u/kokairi

People are very upset about Leon’s tiktok saying they want to share their story, but they also don’t want people to talk about them and they don’t want to visit with people in public. People are dragging Leon for this.

Before reading my take, I just want people to consider the facts. Leon was raised by Meri, who was hated by the other children. She was a control freak mother. The shrewdest of the group. Her mother later became enveloped in an embarrassing scandal that Leon had to witness unfold in the home. Leon heard the calls and tried to warn their mom. Leon was also raised by Kody, which is an issue in and of itself. Later, they transition and completely change their identity to match what they perceive is their true self. And later than that, their brother loses his life to depression and it’s all over the internet. All the while, they have viewers being parasocial and strange with them, crossing boundaries they didn’t want them to cross, sowing dissent in their family and being so exposed in the public eye during probably a lot of times of hardship and confusion.

With that, I truly don’t know what is wrong the idea of them claiming their own truth while also saying, I don’t want anything to do with talking to people or have people talk about me, especially after what they’ve been through. Everyone is coming at this from a sensationalist aspect. Leon seems to just want to clear the record without having to engage with the circles that will respond, and have responded in the past harmfully, probably affecting their mental health. I wouldn’t be surprised if commentary in and of itself has been traumatizing for them, all of them.

The day Garrison passed, you had people like Crystal Ball sharing terrible details. People read his final notes, went into detail about the manner of death, all the while they were mourning a terrible, tragic loss. And who is to say that his dissent into darkness wasn’t attributed to the very show itself.

I don’t blame Leon for having a deep hatred for the commentary community, which I would too, but also having a desire to tell the story as THEY want to tell it so they can stand in their own truth. I just wish I knew why that is so hard for people to understand and have empathy for. When I heard them say basically “don’t talk to me” and “talking about people is effing weird, get creative” I didn’t take offense. I heard pain in their voice. I saw the face of someone who’s clearly experienced a lot of hardship in their life.

Don’t drag me, but I just wish people gave them more grace and looked at the bigger picture.