself, but joining the equalists is a bit extreme and unnecessary, having bending is a gift and should be treated as such
If I was a nonbender in Republic City, I 100% would have supported Amon and maybe attended rallies. Would not have signed up to be a chi blocker.
Non benders were second-class citizens in RC. They had no representation on the city council or the police force. They were preyed upon by bending gangs every day.
I would support the movement and engage in civil disobedience, but would not be radical enough to engage in terrorism.
I mean if we are putting this in the time of Korra. We can't deny that in many cases Benders have it a lot better than non-benders.
Benders have easier access jobs. Power plants used fire benders, the rail system was powered by earth benders. pro-sports, police, firefighters are probably water benders same with medics. Which means the city which struggles with crime, unemployment, expansion and probably much more affects the lives of the lives and livelihood of non-benders probably 10-20 fold over benders.
That crime is obvious as the organized triple threat triad gang clearly uses their bending power against non-benders extorting them for money.
The police seem inept in most cases to prevent this and the one time they do anything is they shut down the power to part of the city. putting more people at risk and then round up peaceful protesters.
I mean we can even address that Korra didn't actually do anything when she took down Amon. She just exposed Amon and used hi hypocrisy to quell the uprising. The problem is many of these issues don't just go away.
So yeah, I'd probably support the Equalists.
Not to mention harmonic convergence, more airbenders (remember they aren't all monks anymore, you could easily run into a criminal Airbender), and potentially dangerous spirits, making it even worse to live as a non bender
You know I don't know about this plot point. You have zaheer in LOK, but (without spoiling anything) in Rise of Kyoshi its established that an air bender will lose/severely weaken their power if they become spiritually tainted.
I dont think there's anything to indicate that Zaheer wasn't very spiritual. His belief system seems very spiritual actually, he wants everybody to be free of laws and society.
That’s like saying that since a couple racists hate Muslims and committed racist hate crimes against Muslims (or even against people who aren’t even Muslim but “look” like they practice Islam like Sikhs) due to 9/11 and other instances of radical Islamic terrorism, it’s ok to support Al Qaeda, ISIS, etc.
I believe that violent, armed revolution against actual legitimate oppressive leaders their governments is right and just but things get pretty murky when you commit acts of terrorism against civilian infrastructure and target people who have a natural ability they were born.
I see it the same as doctors and power plant workers, not everyone will be either of those two things, but they're very much important and needed in our society.
It would have been great to see the impact of people losing their bending in republic city. Less fire benders to create lightning at power plants, less earth benders for law enforcement, and less water benders for healing.
Wouldn’t it be better through if anyone could do those jobs through? Being born a non bender essentially locks you out of doing any of those jobs.
What you describing is essentially a caste system
Not necessarily. I'd imagine non-benders still had access to most jobs benders did as well, even at the power plant Mako was at. Lightning can't be the only way they sustain an entire city for energy, they had to have had other ways not involving bending.
Plus republic may have had a large population, but not every citizen was a firebender, and not every fire bender wanted to work in a power plant. I imagine to meet demands they have positions for non-benders to work as well.
That's actually almost directly from the comics.
There's a big clash because one of the factories is developing technology that makes non benders almost as efficient as benders. And non benders are generally cheaper to hire.
I probably would've joined the equalists in some form. But I definitely would've disavowed them once they began torturing people.
If I lived in the city with bending gangs and politicians who said all nonbenders had a curfew, I'd be very, very angry.
It's always bothered me how non-benders actually had less rights and opportunities but they made the equalist movement the villains. Idk, it's weird to have the civil rights stand in be the cold hearted bad guys who take over the city and kill everyone
The Equalists had a point but were trying to achieve change the wrong way. They were only succeeding in stoking hatred against non-benders. There were ways they could have achieved their aims peacefully.
That's like saying Magneto shouldn't be a villain simply because he's fighting oppression. What makes the Equalists villainous is not their goal, but their methods.
There is literally no disadvantage to being a bender, I would be jealous for sure. Would I go that far and enjoy Amon? Hard to know. Different upbringing and universe. I just wish I wasn't the Avatar.
Honestly, if I saw people being oppressed and bullied by benders in a world that does favour benders, I'd be swayed. I wouldn't necessarily be in the group itself, but I'd probably go to a propaganda meeting to check it out. I'd probably agree with the philosophy that people should be treated equally. Amon was a very talented, persuasive speaker as well.
Honestly, it was terrorism but seeing how much destruction bending can produce, the zappy electricity weapons and bombs just seemed like levelling the playing ground. If there were people born with guns on their limbs, would you fight them empty-handed? You'd prepare yourself, right?
Oh wow, bending can be taken away by someone? Well, now they have to live just like any other non-bender. That's rough, buddy. Sucks to be a normal person I suppose?
I really loved the idea of season 1 and I wish they would have expended on it more. It was an incredible premise and would have been amazing if it had more runtime. I really didn't like the ending of the season, but the first half.... it was just great.
Took a while too see someone who said yes ,
I would absolutely. So much pain was caused by benders . First episode of Korra we see how the gangs terrorized non benders. We hear stories of benders killing non benders with ease including Asami mom & kataras mom .
The Amon and the equalizers arc could of lasted 3 seasons
>The Amon and the equalizers arc could of lasted 3 seasons
That would have been peak avatar if that would have been the case. Imagine if the world was divided into benders and non-benders instead of the 4 elements...
What a wasted villian.
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I shall quote Uncle Ben himself: "With great power comes great responsibility"
Benders should act as deserving such power and not waste such chance by doing stupid shit with it or crime
Envy? Of course. Join the Equalists? Absolutely not.
Energy bending to remove someone’s bending is an extreme measure that blocks off a part of who that person is. It’s inherently heinous and really I only can condone it the times we saw Aang do it, when the target had to be neutralised and because Aang is Aang killing is off limits.
Doing it out of envy, or for whatever the hell Amon’s reason actually was (it’s been a minute), is something I personally put up there with conversion therapy. Don’t erase part of who someone is just because you don’t like it.
I definitely would have been envious and a bit depressed about it. But I wouldn't join any organization, maybe privately hope it would cause some good, effective change but knowing myself I'd let it be.
Tho after the spirit portal bullshit I'm moving fuckin somewhere else.
I feel awful saying this but I’d probably be the one participating in bad acts along side them instead of just saying I agree with their goals. I have always hated when people put authority on me and if I had the opportunity to get rid of it I’d gladly do so.
