#which is obviously a major issue w/in the latinx community

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LMM is maybe a little cringe but is mostly fine, actually, or at least not any worse than literally ANY other major celebrity

And also. He is talented. Like I find him a BIT annoying personally the way I find most theater kids annoying BUT whenever I hear him talk about his writing & his process (even on the "come on brain, think of things; come on brain, be so smart " level) I find him genuinely thoughtful & creative and like. Look. LOOK. LMM is personally very relatable to me in embarrassing ways: the borderline between 1st gen & 2nd gen immigrant kid, the probably misguided faith in our adopted country, the connection with VERY specifically ex pat culture & romanticizing of our country of origin that we're a bit distanced from in actuality. Both In The Heights AND Hamilton have beats that are SO familiar to me on that level & if they're relatable to me I BET they're relatable to a lot of latinx kids.

And I think there are valid complaints to make on his work & his choices but so many of those takes come in w so much bad faith, and a LOT of tumblr/twitter/tiktok discourse on him seems based more on the fact that normies like him & that his positivity is cringe. And like it is!!! Sometimes it is!!!! But it's also like oh my god let the man live, theres nothing objectively wrong w being a dork. It's like people will gladly objectify and forgive latino men who are hot & traditionally ~sexy but a guy who doesn't fit that mold makes them uncomfortable. Like man idk, not all latino men are the ~sexy ~cool ~slutty weirdos you all love to cast oscar isaac & pedro pascal as, some are -- NYC dorks who post corny lip biting pics. THAT'S NOT A CRIME

#unpopular opinion meme #like you mention LMM and suddenly everyone's an expert in economics and puerto rican politics #as im not an expert on either im going to stay out of that one #wrt to race im not a black person so i can't speak to that experience specifically BUT i think a good faith argument can be made #on the level of a) the latinx immigrant experience & perception of the usa is OBVIOUSLY going to be different from that of #black people who are descendants of enslaved people #b) part of that difference is seeing the founding myth of the US in a MUCH more mythical frame -- to be reinterpreted the way idk #greek myth in Hadestown is #c) wanting to cast your friends -- some of whom are black-- in major roles in your musical is more likely a well intentioned act #both of wanting people you like in your orbit & guaranteeing work in a field were work for black actors & other POC is limited #that is as likely to be a well intentioned action as a nefarious effort to -- sanitize historical slave owners #obviously the IMPACT of those actions had more negative ramifications than expected #i think a lot of the discourse around Hamilton is valid on that level #but i DO think intent matters #it doesn't ABSOLVE LMM of the impact his actions/writing had #but it should at least be taken into consideration #lmfao this is the one i'm most nervous about posting tbh #i don't want to minimize criticism of LMM that comes from like -- racial insensitivity #which is obviously a major issue w/in the latinx community #and obviously you can like who you like or hate who you hate #but idk a lot of the people making fun of LMM on social media just knee jerk to stuff that like #isn't really the issue? #like not that LMM needs to be protected -- he's very successful etc #i just find a lot of the jokes about him irritating bc like #him being ~unattractive is like -- such base level mocking i guess #also semi related i guess i'm disappointed there hasn't been more actually good parody/send ups of LMM's style #which is SO distinctive and would be easily satirized #but Rogers the Musical or w/e was just so dumb #and no one else has even tried