Fandom on tumblr is progressively making me feel older and older. Am I ridiculous for still thinking in "The Old Ways" of fandom as opposed to this huge, policing force that seems to be "Neo-Tumblr Fandom"???
Nah. One thing that speaking out against The Discourse has shown me is that there are many, many young people on tumblr who just want to ship what they ship and not be yelled at for stupid reasons. Some of them feel guilty about this and are relieved when a wizened crone like myself (over 30 and nearly dead) validates those feelings. Some of them already know those feelings are valid.
There are also many people on tumblr who used to be on LJ and who aren’t all that young. Some of them visibly think in The Old Ways. Some of them fully embrace the worst of the discourse because it’s an excuse to look righteous while fighting the same old ship wars as a decade or two ago.
Genuine interest in social justice has always been a thing in fandom. Douchey excuses for why my ship is great and yours is problematic have also always been a thing in fandom. The generation gap is smaller than it appears.