Dr. Mechano

The Sonic character I identify most with is the great Dr. Eggman (i.e., the best Sonic character).

• I enjoy public speaking, something that the eggs-troverted doctor is quite adept at.
• I am a stylish, snappy dresser.
• I sometimes sport a mustache (though I'm clean-shaven at the moment); However, I admit mine pales in comparison to Ivo's.
• I love science and technology.
• I'm a Star Wars fan and, considering the Death Egg, I'm willing to bet Eggman is too.

I even got my teaching degree, something the Eggster was planning to do before switching to mad science.

I think it needs to be emphasized that "the fandom" and "the fans" - while related - are not the same concept. When referring to the fans, I refer to individual people, with their own behaviors, choices, and actions. The "fandom," on the other hand, refers more to a loosely-organized group, along with a set of norms and trends that the group displays. In many ways, my critiques of brony culture could really be considered a critique of nerd culture in general; Gamers, anime fans, comic fans... there's a ton of elitism, sexism, and self-entitlement in all of these groups. I say this as an unabashed nerd myself, not to put down my fellow fans, but to lament the climate of the community I'm a small part of.

When most people refer to the fandom, they are - for better or worse - referring more to overarching group trends than to individual people. I love MLP fans, and I'm unashamedly one myself, but I do not love the fandom culture for the reasons I've already mentioned. I agree that "nobody should be hated for the actions of somebody else," but I want you to understand that criticizing the fandom and its norms isn't the same thing as generalizing or criticizing the fans themselves as a collective group.

So, Friends Forever #1 was released yesterday, and it stars Applejack and Pinkie Pie (these two have had a lot of screentime together recently)! 

The story is a lot of fun, but feels... unfocused. In a very short period of time, Pinkie enters a cooking contest, Applejack accidentally gets dragged into the same contest (replacing the chef who was supposed to be there), a subplot about a poor restaurant owner comes up, prompting Pinkie and Applejack to let her win before changing their minds and deciding not to patronize her, and then... the real chef shows up with a weaponized frosting blaster and tries to freeze everyone in revenge before being defeated by the other contestants and frozen herself. And then the poor restaurant owner wins the 50,000 bit prize and the comic ends. Okay, Friends Forever #1. Okay.

With that said, I did enjoy this comic. It's funny, the character interactions are nice, and the art - with the exception of the occasional odd facial expression, or the fact that the surprise villain is essentially a Fluttershy recolor - is pretty solid. More than the comic itself, though, I love the concept of Friends Forever; The "friendship" episodes of FiM, which focus on two characters and their interactions (rather than focusing on either all six or one central character) are among my favorites in the entire show, and to see a comic that revolves entirely around these kinds of stories is incredibly promising. Character interaction is, to me, the biggest appeal of this series; So I'm definitely hyped to see what the rest of Friends Forever has to offer!

As always, I'll leave you with a preview panel, along with my usual endorsement of the IDW comics for anyone who isn't on board yet:

This comic was about a cooking contest.

So, is everyone just going to discount all the awesome stuff we do and all the charities we've been a part of, as well was all of the bronies that serve in militaries fighting for their country, or all the people that have been saved from suicide and depression because of the bad seed?

Of course not. No one is discounting those things. The MLP fandom has tons of great people who do great things, and I've never denied that. But that's faulty reasoning, regarding this topic. It's kinda like saying, "C'mon, Doc! Quit nay-saying my health by calling my arm infected! Have you seen how well my legs work?" One part being fine doesn't mean we get to conveniently ignore the parts that are troubling.

Just because many parts of the fandom are good and productive doesn't mean that we need to ignore (and thereby do nothing to fix) the problems the fandom has.

Incidentally, Oliver is right about one thing in the quote you posted: If you want to be part of the solution, then be vocal about not being okay with the bad things some subsets of the fandom do. Be open and enthusiastic about the show, absolutely, but don't get swept up in "herd mentality" and forget to be your own person. You wanna make the fandom a better place? Great! Then you reject and denounce bad brony behavior while exemplifying positive behavior of your own. And you very well already might do that, but this post is really directed people generally, not just you.