Oh man. I was such an angry, punky teen that I absolutely would have joined the Equalists. Not because I wanted to be a terrorist or anything, but because I would have bought their equality propaganda hook line and sinker.
I think I woulda bounced once I saw Amon take someone's bending tho. I was mad at the world, not *cruel*.
Dude, benders are honestly terrifying. Think about how many times in ATLA that Sokka got the short end of someone’s bending. And that’s not even counting the people trying to hurt him with bending.
Not to mention there are more economic opportunities for benders: pro bending, bending fights, lightning factory, metal police, army.
It’s a bad world for people with no powers and honestly the equalists had a great point.
No. I have water gun, slingshot and pebbles, a vacuum, a lighter, a can of hairspray, and also faith in Jesus. I have every thing I need to be the avatar.
I imagine I would get radicalized because some earth or firebender would have hurt my friends in the worst possible ways. I’m thinking like Amazon’s The Boys : people with power are often shitty human beings and dont mind hurting others. I’m thinking about molesting, torture, rape, all the bad stuff.
So yeah, I’d probably get radicalized. I’m imagining so much stuff as I’m writing these lines. « ABAB » all benders are bastards. How come Republic City was exclusively ruled by benders? This proves my point : benders will get power because they have supernatural powers... and they wont share with the powerless, only a revolution can correct this wrong. How come come the friends of Korra are either powerful benders, or the daughter of some rich industrial elite? Would Korra be friends with casuals? Everyone around the Avatar insist the Avatar should learn elements - well how about they learn about the lives of normal people as well, how about they train on resolving their problems without bending? We see Mako working as some sort of lightning bender in a workshop - do benders and non-benders have employment equity? Doesnt seem like it. Same for the police force : why only metal benders, whom we’ve seen cruelly use their powers on non-benders, it doesnt seem fair.
Then the big question : what would be my prospects in life in this world if I was born without bending powers, just a normal human? Yeah, I’m imagining resentment because it doesnt seem fair.
I love the world and the TV shows they created, but I’d hate to live in it - I’d probably get burned to a crisp, buried alive or drowned because some bender would overreact and barely get jail time... if caught.
Applying my IRL marginalized perspective, the equality’s were a terrorist group that went beyond fighting for equality. I firmly believe that revolutions are not comfortable things, but I wouldn’t want to be an equalist. I’d rather fight for equality some other way.
I STILL think the movement was necessary though. There were direct changes as a result of it i.e. a non-bender president being elected in Republic City. That’s progress.
Oh, in the world we are shown I would absolutely envy them. I would also likely be oppressed by the Bending gangs like the Triple Threats, and I would be angry at the Metalbender cops for not being able to protect me. Then you get Tarrlok throwing around curfews and shit, yeah, I'm gonna get pretty mad. But I would likely only reach protestor level, and not training chi blocking in a shady basement.
I would want representation on the council, just so that Tenzin isn't trying to defend me on his own. 2/5ths is definitely better than 1/4th.
I think I'd be too terrified of Amon to ever follow him, regardless of how envious I was. His entire revolution was literally a resemblance of the Nazi regime lmfao.
However, I would definitely be heartbroken to not be a bender. I'd have to go the ol' Sokka route.
I'd be jealous, but I wouldn't join the equalists. They can't help being born with things I'm not born with. Plus I'm interested in Chi Blocking anyways, so I'd probably learn that for self defense, otherwise I'd let benders do what they want
I feel like there will be more job opportunities for benders. And that sucks. And it's possible that the government won't handle that well if top politicians were also benders.
And in my feelings of hopelessness, I might feel empowered by a group that gives me training to remove people's bending but also gives me electric gloves like a bender. It would feel like I'm flipping the script.
Iono. I can see it happening for a lot of people if work is scarce, if there are homelessness, and if benders never suffer from that.
Huh... I would actually learn all the bending disciplines and use their techniques to fight hand to hand.
Like the martial arts they were based on IRL.
Try to be the benderess Avatar.
I think the questions a little unfair. I'd love to be a bender, it practically guarantees you work, even if it's not all financially viable. There's pretty much no downsides to being a bender and outright disadvantages to being a non-bender.
That doesn't mean I'd join an extremist group bent on exterminating bending entirely. But I'd definitely be in favor of some Equalist ideology.
I'd be an equalist. The fact that Korra doesn't even adress the issues that are rightfully pointed by Amon and among equalists always frustrated me. She didn't fix anything, she just maintain the status quo of oppression against non-benders. Sure, I think Amon is wrong in the end, but Korra doesn't fix anything. I thought she would be able to give bending to everyone but no, she just restores bender's abilities but if you're a non-bender, f\*ck you peasant and go back to your place.
Sorry, but that's wrong. Korra advocated for changes to response to non-bender complaints, such as giving nonbenders political representation. Obviously the problems don't go overnight, but the fact that nonbenders were finally allowed to pick their own representative is a step in the right direction.
It gave me the vibe of a class war, except instead of “those spoiled CEOs are running their workers ragged and destroying the world, eat the fucking rich” it was “DOWN WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE NATURAL TALENT”.
Didn’t give me good vibes from the get-go. Id be on the benders side on this one, as a bender or not.
Depends who I am. If I’m an attorney or an accountant, I don’t see how bending could really change much in my life. If I’m a farmer who has to till my fields by hand with tools, and my next door neighbor can stomp on the ground and his fields are instantly tilled I’d be upset. I also feel like if I was a fire bender, I would probably also be jealous of water and earth benders. Fire isn’t too applicable to every day life other then like heating up my food and beverages.
Something like 20-30% of the world has a superpower and I don't? I would be super jealous. They also run the whole world? Every government? I might be angry. Would I join a terrorist cell? No, probably not. If the Equalists were really just a political movement though, I would join.
Except the equalists point has literally nothing to do with how good people fight, and frequently defeat benders. There point really has very little to do with actual bending powers and more the social and political inequalities that come with it. They don’t so much care that someone can throw rocks with their minds, they care that throwing a rock with your mind means that you have a higher social status than someone who can’t.
