A/N Kyro, I agree, Ampata was an example of the audience's hypocrisy. Xander cares about Ampata, might even have come to love her given the chance, but he refuses to let her kill anyone, no matter how much he cares about her. People like to call him a bigot and judgemental because he objects to Buffy dating a dead body run by a demon and being unwilling to do anything about Angelus while he runs around for months, killing people and tormenting her friends. Even souled Angel did far worse things than souled Anya who gradually gave up wanting to be a demon again and comes to be excited about not wanting to hurt people. She actively tries to be a better person starting only months after she no longer is a demon and comes to express remorse for her actions as a demon. People point to the fact that she killed for a thousand years, but Xander believes she can be a better person and she proves him right. Angel spends a century hiding in gutters and not trying to be a better person and does terrible things with a soul and tells Buffy, it's the man in him that's weak and needs to die. Spike is even worse, he gets over the whole soul nightmares very fast and than insists he has no regrets and never, even in the comics, ever expresses regret. Whereas Anya willingly wanted to sacrifice herself to make up for her wrongs and Ampata tried not to kill, but was in physical and emotional agony over her condition.
Neither of them get much sympathy from the audience while Angel and Spike get enormous amounts of sympathy. Xander's not the hypocrite, the audience is. Nor is Xander a bigot for hating the vampires on the Buffy show because the writers want the audience to see them as monsters too. And it's just vampires Xander hates, he's neutral in regards to demons, but hates the monsters that destroyed his best friend.
I found another of those fan essays, this one say maybe Xander is the real evil of Buffy because he's an example of toxic masculinity. Good God, no he's not! Angel and Spike are. They're extreme examples of toxic males, manipulative, controlling and abusive. Xander trying to coach Anya on polite ways of speaking and having a problem with her and Buffy having sex with demon animated, disease ridden corpses isn't thinking he has any say in their sexual choices, it's expressing disgust at them having sex with a corpse!
The narrative on shows like Forever Knight is that the vampires aren't bodies with demons in them and retain at least part of their humanity, so seeing them in a romantic light isn't quite as nasty, even if they are also presented as corpses, because there's no demon there. Vampires on other shows aren't even portrayed as actually dead, but transformed with souls intact, so way less of a problem.
But on Buffy throughout the entire run of the show we're meant to see all of the vampires, including Spike and Angel, as monsters. Dead, demon animated monsters. So the audience trying to read anything good into having relationships with them becomes gross.
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"So Mom signed us up to host an exchange student for Cultural Week." Buffy reported as she and Willow and Johnathan left the museum. "Some boy named Ampata. Mom wants me to pick him up at the bus station, so I won't be able to make it to the Bronze tonight."
"That's okay, I need to put some finishing touches on my costume for the Cultural Dance tomorrow." Willow answer. "I've got a great costume put together. Any idea what you're going to do for a costume?" She asked Buffy.
"Summers are English, so I was thinking of asking Giles for some advice." She replied. "What about you, Johnathan?"
"We don't have to do something based on our family heritage, on the other hand I'd probably be the only one who does show up in a Jewish costume. Other people might worry about cultural insensitivity or appropriation which makes no sense since Cultural Week is about researching, exploring and celebrating cultures. I think some people take sensitivity to extremes. If someone else dressed in something representing Jewish cultural and they try to be respectful, I don't have any issues with it."
"I'm going to dress as an Eskimo myself." Willow admitted. "I found out several fascinating things about their culture, I can't wait to read my essay."
"I haven't even started on my essay yet because I haven't even decided on what I'm going to do." Buffy admitted. "I left it 'til the last minute."
"Why?" Willow asked. "You've been careful about getting your homework done on time for quite awhile now."
"Because I've twice discovered vampires following me recently and than running away when I go after them."
"Like that Angel guy?" Willow squeaked, afraid for her friend.
"Yeah, someone may be taking a page from his book and studying me and it's worrying me. And that it was two different vamps, they may be working together or for someone else and unless I can catch one of them I might not find out until they get tired of watching me and make a move."
"Let Alex and his pack know." Johnathan advised. "They can let the Mayor know and he can have the police keep an eye out too."
"Good idea, the next time I see them, I will. I need to go, Ampata's bus will be arriving soon. I'll see you guys at school tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow, Buffy and be carefull." Willow told her as she and Johnathan headed for their homes.
"You too." Buffy answered as she headed for the bus station, not seeing the girl none of them would have recognized leaving the museum with the crowd of fellow classmates.
