Text of the Article
"Mallorie Jessica Udischas, a.k.a. SweetBeans99, is no stranger to targeted harassment campaigns by the alt-right and fake leftist bootlickers. As a prominent non-binary (she/her/they/them) gay artist, she’s had slings and arrows thrown her way before. Now as 2020 enters the second quarter it looks like she’s being hit again, this time even worse.
The year of 2020 began with her
being attacked for her New Guy comic, where she took joy in seeing anti-Semitic YouTuber PewDiePie robbed. His fans objected so they mobbed her. Now many of those same reprobates are clutching their pearls and accusing her of “supporting shoplifting.” In question is
a new three-part comic she released starring one of her original characters getting art block, going to an art store based on major national chain Blick’s, stealing supplies, and returning home without consequence.
A lot of the reactions to her drawings have consisted of awful art replies. One promoted
Hobby Lobby, the infamous anti-LGBT group that has funded ISIS. Another compares her to literal Nazi comic artist Stonetoss. There are even pornographic takes on the comic, where the main character — a stand-in for the artist — is explicitly raped in “revenge” for her actions. That’s made even worse by the common knowledge that Mallorie is both trans and a lesbian, making her being violated by male characters an explicit transphobic and homophobic attack, with corrective rape mixed in. I’ve chosen not to link to these to avoid giving the bigots who made them free publicity.
Most of this toxicity is similar to the reaction against New Guy, which also had response art themed around violence against women, rape threats against the artist, and overt white supremacist views. However, this time, the attacks have done far more damage. Mallorie’s Ko-Fi — a major source of funds since she’s become a full-time artist —
has been mass flagged and shut down. Hopefully this is
only temporary.
Most of the criticisms are aimed at how the comic appears to endorse shoplifting. This misses the comic’s resolution. At the end of the comic, the main character is left still unsure what to do. The theft and excursion did nothing to address the real issue: art block. (A feeling a writer can easily understand.) As
Mallorie herself says, “She’s a character who wanted something, made a flawed choice, then didn’t get what she was looking for in the end. It’s not glorifying or condemning at all. It’s just showing a thing that happens.”
Separate from this is the necessary debate on the ethics of shoplifting. As
one reader commented, “Stealing from big chains is praxis,” to which Mallorie agreed. People tried arguing that employees would be fired if people stole — but that doesn’t happen. As
Mallorie said, “I’ve worked retail most of my life. Nobody gets fired because a rando stole merch.”
At stores like Dillard’s,
Harbor Freight Tools, Fry’s, and other major chains, employees are specifically instructed not to confront shoplifters. Retail workers are fired for stopping theft, not for having it happen under their watch. It shows how none of the critics of Mallorie’s comic have themselves worked in retail. They attack her because they have no connection to the actual working class. It proves their inherent bad faith and makes a mockery of any attempts at “discourse” with them.
But as Mallorie herself has said, it’s not the alt-right going after her that
has her the most saddened. It’s “the queer folks and cartoonists and so-called progressive who are pouring the gasoline here.” She summarizes
what happened thusly: “Literal Nazis started a coordinated harassment campaign and many folks had to have a discourse tearing each other apart coming up with ‘valid criticism’ against me and my little comic like this kid [sp] of shit hasn’t led to the suicide of others in the past.”
Quinton Reviews, for example, started out supporting her and liked the comic. He
then backtracked shortly after,
bootlicking to the public when the heat got too much. Proof that his support for LGBT comic creators only goes as far as he doesn’t get any criticism for it. Alternate History Hub
mocked Mallorie outright, writing, “‘I live in a comfortable bubble and got away with crimes in my suburban neighborhood. Haha aint [sp] that progressive and quirky.’” He
also claimed — falsely — that “stealing stuff isnt [sp] some political action.”
One of the worst art responses — so offensive it’s worth replicating here to marvel at its horror — comes from cryptofascist SqrlyJack. Their piece is nominally intended to be a show of support for Sweetbeans99, but on closer inspection, this falls apart. They twist the original character of the comic into a twisted demonic parody, clearly mocking Sweetbeans99 in the process. They clad the main character proclaiming Mallorie’s innocence in a Nazi uniform.
In the image, you can see a clear alt-right meme: Xi Jinping portrayed as Winnie the Pooh. This meme originated in China from anti-Communists. In the west, it was popularized by the alt-right as a way to mock President Xi in support of Trump. Using Winnie the Pooh as a reference to Xi Jinping is a racist dog whistle.
SqrlyJack has prior involvement with
QuQu on a podcast. QuQu is a well-known leader of the “alt-furry” movement. Those are furries who support fascism and endorse committing violence against citizen groups like ANTIFA, BAMN, and the DSA. SqrlyJack is clearly a cryptofascist — likely with ties to 4chan — creating propaganda that they claim supports communism but in fact is designed to subvert and mock it.
The good news is that despite the targeted harassment from the alt-right and people on the left revealing themselves as bootlickers, the comic itself has been a success for Mallorie. As of the time of this writing, it has over 15,000 likes, 2000 retweets, and around 3,700 comments. Any attempt the Nazis made to “ratio” her failed utterly, as the Internet overwhelmingly supported her comic and its message.
What can you do to help? Mallorie’s
Patreon is still alive and well. You can sign up there to support her in these trying times. You can also follow her on
Twitter and like her page on
Facebook.
“Be crimes, do gay.”"
End Quote
TL;DR
Mallorie Dindu Nuffin
Gays are a monolithic group that should support each other no matter the context
Muh toxicity
She's being attacked because she's trans
Everyone attacking her is a fascist
Shrinkage is a Myth
The whole "hurr durr Its fiction so she doesnt actually support it" Despite the fact that the character is an author insert which implies that it reflects her actual views
Despite the fact that she's getting memed to Kingdom Come and is considered a laughing stock she still won