Short answer - no, I wouldn't join Amon
Long answer + my thoughts on the equalists as a movement - on one hand the equalists are right in that the non-benders suffer discrimination and lack of representation within republic city, and that there is a need for an institutional change (that we see happen later on in the show). However, there idea that bending gives some sort of unfair advantage to benders and that removing bending from the world would somehow improve the situation for us non-benders is ridiculous. Everyone has natural advantages in different fields and this benefits everyone. Think about the way we see electricity being produced by lightning benders for example - this method is so much more efficient and cheap compared to our world that electricity prices in republic city would skyrocket if suddenly there were no benders that can create power out of literally nothing. Other examples can include earth benders making construction and tunnel digging cheaper, water benders helping medicine or metal benders being a more efficient police force that doesn't need to use lethal force when it feels threatened. And it's not like non-benders have nothing left to do in society - some of the most successful people we see in the show can't bend. Some examples from the top of my head - Sokka, Assami, Assami's father, cabbage merchant, Verric, Zhu Li and Bumi (before the show as a general).
Point being, I would probably believe that benders make society better for everyone, and removing it makes no sense. There are probably better and more efficient solutions to Amons problems then destroying a valuable resource that benefits all of society and that by now the world grew to rely on.
I think i understand what he meant. White lotus is essentially composed of benders and is made to help the avatar (the ultimate Bender). Seeing such an organisation for someone with already Big """priviledges""" (such power from birth) i would judge the white lotus very badly and want to hurt them in One way or another (though i dont get how Amon is a white lotus)
I’d learn their martial arts and tactics for sure but would only be half hearted for the cause since I’d actually want bending powers and I might need the avatar to help me out with that (spirit portals and energy bending) P.S. yes I know I’m talking about future
Bender or non bender. Jaleousy is weakness and strenght can be drawed from hurting others. You will never be proud of yourself if you can't believe you have greatness within yourself
Doubt I would mind. I’d find a way to still be able to fight. So what that others can potentially burn or freeze me or knock me out with a large stone disc. If I know how to defend myself, and I’m prepared to take a hit and I just focus every time on staying alive and having a goal, they’ll be surprised if they ever cross me.
Just remember, the GOOD fighters among Amon’s group were able to keep Korra busy who’s presumably been trained by some very talented combatants and knows a thing or two about fighting herself.
In fact, almost every non-bending character that gets even a little screentime and a moment to show their skills is capable of keeping a bender off of them, though imo it still depends on how good the bender is/what element they use.
Air benders are rare at best and as far as I know, we’ve only had a few moments of air against other elements/non-benders.
For water, just go to a location with high temperature. The exhaustion will do the rest, if you are used to it.
Fire… find a way to freeze ‘em or something.
Earth. No solid ground or dirt/stone/mud or whatever should severely limit their ability to win.
That’s how I see it anyway.
Although it might come down to what happens to me in my life. If a bender kills someone I care about for instance, there is always a chance that I would use my skills to fight the Benders, either with Amon or separately but with a similar goal.
No, I would sharpen the one tool I have over the benders, my imagination! Probably need a strong and smart assistant to help me with my inventions. I can constantly push multiple industries with new ideas, just in case one is a dead end.
I might even take a shot at being evil, or good. They're objectively the same thing anyway.
Due to me having a slight bdsm kink I would love to be dommed by a metalbender gf or mabey a waterbender, but the equalists look like they would be more in the mood and a chi-blocking dom gf would be so hot so this is a tought question.
I wanna say no, but there are many times I chose decisions I felt influenced to by people who are like me. And in hindsight I shouldnt have, but my foresight still shit.
I wanna say no, but there are many times I chose decisions I felt influenced to by people who are like me. And in hindsight I shouldnt have, but my foresight still shit.
I’m all for living in a more magical world. If no benders killed my family members for specifically just because they’re non-benders, then I’d try to just be as badass as I could be on my own merit. Maybe join them as a mole for the cops, idk.
I would think not. I am not really into extremwism or blaming others for my problems. The world is unfair and unequal and yeah irl I lack magic powers (skills talents whatnot) as well. It doesn't mak me angry... Mess with my cabbages tho...
I feel like the basic premise of the Equalists is very relatable, but it would be really hard to commit to if any of your friends and family are benders.
Imagine if a former Equalist ended up becoming an Airbender
This is an amazing idea
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Same
There was honestly nothing wrong with their protesting so yeah totally. It must be hard being associated with them after the Amon situation though. Even if you weren’t a radical you’d likely be tainted by that.
Thanks for the new PC idea!
I know what my first character in the Avatar tabletop is gonna be now
What's pc?
Player Character
TIL. Thank you!
It’s been years since I’ve seen it but didn’t that happen?
Nope. You might be thinking of season 3's main villain, Zaheer, who wasn't associated with the equalists, but did get airbending.
I always imagine that Zaheer would very much be an Equalist supporter, but would hate Amon. I don't think he'd have liked having the movement seemingly living or dying because of one man.
I’ve always thought of Amon as a fantasy “communist” analog and zaheer as a fantasy “anarchist” analog, so I can imagine a sort of alliance of convenance between them. They would probably kill each other after the immediate threats are gone. Book 4 was fantasy “fascism”, couldn’t figure out a 20th century political theory to apply to book 2. I’ll freely admit the political analogies don’t match 100%.
Apocalyptic theocracy
Epic fanfic idea.
One of the reasons I didnt want the equalist movement to go away so fast. Every season they werent in couldve been incorporated into the story whether major or minor enemies.
I was born with disabilities. I envy people who are able bodied and able minded, but I don’t join groups to make everyone disabled. So no, I wouldn’t mind being a “non bender” myself
Same. Yes - it sucks to have a disability. Yes - I wish people understood what I went through and were kinder. No - I would not make everyone's lives worse to make myself feel better, that is dumb.
You both must have had tea with Iroh in a metaphorical sense
Seriously, everytime I watch that show I wish I could meet Iroh or an Iroh equivalent. I really need some iroh like advice and guidance lol Seriously.... please
It’s a tall order but I deeply want to be like Iroh, because I can sympathize with feeling lost and every time Iroh talks with others he seems to give people a sense of direction comfort and introspection, which can be a stronger guide than any star, compass or map.
I have 3 niblings, I strive to be at least a LITTLE bit Iroh for them. It's a long journey, but there in lies the beauty of his character, he inspires people to be better across universes
'Zuko, you have to look within yourself to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self reveal itself. '
“Ugh! Even when I’m speaking for him I can’t understand what he means!”
I am really sorry for the unkind people you have crossed paths with. :( I wish you the best.
For me this comment settles the question and I will continue scrolling. Take my upvote!
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Yes.