This isn't a forum for bronies to meet ex-bronies and fix themselves.  It isn't a forum for fans and non-fans to connect and debate their differences.  It's a place for bronies to get together and have discussions with other bronies.  Since that's what this site was designed for, why on Earth would you expect anybody to feel that your hateful insulting posts have a place on this thread? 

Speaking as an active fan of the show myself, I honestly don't feel this "hateful" or "insulting" tone from her that you're talking about.

Like, before this huge fiasco of an argument broke out, all she really said was that the fandom - collectively, not singling out any individuals - often fails to call out its problem members and has trouble admitting to problematic behavior, as well as hypocrisy. I never read into that, "I hate bronies as individual people" so much as "I dislike the organized group that is the MLP fandom." The two sentiments aren't the same, and I think fans being needlessly defensive about the fandom is one of the major reasons it does get a lot of flak.

Like I said, if you don't do the things someone's complaining about when they vent about the fandom, then that means they aren't mad at (or referring) to you. Keep being a good fan if you don't fit the description of their complaints. If you do? Some self-examination may be in order, but otherwise, don't assume all complaints about the fandom at large apply to you, especially if those complaints don't describe your actions.

But you don't care about the show or fandom, so what would you ultimately have to gain from posting here?  If I may go out on a limb, I think you do actually care about the fandom, and are concerned.  Otherwise, you wouldn't even bother with this topic.

 

So maybe you don't dislike the fandom as much as you think you do.

I think the critique of a disillusioned former fan is perfect for this topic. The topic asks why people dislike most of the fanbase, and I feel that even if someone isn't involved in the fandom anymore, their experiences are actually really valid and can provide insight into why people get put off by the community.

Honestly, I believe we should welcome replies like this and take their criticisms for what they are. Obviously, she left the fandom for a reason, and this topic invited her to tell us why - which she did.

What's the problem here?

So if you're on this site and not a fan, then by your admission, you're essentially just here to troll us.

Not necessarily.

One can be a fan without being "part of the fandom." Like, someone who just watches the show without really getting involved in the online community.

Admittedly that doesn't explain him still posting here, but yeah, it's possible to be a fan and not identify with the fandom at large.

The first step to solving a problem is admitting you have a problem. I think this is true of both individuals and organized groups, including fandoms.

Rather than get defensive about criticism and say "Hey, we're not all like that," look at yourself. Closely. And ask yourself, "Am I like that? Do I do that?" If you don't contribute to the fandom's abundance of misogyny, racism, homophobia, or other prejudices, good! If you aren't treating the show like a religion, treating the fanbase like some sort of secret elite society, or acting like you deserve a medal for watching a show outside of your demographic, awesome. If you aren't publicly discussing your masturbation habits in general, non-porn MLP communities, please continue to not do that! By all means carry on, but if you do display some of the irksome behaviors that put so many people off in this community, take the criticism to heart and look at what you can do to improve yourself instead of dismissing any critic as a "hater."

Even if they are indiscriminately hating the show or the fanbase, should we really be so invested in this cartoon that we feel obligated to rush to a bunch of fictional horses' defense? Let them hate the show, and continue liking it without taking their distaste so personally. I say this with love, guys. Because I believe this fanbase can and should be better. Enjoy your fandom, but don't let your fandom utterly dominate your life (and this goes for any hobby, not just MLP).

That's why, when I went on my shopping spree, I ditched that site and went to Redbubble. 

 

You gotta dig, but you can get some quality stuff at low prices there, some even better than WeLoveFine ​those prejudice bastards.

Rarity's my favorite and all, but I think the lack of Rarity merchandise has less to do with the vendors' personal preferences and more to do with what sells. Rarity just doesn't bring in the numbers like Rainbow Dash does, which is why she gets less merchandise.

She regularly competes with Applejack for the least popular of the main six, so from a pure marketing perspective, I can kind of see why both characters would get less products, when such products aren't as guaranteed to turn a big profit.

It's lame, yeah, but I can't really fault them for their business sense.

It's not for liking a kids' show. It's not for liking a girls' show either.

