My thoughts on X-Men

I have been watching an X-Men 97. The show is fantastic, but that’s not what I want to share this time; it's more about its message. I have seen a lot of posts online about how Magneto is correct and how Xavier's dream is useless. On the other hand, people say Magneto has no excuse for how evil he is, or by far, the worst takes place when people side with the anti-mutants. Still, I have seen a minimal amount of talking. It’s how much this show reflects on a ruthless thing—the cycle of hate and how hard it is to break.

For me, Magneto is justified in his actions. I can’t blame a person who has lived through several genocides, as he is a holocaust survivor and a mutant survivor. He has repeatedly lived through the worst of humanity; his anger is valid, and seeking revenge is very human. But undoubtedly, he is perpetuating a cycle of hate; he will become a valid reason to fear and hate many innocent victims. He is becoming the very thing that he despises: a genocidal leader. And someone with an equally valid hate will come and take its place with a justified hatred. This is the easy path forward. The cycle can continue as a self-fulfilling pathway until one or both sides die.

Now, Xavier's vision is much more romantic, and it feels and sounds impossible and infuriating. Making peace with those who hurt you and so many others feels like an impossible task. But the thing is, that’s not the goal; the goal is to have peace with every other innocent person. That’s why they still fight against those who hurt them repeatedly, but only those people as individuals. They don’t go after the entire human race. Xavier wants to stop the cycle of hate, which means fighting against the natural path, which is to take all the bad directed at them and stand firm against hate and those who want to perpetuate it by taking revenge. It is a strict order of magnitude and will never go away in their lifetime.

These people are never good or evil. They have so many in-between, and both sides have the right to act and feel like they do. Magneto and Charles are both right to act the way they do. You can side with both and understand that both will have consequences for the present and the future. But only one where you will become the very thing you hate.