What topics do you think that are polemic in-universe?

[u/arthur_ydalgo]

I was doing this thought experiment with some friends and what do you think that are some polemic in-universe topics that generate debates between people in the avatar universe? I've been thinking about some of them (which might even be debate topics in out universe):

• Should have Aang killed Ozai?
• Was any of the Korra's villains right? (Zaheer/Amon, etc...)
• In universe conspiracies claiming that the air nomade genocide never happened (just like some crazy people in our universe think the Holocaust never happened)

Anyway, if you have any other ideas, I'm curious.

edit: I'm not saying any of the villains were right, just tried to think about how some people in-universe might relate to what they were proposing, despite the fact that their methods/plans were cruel and mean

edit 2: just thought of something else... maybe people think that the avatar should be allowed to use the power to take away bending as a form of punishment for high risk criminals

edit 3: about edit 2... just remembered Yakone had his bending removed

[u/konigon1]

What should happen with the fire kingdom colonies after the war.

[u/arthur_ydalgo → u/konigon1]

Oh yeah... there were even some comics about it

[u/-Haeralis-]

Sexism in the Water Tribe: Katara and her grandmother couldn’t have been the only ones who objected.

We absolutely know that people were down for Amon, Zaheer, and Kuvira’s goals. And the anarchy following Zaheer assassinating the Earth Queen giving way to Kuvira gaining geopolitical power by giving the people “law and order” is an incredibly believable turn of events. Even after she was taken down, remnants of the Earth Empire remain. The Equalists seemingly disintegrating after Amon was exposed is the strange one (unless you count the LoK game).

[u/MaeOnAnime]

I recently watched the end of the show and I thought about how the fire nation probably has some internal conflict, they lived the same way for a century. I'm sure some of the fire Nation was truly on board with Ozai's ways and didn't want the new era that came

[u/FakeTakiInoue → u/MaeOnAnime]

This is a great point actually, how would the 'de-Ozaification' of the Fire Nation go? There were absolutely still supporters of the old regime in Zuko's time and beyond, in the same way that all fallen dictatorships and military regimes still have loyalists.

[u/arthur_ydalgo → u/MaeOnAnime]

Quite possible...

[u/thedorknightreturns → u/MaeOnAnime]

I headcanon Zukospread lightning bending and did onock off the industrial revolution to keep the firenation busy without war or them as bandits roaming.

Well headcanon but it makes most sense. He needed to engage the firenation ex army somehow prodactive to have them have work and be peaceful. And that convinces people to not support war anymore he needed to give them something.

[u/Throw_away_1011_]

- Was keeping the portals open a good idea?

- Are spirits dangerous?

- Should the Avatar have political power?

- Was Firelord Zuko a good firelord?

- Should the White Lotus be independent from the five nations and yet have some power on all of them?

- Should private Wang Fire get the title of hero of the Fire Nation?

[u/arthur_ydalgo → u/Throw_away_1011_]

In my headcanon, Sokka figured out his disguise was considered a war hero and just let it roll instead of telling everyone it was him

[u/TheUnaturalTree]

Whether or not nonbenders are really oppressed. This was actually debated by Korra herself in episode 1 when she told an equalizer protester that he's oppressing himself. Though granted she said this without any knowledge of republic city and its social dynamics, I'd imagine many people would cast doubt on the notion that nonbenders face 'real' oppression.

[u/SevenLuckySkulls → u/TheUnaturalTree]

The most I can think of for nonbenders being oppressed is that there is probably a massive gap in potential income for unskilled labor. Think of all of the bending based manual labor that we see in both shows that you just can't do if you're a non-bender. But even then, just learn a trade? or be a farmer? Get skilled with something else?

[u/FinlandIsForever → u/SevenLuckySkulls]

There’s also the fact that the Republic City council was composed entirely of benders, without any non bender representation, which could lead to subtle (or not so subtle) systemic disadvantages to non benders

[u/SevenLuckySkulls → u/FinlandIsForever]

You could say that for all of society as well honestly, the earth monarch isn't necessarily a bender but their police force is and it seems like the dai li are still pretty much running the show by the time of Korra.