Bronies are disliked for making an unnecessarily huge deal about liking a show for kids/girls, and for acting like this huge world-changing counterculture instead of just a bunch of people who like a TV show. It's a good show, but it's just a show. You don't need to "come out" or make a big to-do out of liking the show. Your personal identity as a human being should not revolve around your fandom, whatever that fandom may be. It goes without saying that if you don't act like this, then I'm obviously not talking about you specifically, but this is a pretty widespread behavior in this fandom.

This fandom is disliked because so many MLP fans make this cartoon into more than it is. Just enjoy the show, talk about it with other fans, even make fan content if you're so inclined. Enthusiasm is fine, zealotry is the reason people (often justifiably) are put off by this fanbase.

Since we're posting desktops:

Here's mine, complete with my neatly-organized Rarity folder, containing a modest collection of content featuring my favorite character..

I'm okay with this.

I disliked Molestia for its unfunny rape jokes, and won't miss it after permanently closing its doors. I like Joseco's other fanart, though, so I have no objections to what essentially looks like "Molestia minus Molestia."

We'll see what he does with it, anyway. If the rape jokes come back, count me out.

Going into the whole "males are privileged" spiel without bothering to explain your stance that "women need access to these areas as well" kind of leads to the assumption that you're in support of classic "all males need to feel ashamed for the privileges that some men benefit from" argument put forth by almost every self-identied feminist of this day and age. If this assumption was incorrect, I freely admit that I was in error, although in the future I would suggest that you avoid using buzzwords such as "privilege" or "patriarchy", as they are heavily associated with the more misandristic facet of modern feminist groups and will often lead to a very quick dismissal of your arguments.

I said earlier that I do not indict men for benefiting from privilege. I benefit from male privilege, but I recognize that I do, and recognize how inherently unfair it is. I'm obviously not blaming myself for institutional sexism; That would be absurd. I don't see how you can look at what I said - on its own - and read into it, "All men need to be ashamed." It sounds more like you have some preconceived notions about feminism, and are quick to jump the gun about what a self-described feminist must believe.

"Privilege" isn't a buzzword. It's been used in respected literature about discrimination (of all kinds, not just sexism) for a very long time by very qualified people. It simply refers to special rights or advantages available to certain groups, and I think that aptly describes the reality of women receiving inherently less power in our society. I stand by my use of that word because it is accurate.

I will note that I technically used the word "patriarchal," which means "of, relating to, or characteristic of a system of society or government controlled by men." I stand by this too, because those gender norms I mentioned earlier are due to a male-centric worldview. This idea that men are the tough guys, the unemotional, etc. has historically been pushed by society to favor men rather than disadvantage them, as well as keep women out of positions of power. Again, I stand by my choice of wording because it is accurate. And it's a problem for men and women, though women obviously have it worse.

tl;dr - Women have it worse. This isn't your fault if you're male (and feeling guilty does nothing to help the situation anyway), but you do benefit from living in a society that privileges males, so it is important to recognize that for the injustice that it is, and to stand against it.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/29/1011562/-Most-of-you-have-no-idea-what-Martin-Luther-King-actually-did

This is a wonderful article that shows how much of a tremendous difference King made, and puts into perspective just how dangerous and terrifying it was to have lived as a black person in the pre-integration South.

Dr. King was more than a great speaker or leader; He was a true hero, who risked (and ultimately lost) his life to fight the terror of living in the south as a black person. We still have a long way to go for full racial harmony and complete equality, but let's never forget what amazing progress has already been made thanks to King and others like him.

"Put words in my mouth."

 

Always the cop-out response of someone who makes a heavy implication without actually saying it, so that they can easily backpedal when needed. Brilliant.

 

To your credit, I will say that the area you have backpedaled to is quite progressive and, dare I say, rather egalitarian as opposed to feministic. Good for you.

I've never backpedaled. This has always been my ideology, and I've always credited the rare examples of male disadvantage to patriarchal gender norms set by other males, not due to feminism or some supposed "female privilege." If you look through my older posts on this forum, you'll see me saying the exact same thing. Once again, you're making presumptions about me, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't. I've made no such presumptions about you, after all, and have stuck to the issues.