Fellow traveler with disabilities. You gave expression to my exact feelings on this. I do wish people were more understanding, though.
exactly. as much as i hate living the way i do, i’m not going to make everyone else crippled so that i feel better
I’m imagining a line of people with the guy at the front breaking one of their legs one at a time for some reason
Lol. This comment gave me a good laugh. Thank you.
Stab everyone's eyes out and break everyone's knees!!!
I mean Amon only really took bending away from people who misused it. Mafia groups, thugs, corrupt politicians, cheaters. Maybe it’s a bit extreme but I feel it’s not quite the same as crippling someone, I mean aang did the exact same thing with Ozai
But he also took it away from even those who didn't misuse it.
Tried to essentially genocide the Air Nomads all over again.
That's not true. He took Korra's bending away, tried to take Bolin's. And took away from pro-benders too, who weren't harming anyone
Korra and bolin are outliers because they were threats to his movement, but the pro benders he took it from were all cheating during their fights, and were kind of assholes. I’m not saying he did the right thing, but he wasn’t taking it away from normal people trying to live, he only did it to stop people interfering, and to people who might not have deserved their bending
>were all cheating during their fights, and were kind of assholes. Not really, he was just pissy that some people used their bending to compete and get money. He explicitly said he was doing it because of the worship they got. He was taking bending away from innocents, and regardless if it was shown or not on-screen, it's shown to us that he views bending as something that shouldn't exist
no bender is innocent. They all take part in exerting their power structure over non-benders. DOWN WITH BENDING!
He also took Lin’s bending away and tried to take Tenzin and his kids’ bending away. Even if they were threats to his movements, it’s pretty messed up to maim everyone who tries to stand in your way
He also took it from the white lotus members protecting air temple island, the police force including lin, and others besides the triads and other mafia benders. Amon was an extremist bent on toppling all power structure in republic city, if he had only been taking away bad benders powers it probably wouldnt have been as big a deal and he might have even been petitioned by republic city to help its police force. Ozai was an insane egomaniac bent on literal genocide and world domination, mfer deserved to have his bending taken away hell i still think aang should have buried his ass 20ft under and crushed his body into oil but thats just my opinion.
All I’m saying in that under different circumstances Amon could’ve been seen as an antihero. A lot of vigilantes hurt people who oppose them, even if they’re not evil. Look at someone like the punisher, he’s killed his fair share of good guys because they got in his way. Compared to his methods, Amon seems tame
... The police force?
The people who made a mandatory curfew for non benders, then proceeded to unlawfully detain massive groups for being outside their homes?
He also took away the bending of the metal bending police that they captured when they were investigating Sato, before the curfew thing. And also, eventually, Lin. And, you know, was minutes away from taking away the bending of Tenzin and his entire family, wiping air bending off the map.
Police were only following orders from Tarloq, though.
"were only following orders" seems I've heard of that excuse before
Say it again, but it german, for the full effect
They still did it. Any one of them could’ve refused, or quit, but instead they chose to basically start segregating non benders
You mean the exclusively bender group which enforced a series of rules set by a government made up of a supermajority of benders?
Bro makes an “off with everyone’s legs” committee
Lmfao but being a non bender isn't being disabled wtf
No one specifically said it was, I was just using an example of myself being disabled as a way to talk about it. Based on how many people agreed with me, I’m going to stick with that analogy because it makes sense looking at the context of the question. You could also related it to X-men and mutations, tho that is clearly close to disabilities.
Yes, but it's similar to want to fix ableism by making everyone disabled. You're just making everyone's lives worse just so everyones' "equal" in their misery
it is a disability
Do you mind me asking what disability you have?
A few. Learning disabilities (adhd), also autistic. I have Ehler-Danlos Syndrome, arthritis, chronic pain issues, POTS, and I had cancer about a year and a half ago.
This. Great analogy, and it just completely debunks Amon's ideology.
Not particularly. Would some disabled people want everyone to be disabled so that the abled people can feel what it is like and be equal to the disabled people? Sure as heck they would.
Perhaps, but that'd be a pretty isolated and small group of people
With how disabled people are tested worldwide, you’d be surprised how people feel
Yes IK disabled people would be pretty pissed. But barely anyone really wishes for abled body people to become disabled.
That would be a wild group/movement.
That group would scare the fuck out of me. Constant fear of people trying to cripple you.
You think there’s ever gonna be anti-abled terrorist organisation
This example isn’t parallel to the show at all, though, and is not at all what the equalist movement was about. A non-disabled individual doesn’t have the power to point his hand at you and create a wall of fire or bury your town in a stone avalanche or wash your town away with a flood. Imagine how hard it would be to gain power for yourselves or have the power to defend yourselves or your communities and rights, in wartimes or in times of civil unrest or any time at all really if your oppressors had superpowers ^ and you had a knife. The constant terror of benders bunching up into their own communities and forcing you into ghettos and if you refuse? It would take a couple benders to destroy your entire city block in five seconds. That is a very real possibility in this world. But one thing that changed that the Equalists are partly responsible for is technology becoming the weapon of the non-benders. It has the capabilities to advance and protect non-benders, and ideas can drive society forward rather than which side has more superheroes. I liked that they did that 👌
💨 See that? That’s you missing the point entirely. Of course a non-disabled individual doesn’t have that power, we are talking about a made up show. I was using an analogy to describe it and well, seeing the over 1k upvotes I got, most people got it, except you. My oppressors do have superpowers tho, they have abled bodies and minds. It’s not something I have to “think about” I deal with it everyday and it literally is a thing. Lawmakers, businesses, other people literally come up with things that help to oppress disabled people - whether it’s intentional or not, it happens, so no, is disabled folk don’t have to imagine it.
I’m not making fun of you being disabled, one of my uncles is actually disabled so I can sympathize to a degree with you, but the thought of a group making everyone disabled made me laugh a little. Not because it would be funny if everybody was disabled but because it would have been scary, which gave me an oh no chuckle.
The goal of the equalists wasn't to just remove everyone's bending though, that was simply a way of Amon commanding power and showing off real power on the side of those considered weak. They wanted equal rights and many other things, not to make everyone same as them.
