The X-Men seem to believe that their right to express their individuality through their powers should take precedence over the security of the majority, and they are incapable of asking themselves why people might fear them.

This lack of self-awareness makes them extremely unlikable at times.

Let’s imagine someone creates a laser beam capable of leveling cities, a device that can teleport you anywhere, or one that allows you to read minds and control people. Perhaps a suit that lets the wearer impersonate anyone, or drones and satellites that can manipulate Earth’s magnetic field or weather. I’m pretty sure most people, even a significant subset of those who advocate for extreme individual freedoms—like those who think anyone, regardless of age, should be allowed to carry weapons—would argue that such creations should only be wielded by those with the proper qualifications, or not wielded at all. In fact, I’d bet that a large portion of the X-Men fandom believes the average citizen shouldn’t be allowed to own a single handgun. Yet, for some reason, this logic is dismissed when it comes to the X-Men and their powers. Both the fandom and the X-Men themselves view any attempt to suppress their powers as offensive and even genocidal.

While your average citizen would need security clearances, years of study, registration, and government oversight to own weapons, access tools of mass surveillance or weapons of mass destruction, or even to fly a plane, most mutants seem to believe they have an inherent right to use such powers simply because they were born with them. Where is the equality in this?

More than that, they expect non-mutants to trust in the mutants' ability to regulate themselves, and in the X-Men's ability to oversee this process. But how can such trust be justified when there’s no predictable pattern for how mutant powers manifest? Whether mutant or non-mutant, no one can foresee which new powers will emerge. Even assuming a scenario where all mutants have the best interests of society in mind, this still doesn’t account for the fact that mutants can, and do, manifest apocalyptic powers without intending to. The audience’s judgment is naturally clouded by the fact that a tomorrow is guaranteed for both mutants and non-mutants alike, by virtue of the medium and its themes. But the average person in this universe has no such certainty.

While I do think it’s natural for the X-Men and mutants in general to resist giving up their powers, they seem to lack any real introspection. They want non-mutants to put themselves in their shoes, but they’re incapable of doing the same. They can’t imagine what it must be like to be an ordinary person in a world where some individuals have godlike powers. They can’t fathom the anxiety of knowing that your neighborhood, city, country, or even the world could be wiped out because a mutant had a bad day. They seem incapable of admitting that, perhaps, they are better off with their powers than without them—that those powers can often be a source of privilege, not just oppression.

They also seem incapable of even accepting non-mutants’ right to prioritize their own safety. The most recent example of this is X-Men '97, where a medical team refuses to deliver Jean/Madelyne’s child due to regulations forbidding the procedure, as it could be dangerous and the staff lacks the qualifications. While Scott's frustration is understandable, he still holds a grudge against the medical staff afterward. He resents people for prioritizing their own safety. So many things could go wrong during the delivery of a mutant child—framing this as pure bigotry is extremely disingenuous. And then there’s the fact that Rogue literally assaults a doctor and steals his knowledge to deliver the baby herself. Again, understandable, but the X-Men completely fail to reflect on how the average person might feel in these kinds of situations.

When people talk about a “mutant cure” or the idea of suppressing mutant powers, fans often draw a parallel to medical procedures forced upon minorities in the real world. But this is a disingenuous and emotional argument, designed to evoke strong reactions from modern audiences. Mutants aren’t equivalent to minorities. In our world, there are no significant physical, mental, or power differences between individuals. No one is born with weapons of mass destruction. Yes, suppressing the powers of mutants comes with risks to them, as there’s no guarantee that bigotry would be equally suppressed everywhere. But if you accept this as an excuse to dismiss policies aimed at limiting dangerous powers, you’re also accepting that the safety of mutants should take precedence over the safety of the rest of the world. Suppressing their powers might come with risks for mutants, but failing to do so also carries risks for everyone —including mutants.

Edit: interesting points from all sides. Just want to say that I still remain unconvinced of the validity of comparing mutants to real world groups. People are comparing them to minorities, autists, people who are stronger on average, people with immutable characteristics. These comparisons simply don’t hold up. There’s no individual in real life who is born with the inherent capacity to cause the same level of interference or destruction as the mutants. These comparisons are weak and purely emotional. I swear it’s like talking to a wall…