skysweep

heh. Well done on successfully influencing another group of people to see the world the way it is meant to be. If only i could be as bold as your sister, and start sharing about friendship to my class too, instead of hiding behind my walls of science or saying, "Hey, have you heard of...err...erm..the...most...recent news?"

Your science class story won you an internet from this science-loving brony. If only such a thing could happen to me... Ah well. might as well make it happen.

Well, i have to slightly disagree with some points in this thread. See, it is true that we should defend ourselves against such hate attacks, but let me explain in detail what hater and bad media logic is. First things first, things become 'bad' as they do not relate to the norms in society. This is either due to some horrible event that affects many, or just simply because it steps out of society's "Moral Boundaries". This is where bad lights get shown on such a thing. How the logic works is people first over-represent a bad minority in the group. Now. People will accept this to be true, as it is not technically incorrect. It is the truth, but it is not all of it. However, as many things are nowadays, people will not be interested to look into a situation further, and will take things at face value. So the presumption starts. "Bronies are cloppers." Completely inaccurate, but it is not a lie. A few bronies follow R34. Note that arguing that they are lying will not help, as they omit the word "all". Hence their statement will ring true with most people. This then leads to people who add in the words to these statements, and therefore leads to the statement becoming "All bronies are cloppers." Now it may seem dumb that people will fall for such a misconception, but here's a sad fact. The extended lie has been based of the truth. Psychological studies show that when people are introduced to new things, they form an anchor on that baseline, and compare everything else related to the topic to that standard. Hence, they know that the original statement is the truth. But the anchor effect leads them to compare this new phrase to the old one, and they think, "Why am I not surprised? This clopping thing has really grown on their whole community." This is the fact, why our arguments don't work. The new statement they have is more in line with their anchor statement than any of our arguments. As they know for certain their anchor statement is the truth, all of a sudden the new lie becomes the truth. Not taking such response lightly, any community would then respond in a torrent. But this is what will actually go through people's heads. People are automatically programmed to respond to over-reaction as an attempt to hide something. It is a sense which has been evolved over generations, as people learned that lies are often kept hidden by burying it in something else. The act of deceit. Our fandom's instant and overwhelming response to such a matter further reinforces their argument."Hey, these people are blowing up over a statement. It must have struck home. They really are cloppers." This sentiment then spreads all over, and this becomes the preconception for anyone else who finds out about the show. My recommended action? I really don't know yet. But i'll post when i do. Really sorry for writing half a thesis here, and i hope you guys can forgive me, but i really feel this is the only way to stop the misinformation on our side of the wall. That is how i believe problems are solved, when one side looks at it in a neutral, logical ground.