People watching/reading the Handmaid's tale have a really hard time understanding June
I keep seeing posts about how June is manipulative, and should've done this or that differently.
Like, did we not watch the same show? This woman was a sex slave. Treated less then a dog and valued less too.
They all did so many horrible things to handmaids and people are upset that she's wasn't empathic enough?
I know that she 'took advantage' of people with either mental issues or just less strong headed. But like, did we all forget that they were all part of the horrible treatment she endured? No matter how 'kind' they might seem. They are still part of it.
She is pushy, and does anything to survive. But she helped her friends, kids in Gilead and anyone else she could. So no, I'm sorry, she never owed her oppressors anything, not kindness, not respect, not even a 'thank you'.
She did anything to survive and I feel like people forget what 'anything' means. That includes being pushy and manipulative. And honestly? In her shoes, I think many of us would do the same if we had enough backbone.
Does that mean I understand everything she did? Of course not. Many of her actions frustrated me to the highest point. But, in her shoes, I have no clue what I would have done or if I'd even have the strength to do half the things she did.
'Anything to survive' means exactly that.
And also, no rebellion is peaceful. She could have done way worse and didn't.