Why I Think That Warriors Is Biased by Silverdusk

Silverdusk takes a closer look at how Warriors treats characters with disabilities.

I don’t know if I’m the only one who has noticed, but in Warriors, there is a very biased view toward cats with disabilities. They are shunned and looked down on. They are forced to retire or follow the path of a medicine cat. Sometimes, this is for the best. But other times, cats deserve a chance. Not convinced? Let me dive deeper.

THE MINDSET

Not all cats think like this, but majority share the common thoughts that cats need all their senses to be a warrior. If they lack sight or hearing, then they are immediately classed as useless (ok well not exactly useless but you know) and are shoved out of the way. Here are a few instances of cats will disabilities.

THE CATS

1) Jayfeather

Ah, yes. Jayfeather. The grumpy bundle of lovable sass that everyone likes. He is known for being very cranky in general. But if one thing bothers him immensely, it’s cats looking down on him. Jayfeather can understand the world by listening and feeling. He uses all his other senses to make up for his lack of sight. Yes, he did struggle to fight, as shown in the skirmish with ShadowClan in The Sight. But did anyone even try to help Jaypaw?

Jayfeather wanted to be a warrior, like his siblings. He was rude to Brightheart when he was apprenticed to her, which is kind of unnecessary. But he had a reason. Firestar made Jaypaw Brightheart’s apprentice because they both had a lack of sight. Understandable. But Brightheart never tried to teach Jaypaw battle moves. (i’m not completely sure of this, it’s been a while since I read The Sight)
But as far as I remember, Brightheart made Jaypaw clean bedding and listen to Longtail, despite the fact that Jaypaw didn’t need help to sense and understand what was happening around him. Nobody could understand that Jayfeather wasn’t just a stupid blind cat who saw the world as a dull blur of sounds. Many pitied Jayfeather, which, isn’t wrong, because they don’t know that he is defiant and proud of who he is. They don’t understand what it is like to be blind and would likely believe that Jayfeather is missing out. But the lack of understanding toward Jaypaw’s disability made him wish that he hadn’t even been born. Jayfeather was destined to be a med cat. And that’s okay. But the fact that nobody tried harder to make Jay’s dream come true is an example of the lack of faith toward cats with disabilities.

But Jaybae isn’t the only example of this.

2) Briarlight

Briarlight, like Jayfeather, is one of my favourite characters. I just love her. In her case, there’s no way she could be a warrior. It’s sad, but it’s true. But Briarlight could have been a medicine cat. I do not understand why nobody would let her do that. Briarlight already has a knowledge of herbs. And sorting herbs made her feel useful. Jayfeather was nice to Briarlight, partially understanding what she was going through. And the rest of the Clan was also encouraging. But Briarlight had her dream yanked from her grasp when it was only inches away. Her loyalty and efforts to try and save Longtail went unrewarded. When Briarlight was paralysed, she had her ups and downs. She sometimes became depressed and felt useless. That’s natural and there’s nothing that anybody could have done to make much of a difference. But now onto my next point. *takes a deep breath* MILLIE.

Now, Millie loved her kits. Right? Undeniable. Millie tried to protect Briarlight and coddled her. But that didn’t comfort Briarlight. It didn’t help her spread her paws and grow. It crushed her. Briarlight was constantly being fussed over by Millie. On one paw, it must have been nice to know that her mother is there for her. On the other paw, the whole Clan was supporting Briarlight in a way that let her do things for herself. Millie also neglected her other kits. I truly do not believe that Millie is a bad cat deep down. She didn’t go out of her way to hurt Blossomfall and Bumblestripe. She tried to support her daughter.
But she didn’t do it the right way.
She created a rift between Briarlight and her siblings. She made Blossomfall feel jealous of Briarlight. How must Briarlight have felt, knowing that she had taken so much attention away from her siblings? Millie also said that Briarlight should just die because dragging herself around by her forepaws wasn’t much of a life and in StarClan she’d be able to run. Well. Firstly, Briarlight must have felt SO great after hearing her mother say that(Not). Secondly, this is another example of judging someone with a disability. Even if Millie loved Briarlight, which she clearly did, she still judged her unfairly. And when Bumblestripe brought Briar out of camp because she asked, Millie went all rageful on Bumblestripe. Because of course in Millie’s mind, her disabled daughter can’t do any wrong. Millie treating Briarlight like fragile glass that can crack at any moment is not right.
At. All.

3) Longtail

Poor ol’ Longtail. He was blinded by bacteria in a rabbit’s claws. Cinderpelt fought to save his sight. But she couldn’t. And the instant that she admitted that she couldn’t save Longtail’s vision, it’s off to the elders’ den with him. He could have been a medicine cat. He could have helped out around camp. But no. This young, capable cat is shoved away with all the old cats. Longtail could have learned to hunt without sight. He could still hear and smell and move. But nobody gave him a chance. Longtail believing that he was a burden and couldn’t go with the Clans on their journey to their new home is so sad.

