Maybe gingers aren't all that bad

I can't lie it still really irritates me seeing how Shikamaru is praised for seeking revenge on his teachers murderer (in canon and in the fandom), while Sasuke is villanized for doing the exact same thing, when he literally has more right to want revenge than Shikamaru will ever have.

I do understand why Shikamaru is praised in canon, because his killing Hidan directly benefits Konoha, as they are currently at war with the Akatsuki and taking our one of the key members is going to destabilise the Akatsuki as an organisation.

It's nothing new with Konoha and picking who is a "good guy" and who's a "bad guy", Kakashi is seen as the perfect victim, because despite his father killing himself and then becoming a child soldier, he is still ultimately loyal to Konoha. Where Sasuke fails in this is that Konoha was the direct cause of all his pain and suffering, but unlike Kakashi, he did not bite his tongue and take it, he saw what his future would look like if he were to do what Kakashi did and did not like it, so he decided to leave.

So, yes, it's kind of the norm for Konoha to praise "revenge" when it's something that directly benefits them.

What I don't understand is why people in actual real life still follow this narrative, praising Shikamaru for taking revenge but in the same breath condemning Sasuke for prioritising his revenge and leaving Konoha.

I suppose there is a pandemic of people lacking media literacy, but honestly it never fails to rub me the wrong way when I see Sasuke antis spewing the same old complaints about his character but then praising these same attributes in a different one.