So I just saw a very beautiful graphic on my dash with this quote listed as one of the “favorite quotes” from the series. Instead of writing on the post and ruining it for the creator, I thought it would be better to make my own post and explain why I feel like this is one of my least favorite quotes from the series, and why I wish fewer people liked it. To me, this quote is an expression of Haymitch’s ignorance when it comes to Katniss; he understands Peeta clearly, because Peeta is so giving of himself. But Katniss is so emotionally withdrawn and reserved, because she’s trying to protect herself and her sister, and knows from familial experience that she can only rely on herself. So of course Katniss isn’t going to be open with Haymitch. Of course Katniss is going to do whatever is best for her family, even if that means hurting Peeta. But what I find most upsetting about this quote is that it establishes some sense of there being a disparity of worth between Katniss and Peeta; that in some way, one of them is more valuable or has more integrity and moral worth. That in some way, Peeta is too good for Katniss, and that the love of such a person is something that some people don’t deserve. Everyone deserves to love and be loved. This is not an uneven, unequal exchange—they both need each other, they both deserve each other, because they both make each other happy, they both make each other feel safe, and home, and whole. Peeta is a wonderful character, a young man who is unbelievably giving and loyal and selfless and loving. But Peeta is flawed, just as Katniss is flawed. And Katniss is a wonderful character, a young woman who is unbelievably strong and brave and selfless and loving. They  deserve one another because they each have something the other needs. To say that Katniss does not deserve Peeta is to ignore every remarkable quality in her character that Peeta loves, to suggest something Peeta himself would never allow anyone to say. Because in no way does Peeta believe himself to be better than Katniss, in no way does Peeta believe that Katniss is lucky to have his love; Peeta is continually devoted to Katniss even when he believes she doesn’t even know he exists. This quote is not a quote that elevates Peeta, because it’s a quote that goes against what Peeta believes—and that is that he and Katniss are lucky to have found one another, because they both need each other and their love to survive.

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That’s what I would’ve said if I had though of it in the moment. What did I say instead?

Leslie, I love you.