Yes, society does favor males in some regards, but it would be foolish to deny that it also favors females in other areas. To claim that males need to give up their privileges whilst allowing women to hang on to theirs is a little hypocritical, and something I, as an EGALITARIAN, refuse to do.

Please, don't put words in my mouth, friend. I never said that men should give up anything; My belief is that women simply deserve to have all the same privileges we already benefit from. My desire is to see women's rights and privileges increase, not for men's to decrease.

As for supposed "female privilege," this is generally due not to feminism, but rather society's regressive gender roles. "Men aren't nurturing like women, so they shouldn't get child custody," or "Men are tough, so they can't be abused" are due to patriarchal (i.e. promoted by men) gender norms, which - surprise - feminism actually wants to break down, not reinforce. Because of this, I think men and women alike stand to benefit from feminism. It's good for all of us.

No offense, but doesn't your second paragraph directly contradict your first one? Claiming that all males are privileged kind of spits in the face of not making any assumptions about one's character based on their sex, you know.

No it doesn't, because I am indicting society, not males.

I'm a male, and I know that society affords me certain advantages just for being male. I'm not blaming males for this privilege, but I am urging them to recognize they have it, and that women don't - and that this discrepancy is wrong. None of that is an assumption about anyone's character based on sex.

Why is this such a difficult concept for people? Treat people as individuals. Do not make judgments about them based on sex. Do not assume anything about them based on sex. Always appraise people individually, based on the content of their character. Yet - of course - this so rarely happens, and women in particular are treated with all kinds of gender discrimination, some of which endangers their very lives.

This is why I am an unabashed feminist. The culture I am a part of gives far too many privileges to men, and does not bestow the same privileges to women. I can plainly see that this is wrong, and I want to do whatever I can to stand against it.

So, did anyone else get issue #15 today? It's pretty fantastic if I do say so myself.

Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie magically transport into various books (similar to Power Ponies) to stop a bookworm from eating - and thus destroying - the books' stories. However, to repair the damaged stories, they must reenact the missing segments, and they all proceed to do this incorrectly, leading to hilarious results.

Each pony ends up taking the group to a different story; From Pinkie's whacked-out fairy tale (combining everything from Robin Hood to Rapunzel to Cinderella all in the same story) to Rainbow Dash's reenactment of a Daring Do novel. My favorite bit is Rarity's story, which is a sappy romance novel:

This stuff is gold.

Eventually, the bookworm devours almost everything from these stories, and the comic ends on a cliffhanger as the books' erased characters start sprouting from pods and appearing in the real world, where Applejack, Spike, and Fluttershy are still waiting.

One minor issue with continuity is that Daring Do is treated as a fictional character, and even emerges from her book into the "real" world along with other characters. Weirder still is that this comic clearly takes place after Power Ponies, since it references that episode's enchanted comic, so I find it odd that Daring Do is back to being a fictional character. (One explanation, though, is that real-life Daring Do exaggerates her own adventures, and that the Daring Do of the books is a separate character from the real-life A.K. Yearling? I'll go with that to save myself a headache, I guess). Other than that relatively small issue, though, this comic is fantastic!

I can't wait to see what happens next month in issue 16. Seriously, if you aren't reading the IDW comics, you should. They're great.

One more preview image for the road!

Hairity returns.

Season 4 Episode 13 synopsis revealed thanks to Equestria Daily: http://www.equestriadaily.com/2014/01/season-4-episode-13-simple-ways-press.html#more

 

 

"Simple Ways" - Rarity is known around Ponyville for her confidence and class, both of which are lost when Trenderhoof, the world famous travel writer and apple of Rarity's eye, comes to town. So, when Trenderhoof's attention is drawn to Applejack, Rarity does the unexpected and begins to dress and act more like Applejack than herself, which ends up in a muddy mess, on "My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic," Saturday, February 8 at 10:30 a.m. ET/ 7:30 a.m. PT on the Hub Network.

 

 

This sounds so amazing on every level. Fans of Rarity and Applejack should both be quite excited.

