Lots of long responses, but also lots of good responses. I wasn't around for the apparent situation that inspired this thread, but here's my outlook on the situation, and take in mind, this goes farther than just the MLR community.
I've been a brony since July, and after witnessing several big issues on EQD come and go, along with the general attitude of most bronies AND the haters, I am just simply going to put this out there:
- The brony community is very quickly becoming the next furry fandom.
Now before you take that the wrong way, let me state that I know many furries. I know what furries think of themselves as, and I know someone being a furry doesn't automatically mean they are some sick and twisted, r34 inspired shut-in that dresses up in fur suits.
The furry fandom is about a love for anthropomorphic characters, or feeling a deeper connection to animals, such as having a power animal. By the actual definition:
Furry: A liking to anthropomorphic characters.
Anthropomorphic: Having humanistic qualities, such as modern speech, upright walking, etc.
In regards to the actual definitions listed above, all bronies are furries, but then again, so is every 4yr old kid that likes Disney's The Rescuers. Unfortunately, when it comes to public relation and perception, the socially accepted definitions become the standard.
What does an average internet user think when somebody mentions furries? It means they are a shut-in fetishist that likes dressing up in fur suits and gets off to anthropomorphic characters. I would know because that's what I thought before I actually met a few furries and understood what the fandom really is.
Back to the original point. Bronies are becoming the next furry fandom. Our perception is going down the toilet, very fast, and I definitely think it has something to do with the concept of love and tolerance.
Love and tolerance does not mean the, "I'm going to love and tolerate the shit out of you," meme. Love and tolerance is what the brony community is founded on, because most bronies enjoy the show for its lack of cynicism, hate, and stereotypes, which is in every other cartoon. The original bronies from 4chan eventually won the 4chan flame war, not because of that meme, but because they didn't give in to the hate they were receiving. They legitimately didn't want to succumb to the hatred and prejudicial thinking of the internet, and instead envisioned a common interest people could unite upon to help influence a better world and internet.
That is why bronies are known to be charitable. That is why bronies don't feed the trolls.
Having been in the navy for almost 6 years now, I'm currently holding a higher position in my squadron that requires me to be present for many meetings with department heads (typically Lt. Commanders and higher), and schedule training for both pilots and aircrewmen. The biggest change that's resulted from that, is my realization that everything is about perception.
When I was a junior aircrewman, we'd get the passdown that working hours got shifted from 0730-1530, to 0630-1630. As an E4 just having reported in, it was simply a, "Well, that sucks," kind of response. Presently as an E5, I now know that the reason those working hours changed, was because the maintenance department saw us leaving earlier each day than them, and had the perception that we were slackers.
Long story short, perception is everything. Lately I've noticed many trolls shifting from the typical, "Ha, you guys are fags," comments, to, "You ****ing bronies and spewing your pony shit everywhere." It's no longer based on prejudice and stereotyping. They are legitimately pissed off at the fandom, and when you look at some members of the community, they do spam unrelated threads with pony, and they do draw r34 images, and make jokes about clopping, or make YT videos of clop cartoons, etc.
There are bad apples in every fandom, but we've adopted a very dismissive attitude towards them, or they hide behind the, "Shouldn't you be tolerating us," excuse.
If we let these people continue to remain in the spotlight, the brony fandom WILL become the next furry fandom, and every normal fan of the show who once proudly bore the name of "brony," will be frantically searching the vast corners of the web to eliminate all traces of themselves ever being associated with it.
So what do we do?
Don't encourage it. If you have a more than casual liking for the characters of the show, keep it to yourself, encourage others to keep it to themselves, and keep the main focus of the fandom on its non-cynical attitude, it's generous donations to charity, and the talented fan base. That isn't censorship, nor is it a non-tolerating attitude. That's realizing that as an individual, YOU are a representative of the brony community. You hold the power of making the fandom look bad, or making it look good.
Those of us in the military community have potentially huge repercussions if the fandom goes completely south. What happens if a coworker mentions that I'm a brony to a new officer at the squadron, and all that officer heard of the fandom was that it's comprised of a bunch of shut-in guys with a thing for beastiality? I don't particularly want to explain this whole situation to my CO one day, and I'm sure all other military bronies feel the same way. I want to get brofists when I walk into a store with my rainbow dash patch on, not have concerned mothers thinking I'm a pedophile.
Another founding principle of the community is the passion. The driving force behind the artwork, music, movies, parodies, etc. The original popular artists and musicians didn't get popular because they were trying to get popular. They had a deep loving for the show and undeniable gratitude to the fandom. Their songs were great because you knew it came from the heart:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muHztyLREfMScrew popularity and recognition. You shouldn't be making music for the sake of getting subs and/or becoming better than that other guy over there. Your goal should be to floor the fandom in awe and bring them to tears because of the love you put into your songs.
We've lost many, many, many respectable and well-known bronies over the past couple months. That shit stops now!