4) Cinderpelt

One word. WHAT? Cinderpelt’s leg was twisted by a monster on the Thunderpath. But Yellowfang managed to help save her. So why couldn’t Cinderpelt be a warrior? Because she couldn’t run fast. Yup. That’s right. You heard me. Cinderpaw couldn’t be a warrior because she couldn’t run fast. Everything else about Cinderpelt was fine. She proved that she could hunt, even if her pounces may have not had as much power because of her weakened hind leg. She could still stay guard outside of camp during the night. Yes, she got a bit tired when she had to run, but that’s fine. She could still run. She could also fight well, proven in TNP when she pounced on Squirrelpaw, believing that she was an outsider trying to steal her herbs. Cinderpelt may have been a bit slower fighting. Yes, maybe she wouldn’t be able to jump and do all these fancy twists. And yes, being a warrior may have been more difficult. And if Cinderpelt did want to be a medicine cat, then great! But otherwise, she would have been a good warrior. Even if she couldn’t participate in battles, if she learned self defence, then she would be fine. But nobody even tried to help Cinderpelt. The moment it was clear her leg was permanently broken, she was forced to be a medicine cat. Which was great and she was a good medicine cat- but nobody have her a chance.

5) Brightheart

Brightheart got one of her eyes ripped out by a dog. Obviously, her eye was never going to grow back, so naturally, nobody believed she could be a good warrior. Brightheart was a bit skittish because of her ordeal, but with proper training and encouragement, she could have grown in confidence. Cloudtail didn’t give up on Brightheart; he taught her strategies that made her an amazing warrior. But if it weren’t for Cloudtail’s devotion, then Brightheart would never have became a warrior. She most likely would have become a medicine cat. Which means that Whitewing would never have born, which means that Dovewing would never have been born either. Brightheart became an amazing warrior, because somebody gave her a chance. Even the amazing Firestar was sceptical of Brightheart being a warrior. Which isn’t fair.

6) Snowkit

Poor, wee little Snowkit. He was born deaf and was immediately tossed aside. Cats felt sympathy for this kit, but nobody tried to help. Except for Speckletail. She tried her hardest to teach her son. It would have been hard, but Snowkit could have learned by watching others. There’s such thing as body language. A cat flicking their tail might mean “Come here!” or “Go over there!” Depending on what way the tail is flicked. Snowkit could have watched the other apprentices do that hunting crouch and then copy it. He would still be able to use his sight and sense of smell to hunt and search for prey. Because guess what? Hearing isn’t a cat’s strongest sense. Smell is. And Snowkit had that. He could have also been taught to help out in camp. His training would have taken a whole lot longer, but still. And even Firestar was like, “Let Speckletail try and teach Snowkit. It’s better for her to see for herself that it can’t be done.” Or something like that. Again, implying that Snowkit is useless. In the end, his lack of hearing did result in his death when he was carried off by a hawk. But a blind cat wouldn’t have been able to see the hawk and even if they heard their Clanmates screaming, “HAWK! HAWK!” There’s no guarantee that they would run in the right direction or escape in time. So if a blind cat could be a medicine cat, them Snowkit could have been one too. Snowkit shouldn’t have been judged so harshly for being blind. He could have been taught some sort of cat sign language too (okay I’m just rambling now)
But still. Snowkit deserved a chance, even if it was small.

7) Jagged Peak

Jagged Peak broke his leg when he fell from a tree. Cats started to treat him differently without even realising it. Clear Sky even exiled Jagged Peak for not being able to hunt or run, even though the whole accident was his fault. Holly came along and helped to boost Jagged Peak’s confidence so he became unbearably arrogant. Gray Wing and the others realised that there was no need to treat Jagged Peak like he was so different. Which was a refreshing change.

8) Gray Wing

UGHHH!!!! I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to fling the book across the room when I read about how Gray Wing was treated. Gray Wing used to be really healthy and fast. Then, his lungs got damaged. He had difficulty breathing. Tall Shadow and Jagged Peak were all like: “You’re not the cat you used to be, Gray Wing!” Ohhh, yeah. That’s really rich coming from you, Jagged Peak. Nobody thought that Gray Wing could be a good leader or fend for himself due to his shortness of breath. I just wanted to put that out there because it annoyed me so much.

And it’s an unbreakable pattern. Every cat with something that may prevent them from doing something as well as someone else is judged and looked down on. It happens in real life too. And it’s really hurtful to those with the disability. I hope that the Clans break out of this pattern soon. I know that they don’t do this on purpose, but still. Do you agree with me? What do you think about the way that the Clans treat disabled cats? Thanks for reading!

~ Silverdusk