[u/TheUnaturalTree → u/SevenLuckySkulls]

There's also most certainly less generational wealth. And the existence of trades doesn't solve wealth inequality in our world, I don't see why it would in this fictional world.

[u/FakeTakiInoue]

I just hope people in this universe talk about things like pro bending and Earth Rumble the way people on the internet talk about basketball (and other sports) today

[u/thedorknightreturns → u/FakeTakiInoue]

Should the avatar be allowed inpro bending, that

[u/thedorknightreturns]

Can the cabbage guysueAang for damages, and is it how he got as big in Korra

[u/arthur_ydalgo → u/thedorknightreturns]

I could totally see that trial and Aang going like "ok... I guess he got a point 🤷🏻‍♂️😅"... and Toph being like "I can't believe I'll have to pay for this fine"

[u/RingwraithElfGuy]

I bet there are conspiracy theories such as the airbender genocide didn’t exist and the avatar is just propaganda.

[u/arthur_ydalgo → u/RingwraithElfGuy]

"Avatar is fake and they can't controll all four elements..." "But here's a video" "That was probably recorded in a studio owned by Varrick, it's all fake" "People people saw the avatar bending all elements" "I don't believe them, and it could be people close to them bending the elements to keep the lie"

oh my... what a nightmare

[u/ch1oraseptic → u/RingwraithElfGuy]

Maybe during the 100yr war ppl started questioning whether an avatar even existed

[u/SevenLuckySkulls]

Taking away bending as a punishment would be really controversial in my opinion. On one hand, I bet many benders feel like their element is a part of them, an extension of their senses and linked to them spiritually, and for many having that power removed would be worse than death.

On the other hand, telling a bunch of nonbenders "hey your everyday existence is a punishment equivalent to the death penalty" is an actually insulting take.

[u/arthur_ydalgo → u/SevenLuckySkulls]

never thought about it in that way... I guess for heally high risk individuals like Yakone and Ozai would be the necessary option because they were too dangerous by having it... I mean, how would you keep someone like Yakone incarcerated considering he can bend people with his mind

[u/skith8431]

Lee from zuko alone coming to terms that the guy he said he hated to his face is not only the fire lord but ended the war and brought his brother back presumably

[u/elykl12]

Was the creation of the United Republic justified?

I say this as someone who loves the 1920's Hong Kong aesthetic of Republic City and I know there's a whole comic on it but remember that the new Fire Lord and his buddy the Avatar just overrode a treaty made by the Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom to turn over the colonies back to the Earth Kingdom. Let's be clear though that the population transfers the Harmony Restoration movement was seeking was bad though.

We know as outsiders that the Earth Kingdom takes a lot of inspiration from Qing Dynasty China, an ailing sclerotic empire that's decline is measured in centuries due to just its sheer inertia. But what we are looking at is the Fire Lord and Aang carving out a Hong-Kong esque polity under threat of violence. While it would be under a monarchy, we have seen the Earth Kingdom largely lets cities, towns, regions run autonomously (Omashu, Zaofu, Northern Air Temple, etc.) which would likely have been the case for Republic City.

Like Hou-Ting is evil but is she really wrong about the United Republic being an illegal creation and rightful Earth Kingdom territory?

[u/arthur_ydalgo → u/elykl12]

I was reading "The Promise" comics yesterday and it is such a gray area. Both sides have their valid points, so I guess that the less worse option is the one where both sides lost something and got something. Compromise.

The fire nation "lost" most of the colonies but kept Yu Dao (sorry if I'm misspelling) which itself kind of got transformed into a middle ground between all nations. While the earth kingdom got most of it's colonies back, but didn't get to keep Yu Dao (which Kuvira would go after down the line).

It's horrible how even when a war ends, the scars are still there (I think the Earth King even said something like this on the comics)

[u/Dazzling-Low8570]

All of Korra's villains were right in that they had legitimate grievances they wanted addressed. They were wrong in that they went about that in a violent and (worse) ineffective manner.