I really appreciate this sympathetic perspective. We all have different abilities and interests.
The only thing that matters to me is someone's zeal for the lore. Whatever money or time you spend is your business to share.
I do not understand the insult “Post your minis our you’re a tourist” and then the people saying that can barely afford miniatures themselves. (Not poor shaming btw) but like not everyone has the money, not everyone has the time. It takes me almost 2 weeks for one miniature because I have a perfectionist brain and everytime I feel shitty, I strip the model and redo it.
But again, not everyone has the money. The most basic boxes are 36$. They never go on sale. And don’t even get me started if you play tabletop omg…I’ve personally spent about 800$ in 2 months…on miniatures + my friends miniatures I buy them….so unless you plan on buying the miniatures for people, it’s probably just not in good character to insult people for not having them. I feel bad for people who really want their first miniature and can’t get it which is why I’m giving mine away for free. At that point just call them poor/broke.
To me, 40k "plays the tape all the way through" on mankind's nature. We are fallen and cannot save ourselves. That is not satire.
The Emperor tried, but he is not the true savior. The spirit realm is the real battlefield. This is not satire.
On top of those core truths, 40k exposes every political and philosophical belief at exponential scale.
To me, 40k is a meditation.