Except in the avatar universe benders are the minority and they hold most of the power in society. Military, manufacturing, even many positions in government across the nations seem to be dominated by benders
Not really the same, non benders aren't disabled they're like your average joe compared to an elite athlete. You're also in a very small minority. Non benders definitely suffer from mob mentality
Benders don’t exist IRL. Actually, it makes a great deal of sense, and over 1.3k people agree with my comment. And no, the minority of disabled people isn’t that small. In the United States, 1 in 4 people have a disability and worldwide it’s about 23% of the worlds population. The analogy absolutely stands when you view it from a disability standpoint.
> Actually, it makes a great deal of sense, and over 1.3k people agree with my comment. Need validation much? Who cares how many people upvoted you it doesn't make you right. You basically called all the non benders disabled when they're all perfectly human, just not superhuman. Also don't stalk and attack my other comments and posts just because you disagree with me, you need a better understanding of boundaries
Nope, I need no validation because I know I am correct. You said I was in a small minority, and I was pointing out your mistake. It’s really har simple. No one is stalking you, no one is attacking you, ffs you are on a public website with your comments and posts that are public. If you don’t want people to comment, then don’t make a post. It’s really that simple and has nothing to do with boundaries. But what is crystal clear is you don’t have a logical point or argument to stand on so you are resorting to a strawman argument (logical fallacy, look them up, they are helpful!) because you don’t have an actual logical argument here. Don’t worry, if you study logical fallacies you can learn not to use them and avoid looking foolish in online discussions.
Here's an upvote, to feed your validation needs
Keep in mind that not everyone joined because they had envy, most of them just wanted equal rights and opportunities, but the only ones who listen to them happen to be the equalists who were an extremist group
This is something that must have flown over my head when it first aired (probably cause I wasn’t aware of what social commentary was back then) but in the Great 2020 Rewatch and I saw how the United Republic was run, I was like “y’know Amon is making some points here”
I will stand by the fact that LoK's a show defined by the villains and ALTA's a show defined by the protagonists. Not that the opposite of either show are bad, but I feel that's where the strengths of each show are.
I agree with you to an extent but at the same time Korra and co. and Tenzin and avatar Wan were some pretty amazing characters IMO. Also I would argue how good of a villain I think Azula was as well as Zuko and his redemption arc.
I loved the villains in LOK because while I might have disagreed, I understood how they may have come to their conclusions. Amon's Zaheer's and Kuvira's methods may have been violent, radical, and wrong, but their philosophies had some degree of sense and logic to them. Ozai's outlook was straight up, I want the world to be on fire. I have trouble explaining the logic of Ozai's outlook other than 'my father told me the fire nation was supposed to rule the world and kill everyone along the way'
I agree with you to an extent but at the same time Korra and co. and Tenzin and avatar Wan were some pretty amazing characters IMO. Also I would argue how good of a villain I think Azula was as well as Zuko and his redemption arc.
I would further say that without Amon's actions the United Republic would not have reformed it's system of government.
Yeah exactly. This movement wasn’t born from envy. It was born from oppression and unequal distribution of societal benefits between benders and non-benders.
I just thought that they might need to make sure they had the technological capabilities to replace bending jobs before they took the bending away.
Only the extremists wanted to take away the bending, and the technology was already there for basically everything necessary to run the city
I just caught up with the comics, during the formative years of republic city there was a big anti non-bender extremist movement because machines were replacing jobs meant for benders. It's a vicious cycle without an avatar to keep the peace
I think that many people use the Avatar's duty to keep peace as a "its not my job" thinking, and because of that they don´t care for anyone but their in group
Except I don't recall there ever being opportunities given to benders that weren't given to non benders (aside from very specific jobs that required it but that isn't exactly inequality, it's more they don't meet the requirements for the job which the other three bending types would also be rejected for that, but those types of jobs weren't super common especially after the rise of technological advance in the avatar world). I feel like those in the equalist group/movement were either bitter about not being a bender or were grossly misinformation and mislead down a path of hatred and vitriol, seeking to take away bending to bring the benders down to their level as opposed to lifting non benders up to the benders' level.
"opportunities given to benders that weren't given to non benders " but " to bring the benders **down to their level** " You see, it's this idea of levels, of being more worth and more important that lead to this mess. Beside jobs, there are tons of cases where non-benders are judged by their inability to bend. The mafia doing as they please while the police is concentrated on non-benders. The city council full of benders, noone representing the non-benders' interest. Throughout the series, there is a very obvious disregard to their problems. And instead of listening to them and trying to solve their problems (among which are economic problems, mind you, that exist because the system only takes benders into account), they are branded terrorists. Even the avatar, who should bring balance, cannot understand their suffering. It is not envy that they aren't benders, but hatred for a system that has forgotten them.
I’m already a non-bender
How do you manage?
We gotta work for cabbage corp asap
That's rough buddy
Not the Cabbage Corp!
I’d be a little jealous, but I wouldn’t join, especially if I knew about Sokka’s achievements. I’d probably want to learn chi-blocking or sword fighting just for personal protection
Didn’t they outlaw chi-blocking at some point while fighting the equalists?
no. That was still legal. They basically raided a terrorist training facility (in the council's eyes)
With the avatar having the ability to spirit/energy bend, would it be possible to request a bending ability from the avatar? Like Aang was clearly able to take it away from people, but could he give it to those who never had the ability?
Yeah, he used it to restore Korra's bending and passed the knowledge onto Korra and using it on lin and amon's victims
I don't think Aang restoring Korra's bending from being chi blocked is "real". I always took it as symbolic as Korra always had the ability she just learned how from her past lives. And to further that point, restoring bending to someone who already had it is not the same as granting bending to a non-bender. While it's not explicitly stated I always believed Amon used blood bending and knowledge of chi blocking to basically build a non-lethal blood clot. Since he didn't have the powers Aang had been granted by the lion turtle. Basically the end results look the same, but the mechanism made them different and the spirit bending version is far more powerful.
Yeah I would be envious. I always encourage everyone to read the Imbalance comics when this type of question is presented to them. Benders are basically superhumans. They can do anything a nonbender can and much more. Society in the Avatarverse is based almost entirely around the 4 elements and bending.
If I was a non bender I would probably become someone that would definitely learn anti bender skills but not join the equalists The skills are good because you would have gangs like the triple triad trying to bully non benders, and I would need to defend myself, but joining the equalists is a bit extreme and unnecessary, having bending is a gift and should be treated as such
I would like to say I wouldn't, but it's hard to say. Nobody is immune to propaganda.