 

First we got Applejack and Fluttershy, then Applejack and Pinkie Pie, and now more Applejack and Rarity. As a massive AJ fan, I just can't contain the hype right now. <3

I haven't been this hyped since the last Rarity episode. This sounds like a lot of fun.

I can't wait to hear Tabitha St. Germain voicing a southern accent while already voicing a Mid-Atlantic accent. This is going to be good.

I'm not exactly keen on the abrasive nature of anonymous imageboard culture, so the "/b/rony" etymology does nothing to endear the term to me. Reardless of the term's origins from /b/ - something I wouldn't wear as a badge anyway - calling myself a "brony" still feels like I'm drawing needless attention to my gender. I'm not saying all self-described bronies do this, but that it would feel that way to me if I did.

To me, "MLP fan" feels more neutral and carries less baggage.

I'm curious, why exactly do you not consider yourself a brony?

Aside from my issues with its dubious gender-neutrality, I've simply never been too fond of fandom nicknames in general, as a matter of personal preference. I like Star Trek, for example, but don't refer to myself as a "Trekkie." I don't have any contention with fans who do, but it's just not for me.

Because "brony" is and has always been a gender- and age-neutral term, and anyone who claims otherwise is kidding themselves. "Pegasister," on the other hand, is exclusively for females.

I disagree on this point.

While many female fans do refer to themselves as "bronies," the "bro" prefix is still masculine and has association with maleness, which can make many female fans uncomfortable with the label. Even though many masculine terms ("you guys" for example) can be used to refer to mixed groups of all genders, not everyone necessarily likes referring to themselves using these terms and those preferences should be respected.

To "segregate from the fandom?" I genuinely have no idea how you came to that conclusion. Could you elaborate on what you mean by this?

 And there are patches of urban culture where men, women, boys, and girls call everyone (and themselves) bros. The term "bro" is gender-neutral nowadays.

It's gender-neutral in certain contexts, but not others. You said it yourself: "patches of urban culture," not all culture at large. Many women don't like to think of themselves as "bros," and for that matter, some men don't necessarily like to refer to themselves that way either. 

My stance is that the terms "brony" and "pegasister" are both equally valid fandom labels, and that fans should choose the one that they feel best identifies them. I myself simply consider myself an "MLP fan" rather than a "brony," which is also fine. So apply whatever label you want to yourself! We're united by our shared hobby, not what we call ourselves, after all.

My mental age is 25, which is also my actual age.

The specifics:

• Borat Sagdiyev? Stupid. I appreciate good satire, and I feel like Borat could almost be funny if it wasn't so hamfisted and filled with supposedly "ironic" sexism and racism. Not a fan of gross-out humor either.
• My next birthday? "Watching TV" isn't exactly what I'll be doing, but I will most likely be at home/work, treating it like any other day of the year.
• Marijuana? "No thanks, I'm not into drugs." I have no desire to do recreational drugs myself, but I'm also not opposed to marijuana use from other people. If they aren't hurting anybody, go for it, I say.
• Fancy dress party? I've actually been to a couple of these, and had a good time, so I'd happily attend, dressed to the nines.
• Paris for dinner? Are you kidding? Making spur-of-the-moment plans like that is horrendously shortsighted, expensive, and potentially dangerous. Pass.
• Weekend? SLEEP.

I think these six questions are honestly too specific in some cases to really deliver an accurate answer, despite mine being spot-on, to say nothing of how nebulous the concept of "mental age" is.

My views were lumped in with Bill Clinton, John F. Kennedy, and Jimmy Carter, classifying me as a Hardcore Democrat. I should note, of course, that while I almost always vote Democrat, I consider myself an independent liberal rather than a true member of the Democratic party.

Specifically, in each of the four categories, I am: 

• A social progressive - Agreed.
• A social capitalist - Agreed.
• Libertarian - More or less.
• Pacifist - Kind of. I recognize that historically war has sometimes been an ugly necessity, but I feel it should be avoided at all costs.

I think the quiz is a bit too specific and doesn't truly cover the full political spectrum, so while I can see some resemblance to myself in these results, I do have questions about this quiz's veracity.