Kankri, once a source of conflict in the fan community, now gets a lot of love from the new generation of Homestuck readers. The tension surrounding the Dancestor is about gone: the newcomers all LOVE him.
Oh, they curse him, of course, they curse his hypocrisy, cognitive dissonance and general mansplaining misogyny, but that's all playful hate, similar to some light, platonic kismesissitude. There are about no arguments about him, no raging monologues, no scornful memes.
This difference in perception is accompanied by general affection from previous generations as well; in tune with the newgens, oldgens are now relaxed and benevolent towards the character.
In 2025, Kankri is loved.
Why? WHY? What changed in the general perception of the crusader in the red sweater?
After some meditation, I came to a proposition: such are the benefits of an evolving society and cultural distanciation.
Back in the 2010s, Kankri was all too real, for everyone in a sense - progressives, depoliticized, reactionaries, he CHAFED with people. We all knew a Kankri, or we were a Kankri sometimes.
Kankri Vantas was the incarnation of the desire to care about each other and to change the world gone wrong, the weakness each of us can encounter when we try to compose with others as ethical beings... and he displayed this flaw in an era of deep transformations in the way we understand media and community.
In this context, Kankri was disturbing. It was the fundamental reason why the portrayal hurt so many people, and made so many others mean or angry.
Kankri as we first met him: wordy, haughty, insufferable
But today? In terms of ethical/political positions, things have stabilized - while, paradoxically, we're in a state of almost open war when it comes to day-to-day political fights.
But maybe that's the explanation. The landscape has polarized. There is no much room left for disengaged/depolitized/centrist takes: in 2025, you're either a progressist or you are, well, the... other thing. (Except for some fringe cases of people completely out of the loop.)
So now we all know who we are.
And Kankri doesn't represent the deep anxiety of getting social justice wrong anymore, he has turned into a period piece, a reminder of a time where we didn't quite know the enemy and the things to focus on.
In the advent of necessary, primordial grassroot activism, Kankri is now a madeleine de Proust, comfort nostalgia.
In 2025, Kankri is about being wrong with your progressive efforts but it's all okay because there are bigger fishes to fry. People love Kankri because making mistakes is human and we are now allowing ourselves room for mistakes when we fight the good fight.