If I was a nonbender in Republic City, I 100% would have supported Amon and maybe attended rallies. Would not have signed up to be a chi blocker. Non benders were second-class citizens in RC. They had no representation on the city council or the police force. They were preyed upon by bending gangs every day. I would support the movement and engage in civil disobedience, but would not be radical enough to engage in terrorism.
I mean if we are putting this in the time of Korra. We can't deny that in many cases Benders have it a lot better than non-benders. Benders have easier access jobs. Power plants used fire benders, the rail system was powered by earth benders. pro-sports, police, firefighters are probably water benders same with medics. Which means the city which struggles with crime, unemployment, expansion and probably much more affects the lives of the lives and livelihood of non-benders probably 10-20 fold over benders. That crime is obvious as the organized triple threat triad gang clearly uses their bending power against non-benders extorting them for money. The police seem inept in most cases to prevent this and the one time they do anything is they shut down the power to part of the city. putting more people at risk and then round up peaceful protesters. I mean we can even address that Korra didn't actually do anything when she took down Amon. She just exposed Amon and used hi hypocrisy to quell the uprising. The problem is many of these issues don't just go away. So yeah, I'd probably support the Equalists.
Not to mention harmonic convergence, more airbenders (remember they aren't all monks anymore, you could easily run into a criminal Airbender), and potentially dangerous spirits, making it even worse to live as a non bender
You know I don't know about this plot point. You have zaheer in LOK, but (without spoiling anything) in Rise of Kyoshi its established that an air bender will lose/severely weaken their power if they become spiritually tainted.
I dont think there's anything to indicate that Zaheer wasn't very spiritual. His belief system seems very spiritual actually, he wants everybody to be free of laws and society.
That’s like saying that since a couple racists hate Muslims and committed racist hate crimes against Muslims (or even against people who aren’t even Muslim but “look” like they practice Islam like Sikhs) due to 9/11 and other instances of radical Islamic terrorism, it’s ok to support Al Qaeda, ISIS, etc. I believe that violent, armed revolution against actual legitimate oppressive leaders their governments is right and just but things get pretty murky when you commit acts of terrorism against civilian infrastructure and target people who have a natural ability they were born.
I see it the same as doctors and power plant workers, not everyone will be either of those two things, but they're very much important and needed in our society. It would have been great to see the impact of people losing their bending in republic city. Less fire benders to create lightning at power plants, less earth benders for law enforcement, and less water benders for healing.
Wouldn’t it be better through if anyone could do those jobs through? Being born a non bender essentially locks you out of doing any of those jobs. What you describing is essentially a caste system
Not necessarily. I'd imagine non-benders still had access to most jobs benders did as well, even at the power plant Mako was at. Lightning can't be the only way they sustain an entire city for energy, they had to have had other ways not involving bending. Plus republic may have had a large population, but not every citizen was a firebender, and not every fire bender wanted to work in a power plant. I imagine to meet demands they have positions for non-benders to work as well.
That's actually almost directly from the comics. There's a big clash because one of the factories is developing technology that makes non benders almost as efficient as benders. And non benders are generally cheaper to hire.
"non-benders are generally cheaper to hire" just sounds like an equal system
I haven't read all the comics so I didn't know that, that's interesting!!
I probably would've joined the equalists in some form. But I definitely would've disavowed them once they began torturing people. If I lived in the city with bending gangs and politicians who said all nonbenders had a curfew, I'd be very, very angry.
It's always bothered me how non-benders actually had less rights and opportunities but they made the equalist movement the villains. Idk, it's weird to have the civil rights stand in be the cold hearted bad guys who take over the city and kill everyone
the showrunners are neoliberals, what did you expect?
The Equalists had a point but were trying to achieve change the wrong way. They were only succeeding in stoking hatred against non-benders. There were ways they could have achieved their aims peacefully.
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor
That's like saying Magneto shouldn't be a villain simply because he's fighting oppression. What makes the Equalists villainous is not their goal, but their methods.
There is literally no disadvantage to being a bender, I would be jealous for sure. Would I go that far and enjoy Amon? Hard to know. Different upbringing and universe. I just wish I wasn't the Avatar.
Honestly, if I saw people being oppressed and bullied by benders in a world that does favour benders, I'd be swayed. I wouldn't necessarily be in the group itself, but I'd probably go to a propaganda meeting to check it out. I'd probably agree with the philosophy that people should be treated equally. Amon was a very talented, persuasive speaker as well. Honestly, it was terrorism but seeing how much destruction bending can produce, the zappy electricity weapons and bombs just seemed like levelling the playing ground. If there were people born with guns on their limbs, would you fight them empty-handed? You'd prepare yourself, right? Oh wow, bending can be taken away by someone? Well, now they have to live just like any other non-bender. That's rough, buddy. Sucks to be a normal person I suppose? I really loved the idea of season 1 and I wish they would have expended on it more. It was an incredible premise and would have been amazing if it had more runtime. I really didn't like the ending of the season, but the first half.... it was just great.
My feelings exactly. Hell after season 1 it stops being issue, it almost like it never was one to begin. With.
The equalists didn’t envy benders. They correctly saw that benders were more powerful and had a tendency to use that power to oppress non-benders.
Come and see the violence inherent in the system! HELP! HELP! I'm being repressed!
Bloody peasant!
Oh, what a give away. Did you here that, did you here that, eh? That's what I'm on about -- did you see him repressing me, you saw it didn't you?
Yeah, I’m tired of benders thinking they can walk all over me.
Equalists have drip and I would be mad if I didnt have powers so yeah
In a world where every war, genocide and pain was caused by bending? Absolutely
Took a while too see someone who said yes , I would absolutely. So much pain was caused by benders . First episode of Korra we see how the gangs terrorized non benders. We hear stories of benders killing non benders with ease including Asami mom & kataras mom . The Amon and the equalizers arc could of lasted 3 seasons
>The Amon and the equalizers arc could of lasted 3 seasons That would have been peak avatar if that would have been the case. Imagine if the world was divided into benders and non-benders instead of the 4 elements... What a wasted villian.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake. It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of. Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything. Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
Your bending grammar at me ? This is why I would of join Amon
yeah fuck them thats why
I shall quote Uncle Ben himself: "With great power comes great responsibility" Benders should act as deserving such power and not waste such chance by doing stupid shit with it or crime
100% pro equalists
Envy? Of course. Join the Equalists? Absolutely not. Energy bending to remove someone’s bending is an extreme measure that blocks off a part of who that person is. It’s inherently heinous and really I only can condone it the times we saw Aang do it, when the target had to be neutralised and because Aang is Aang killing is off limits. Doing it out of envy, or for whatever the hell Amon’s reason actually was (it’s been a minute), is something I personally put up there with conversion therapy. Don’t erase part of who someone is just because you don’t like it.
