Why? Why does this continue?

Why couldn't we just have a good Barbara as Batgirl flashback story? Brave and the Bold #33 was previewed as a team-up of Wonder Woman, Zatanna, and Batgirl for a girl's night out. It looked fun and at least the cover seemed to suggest that some hero business would be in the story. Instead, it went thus: brief heroics in the opening, girl's night clubbing, then...dialogue hinting at Barbara's fate and once again, the famous scene from The Killing Joke. Then Barbara wakes up and wheels over to her computer screens.
For fans of Barbara as Batgirl or fans of Barbara Gordon at all, this story just seemed to raise the issue of how incoherent it is that she is still in a wheelchair. In the start of the issue, Zatanna contacts Wonder Woman about a girl's night, then they go to Gotham and convince Barbara to take the night off. Well, by the end of the story we see that this is a "it is going to happen anyway, but let's give Barbara a great memory of dancing" event. Then there are tearful lines between them about not knowing when or where it will happen but wishing they could prevent it.
They don't know when or where, but the reader does. And in a DCU where time travel is a frequent plot device across story lines, we are left asking why no one can ever go back and stop Barbara from being shot. After it happens, everyone knows exactly when and exactly where. So why can't anyone stop it? And why does DC do a story like this that only makes readers ask these questions? Especially when Batman is currently traveling through time...
And yes, time travel may be a over the top solution. But let's consider some others. When Batman has a spinal cord injury, he is healed and soon back to beating up bad guys and jumping across rooftops. But Barbara is instead treated as "so sad, but nothing anyone can do." And that sentiment just gets repeated over and over. Despite the use of Lazarus pits in so many story lines, despite Damien's spine replacement, despite advanced science. The tech in the DCU is supposed to be beyond that in the real world, so a breakthrough in stem cell research would certainly not be out of place here. Readers have been listing these options for years, but DC instead continues with these "nothing anyone can do" story lines. Why? With all these ways to heal her, it is incoherent that Barbara is still in that wheelchair. It insults the intelligence of the reader when the options are so obvious, yet the world's greatest detective and the smartest woman in the world somehow can't figure this out.
And in a story that a lot of female readers were interested in reading, why does DC remind us again that they love to refrigerate women characters?

Stop Forgiving

When you love a character, or a family of characters, they can inspire and encourage you. But all too often, writers and editors use a character in a disgusting plot twist that takes all of that away. It is an insult to existing fans who have been reading a series, and it serves as a deterrent for new readers to begin following a character.

It is also simply poor writing. When writers have a character severely injured or killed just to create an angry reaction in the title character, it is poor writing. Good writers should have enough skill to develop changes in a character's life or attitude without having to put their children, sidekick/partners, or girlfriends/spouses in the hospital or a casket. This trend has been labeled, discussed, and highly criticized. But the trend continues and the damage even to iconic characters continues. The most recent victim was the young granddaughter of Green Arrow, Lian. Her death has caused a lot of discussion over the past weeks, but there are so many other characters who have been sacrificed to the same tired plot device. From the crippling of Batgirl Barbara Gordon to the rape and murder of Sue Dibny, to the death of Lian, the trend continues.

So why do fans forgive DC so easily? Every time a character is abused or killed to create angst for the other characters, fans cry foul on blogs and message boards. But many fans continue to buy the same titles. When we continue to buy a title, aren't we sending the message that it is fine for DC to publish more of the same? DC editorial does not seem to read many fan posts, but they do read their own sales numbers. Is it time to stop forgiving and send DC a message?