I'm...normal. ish.
To be perfectly honest I'm skinny, geeky, and kinda hate humanity with a burning passion that puts Lucifer to shame, yet I still find myself in situations where I go help people out that I probably shouldn't...
Part of the reason I now have a criminal record...It led to drugs and bad company, let's leave it at that.
I fit the sterotype in that I'm a loner, but that's from a childhood of being sheltered, negative social experiences, and the fact that being friends with people irl is pretty low on my priority list at the moment. I got things to do and another job I'm about to take on, so I just try to keep it online. I don't need another frenemy.
It's kinda ironic that I love MLP: Friendship is Magic....not in a hipster sort of way either. Grrr...hipsters. (j/k, hipsters, I hate you equally with everyone else. Love and Peace.)
It's perfectly understandable why Bronies are potrayed in a negative light, however. Not justifiying it, just saying that it is what it is. Human nature.
People are embarrased to be called out on being a Brony. Vsauce explains this embarrasment phenomena and it's biological reasons in this video.
What it boils down to is the common majority trying to coerce, as a collective, social cooperation out of a minority that has deviated out of the norm. As rational beings we should be able to become aware of this and reason with ourselves, but that's not the case with homo sapiens. Eventually after a few decades or even 1000 years, the social norms will change and something like being a brony would be considered mainstream and something else will be taboo.
Human nature.
While in this modern era, if you're a brony, it sucks. Well...depending where you are and who you know. Some don't care, some will call you fag.
Here is the thing that we should keep in mind however: the very same phenomena that leads you to be labeled an outcast, or a stereotype, is paradoxiacally the same phenomena that has helped our species survive in the past. Coercion of social cooperation, via use of embarrasment and shame.
This is part of life and the human condition. Good comes of bad, bad comes of good, and there is no end to this cycle.
So...Next time you find yourself being labeled by someone or a group for the thing you love, remember that you're not really fighting them as people, but your fighting against the effect of a hard wired phenomena that nature selected for us to have.
I'm not going tell those who are closet bronies to come out, since that could have serious implications in your life, but if you want to come out, find friends that have a common interest or are tolerable to it, and stick close to the herd. Who should you tell, who you shouldn't? Use your instincts. Or be brave and say screw em. It's your life, you make the call.
And if you're sick of the stereotype and the hate (not just against Bronyism but all of the b.s. of the world) there is only one thing to do.
Be the change you want to see in the world.
I've been the only brony I know in this town that I live in, though I'm sure that they're others around. I don't know if they fit the stereotype or not, but I'd like to meet them one day. However, being a brony is not the crux of my identity, so I'm not that eager to reveal it to everyone.
I'm on probation. I don't want to go to jail over my Applejack wallpaper on my phone. But if I get hate for it, and grouped into a negative stereotype, I just might.
:okiedokielokie: I'm running out of bucks to give.