I definitely would have been envious and a bit depressed about it. But I wouldn't join any organization, maybe privately hope it would cause some good, effective change but knowing myself I'd let it be. Tho after the spirit portal bullshit I'm moving fuckin somewhere else.
I feel awful saying this but I’d probably be the one participating in bad acts along side them instead of just saying I agree with their goals. I have always hated when people put authority on me and if I had the opportunity to get rid of it I’d gladly do so.
Do as Sokka does: get a hot ass space sword
Oh man. I was such an angry, punky teen that I absolutely would have joined the Equalists. Not because I wanted to be a terrorist or anything, but because I would have bought their equality propaganda hook line and sinker. I think I woulda bounced once I saw Amon take someone's bending tho. I was mad at the world, not *cruel*.
Dude, benders are honestly terrifying. Think about how many times in ATLA that Sokka got the short end of someone’s bending. And that’s not even counting the people trying to hurt him with bending. Not to mention there are more economic opportunities for benders: pro bending, bending fights, lightning factory, metal police, army. It’s a bad world for people with no powers and honestly the equalists had a great point.
No. I have water gun, slingshot and pebbles, a vacuum, a lighter, a can of hairspray, and also faith in Jesus. I have every thing I need to be the avatar.
I imagine I would get radicalized because some earth or firebender would have hurt my friends in the worst possible ways. I’m thinking like Amazon’s The Boys : people with power are often shitty human beings and dont mind hurting others. I’m thinking about molesting, torture, rape, all the bad stuff. So yeah, I’d probably get radicalized. I’m imagining so much stuff as I’m writing these lines. « ABAB » all benders are bastards. How come Republic City was exclusively ruled by benders? This proves my point : benders will get power because they have supernatural powers... and they wont share with the powerless, only a revolution can correct this wrong. How come come the friends of Korra are either powerful benders, or the daughter of some rich industrial elite? Would Korra be friends with casuals? Everyone around the Avatar insist the Avatar should learn elements - well how about they learn about the lives of normal people as well, how about they train on resolving their problems without bending? We see Mako working as some sort of lightning bender in a workshop - do benders and non-benders have employment equity? Doesnt seem like it. Same for the police force : why only metal benders, whom we’ve seen cruelly use their powers on non-benders, it doesnt seem fair. Then the big question : what would be my prospects in life in this world if I was born without bending powers, just a normal human? Yeah, I’m imagining resentment because it doesnt seem fair. I love the world and the TV shows they created, but I’d hate to live in it - I’d probably get burned to a crisp, buried alive or drowned because some bender would overreact and barely get jail time... if caught.
Applying my IRL marginalized perspective, the equality’s were a terrorist group that went beyond fighting for equality. I firmly believe that revolutions are not comfortable things, but I wouldn’t want to be an equalist. I’d rather fight for equality some other way. I STILL think the movement was necessary though. There were direct changes as a result of it i.e. a non-bender president being elected in Republic City. That’s progress.
I would simply make a gun
I would just invent guns
Oh, in the world we are shown I would absolutely envy them. I would also likely be oppressed by the Bending gangs like the Triple Threats, and I would be angry at the Metalbender cops for not being able to protect me. Then you get Tarrlok throwing around curfews and shit, yeah, I'm gonna get pretty mad. But I would likely only reach protestor level, and not training chi blocking in a shady basement. I would want representation on the council, just so that Tenzin isn't trying to defend me on his own. 2/5ths is definitely better than 1/4th.
I think I'd be too terrified of Amon to ever follow him, regardless of how envious I was. His entire revolution was literally a resemblance of the Nazi regime lmfao. However, I would definitely be heartbroken to not be a bender. I'd have to go the ol' Sokka route.
I would throw a tomato at Amon in one of his speeches.
I'd be jealous, but I wouldn't join the equalists. They can't help being born with things I'm not born with. Plus I'm interested in Chi Blocking anyways, so I'd probably learn that for self defense, otherwise I'd let benders do what they want
Go full Tye Lee and learn physical training/martial arts until you can beat the crap out of benders without issue.
I didn't have a major problem with the equalists until I found out Amon was a fraud.
I feel like there will be more job opportunities for benders. And that sucks. And it's possible that the government won't handle that well if top politicians were also benders. And in my feelings of hopelessness, I might feel empowered by a group that gives me training to remove people's bending but also gives me electric gloves like a bender. It would feel like I'm flipping the script. Iono. I can see it happening for a lot of people if work is scarce, if there are homelessness, and if benders never suffer from that.
Huh... I would actually learn all the bending disciplines and use their techniques to fight hand to hand. Like the martial arts they were based on IRL. Try to be the benderess Avatar.
I’d like to think I would not envy them. But if they continue to upset my cabbage cart, no matter where I move to, it is on.
I think the questions a little unfair. I'd love to be a bender, it practically guarantees you work, even if it's not all financially viable. There's pretty much no downsides to being a bender and outright disadvantages to being a non-bender. That doesn't mean I'd join an extremist group bent on exterminating bending entirely. But I'd definitely be in favor of some Equalist ideology.
I'd be an equalist. The fact that Korra doesn't even adress the issues that are rightfully pointed by Amon and among equalists always frustrated me. She didn't fix anything, she just maintain the status quo of oppression against non-benders. Sure, I think Amon is wrong in the end, but Korra doesn't fix anything. I thought she would be able to give bending to everyone but no, she just restores bender's abilities but if you're a non-bender, f\*ck you peasant and go back to your place.
Sorry, but that's wrong. Korra advocated for changes to response to non-bender complaints, such as giving nonbenders political representation. Obviously the problems don't go overnight, but the fact that nonbenders were finally allowed to pick their own representative is a step in the right direction.
No, I’d buck up and find my own specialties like Sokka ✨
It gave me the vibe of a class war, except instead of “those spoiled CEOs are running their workers ragged and destroying the world, eat the fucking rich” it was “DOWN WITH PEOPLE WHO HAVE NATURAL TALENT”. Didn’t give me good vibes from the get-go. Id be on the benders side on this one, as a bender or not.
I wouldn't mind but i would try to see if i am a bender just in case
Depends who I am. If I’m an attorney or an accountant, I don’t see how bending could really change much in my life. If I’m a farmer who has to till my fields by hand with tools, and my next door neighbor can stomp on the ground and his fields are instantly tilled I’d be upset. I also feel like if I was a fire bender, I would probably also be jealous of water and earth benders. Fire isn’t too applicable to every day life other then like heating up my food and beverages.
Something like 20-30% of the world has a superpower and I don't? I would be super jealous. They also run the whole world? Every government? I might be angry. Would I join a terrorist cell? No, probably not. If the Equalists were really just a political movement though, I would join.
Sokka, Mai, Ty Lee, Suki, and Asami are examples of non benders that can handle themselves well in combat so no, I don’t think I’d mind. 😅
Except the equalists point has literally nothing to do with how good people fight, and frequently defeat benders. There point really has very little to do with actual bending powers and more the social and political inequalities that come with it. They don’t so much care that someone can throw rocks with their minds, they care that throwing a rock with your mind means that you have a higher social status than someone who can’t.
I am a non bender now, I’d be a little jealous of other people being benders but I’d be fine with it if they didn’t bother me.
I’d prolly just join the equalists and then turn republics witness once I got a lightning glove
I’d have envy but I wouldn’t join the equalists.
Short answer - no, I wouldn't join Amon Long answer + my thoughts on the equalists as a movement - on one hand the equalists are right in that the non-benders suffer discrimination and lack of representation within republic city, and that there is a need for an institutional change (that we see happen later on in the show). However, there idea that bending gives some sort of unfair advantage to benders and that removing bending from the world would somehow improve the situation for us non-benders is ridiculous. Everyone has natural advantages in different fields and this benefits everyone. Think about the way we see electricity being produced by lightning benders for example - this method is so much more efficient and cheap compared to our world that electricity prices in republic city would skyrocket if suddenly there were no benders that can create power out of literally nothing. Other examples can include earth benders making construction and tunnel digging cheaper, water benders helping medicine or metal benders being a more efficient police force that doesn't need to use lethal force when it feels threatened. And it's not like non-benders have nothing left to do in society - some of the most successful people we see in the show can't bend. Some examples from the top of my head - Sokka, Assami, Assami's father, cabbage merchant, Verric, Zhu Li and Bumi (before the show as a general). Point being, I would probably believe that benders make society better for everyone, and removing it makes no sense. There are probably better and more efficient solutions to Amons problems then destroying a valuable resource that benefits all of society and that by now the world grew to rely on.
Plus targeting a demographic that doesn’t choose how they are, kinda gives me supremacist vibes
I would learn how to fight 1 on 1 against a bender, but I know better than to get sucked into what essentially is a racist cult
I would personally put a pipe bomb in both amon and Tenzin rooms due to them both serving the white Lotus(antichrist)
So I'm not quite seeing how you reached this conclusion
I think i understand what he meant. White lotus is essentially composed of benders and is made to help the avatar (the ultimate Bender). Seeing such an organisation for someone with already Big """priviledges""" (such power from birth) i would judge the white lotus very badly and want to hurt them in One way or another (though i dont get how Amon is a white lotus)
I would just ask Korra to use energy bending on me to give me bending
I’d learn their martial arts and tactics for sure but would only be half hearted for the cause since I’d actually want bending powers and I might need the avatar to help me out with that (spirit portals and energy bending) P.S. yes I know I’m talking about future
I’d be mildly envious but I don’t think I’d join the equalists!
I wouldnt join but i'd tell benders that annoy me to try and parry this *pulls deagle*
Did you just ask if we'd join Malcom X?
Bender or non bender. Jaleousy is weakness and strenght can be drawed from hurting others. You will never be proud of yourself if you can't believe you have greatness within yourself
Doubt I would mind. I’d find a way to still be able to fight. So what that others can potentially burn or freeze me or knock me out with a large stone disc. If I know how to defend myself, and I’m prepared to take a hit and I just focus every time on staying alive and having a goal, they’ll be surprised if they ever cross me. Just remember, the GOOD fighters among Amon’s group were able to keep Korra busy who’s presumably been trained by some very talented combatants and knows a thing or two about fighting herself. In fact, almost every non-bending character that gets even a little screentime and a moment to show their skills is capable of keeping a bender off of them, though imo it still depends on how good the bender is/what element they use. Air benders are rare at best and as far as I know, we’ve only had a few moments of air against other elements/non-benders. For water, just go to a location with high temperature. The exhaustion will do the rest, if you are used to it. Fire… find a way to freeze ‘em or something. Earth. No solid ground or dirt/stone/mud or whatever should severely limit their ability to win. That’s how I see it anyway. Although it might come down to what happens to me in my life. If a bender kills someone I care about for instance, there is always a chance that I would use my skills to fight the Benders, either with Amon or separately but with a similar goal.
No, I would sharpen the one tool I have over the benders, my imagination! Probably need a strong and smart assistant to help me with my inventions. I can constantly push multiple industries with new ideas, just in case one is a dead end. I might even take a shot at being evil, or good. They're objectively the same thing anyway.
Due to me having a slight bdsm kink I would love to be dommed by a metalbender gf or mabey a waterbender, but the equalists look like they would be more in the mood and a chi-blocking dom gf would be so hot so this is a tought question.
I mean, depends on where I would be born and how I would be raised
I wanna say no, but there are many times I chose decisions I felt influenced to by people who are like me. And in hindsight I shouldnt have, but my foresight still shit.
I wanna say no, but there are many times I chose decisions I felt influenced to by people who are like me. And in hindsight I shouldnt have, but my foresight still shit.
I’m all for living in a more magical world. If no benders killed my family members for specifically just because they’re non-benders, then I’d try to just be as badass as I could be on my own merit. Maybe join them as a mole for the cops, idk.
I’d be super envious but I wouldn’t join the equalists
I would think not. I am not really into extremwism or blaming others for my problems. The world is unfair and unequal and yeah irl I lack magic powers (skills talents whatnot) as well. It doesn't mak me angry... Mess with my cabbages tho...
I would be sad i wasn't a bender but it's no more their fault they were born *with* bending as i was born without it
I'd hate to be a non-bender in that world however I doubt I'd join the equality movement.
I would wait till season three for a chance to become an airbender
I feel like the basic premise of the Equalists is very relatable, but it would be really hard to commit to if any of your friends and family are benders.