Why do people think My Little Pony has hidden messages about racism

[Stone Cold Applejack 381]

I was recently on a Deviantart page and there was a guy on their talking about how mlp was racist he started giving examples like Zecora, The Buffalos, and Princes Celestia. Could you point out to me why people think this. What I think of it is if you think this your the one who is racist.

[Shanks 10,811]

what else can I say other than trolls with be trolls? This user wasn't the first person to make that absurd argument, some radical feminist wrote an article in Ms Magazine accusing MLP of having racist and sexist messages. I just laugh at those people and move on.

[Cosmonaut 76]

Like you said, people have unique mind sets. If they see something that they think is offensive, they emmediantly think that it's offensive. Simple logic.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Lundmunchkins

[BassBrony 33]

Couldn't agree more.

In fact, the episode Over a Barrel ends in way that doesn't promote racism. Unfortunately it doesn't turn out that way irl

[ShadowPirateX 600]

I guess some people like taking things out of context.

[shy0wl 484]

Beauty goes to the eye of the beholder.  I guess in this case, racism goes to the eye of the troll.

[Ziggy + Angel + Rain 11,298]

I've more or less jokingly said that Zecora's debut episode, "Bridle Gossip," was borderline racist. xD  But, ultimately, I thought that episode's lesson was that it's wrong to rush to judgment or base your opinion of someone on their appearance / your initial impressions.  And Zecora became a great and reliable friend to the ponies (Zecora is best zebra).  And though one could easily draw parallels between the Buffalo and Native Americans...  I think "Over a Barrel" was more about compromise / empathy and working out your differences with others.  With...  An intentionally "wild west" feel.  Also, the Buffalo were...  Kinda awesome.  And Rainbow Dash championed their cause despite her being a pony.  I don't think MLP:FIM has ever made an effort to divide people; I think it's made an effort to do just the opposite.

[ReGen 1,466]

Becuase there are different kinds of ponies usually relegated to a specific role because of something they were born with?

 

No, that would just be ridiculous. Must be someone taking it out of context or looking into this show too much!

[Celtore 2,769]

Because high school literature classes. I wrote a page and a half essay on the symbolism in Green Eggs and Ham in grade 12. That doesn't mean that Green Eggs and Ham is the tale about of the struggles of the everyman bound too tightly by the conventions of reality. I hold "hidden messages" on the same level as that essay.

Edited July 19, 2014 by Celtore

[Miles 2,512]

Wow.  I mean, pony races and human races are two different things!  That'd be nearly equivalent to someone calling a person racist because they have a yellow lab instead of a black lab.

Also, pony race has nothing to do with color, unlike humans.  Earth ponies, Unicorns, Pegasi, and Alicorns alike, all can have any kinds of color combos.  

Zecora is a Zebra.  The show accurately depicted the way the colors of a Zebra look.  

Some people... smh.  I guess they must have had a few too many muffins   !!!

Edited July 19, 2014 by Miles

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

MLP racist or sexist?  Pffff.

[\/ 650]

What do they want to hear? My Little Pony is a racist and evil show that teaches children to overlook their differences and be friends. It also teaches witchcraft and satanic worship. Totally.

[galaxysquid 2,121]

Some people just have a wild imagination..

 

For example this fellow: 

http://racism-in-a-kids-show.blogspot.com/

 

This paragraph after explaining mules...

 

To sum it all up, the mules, according to the racist ponies in this show, are:

1.      Stubborn

2.      Ugly

3.      Lame

4.      Worthy of insults

 

     "Oh, Wow! What a racist show it is! Even if the ethnicity of the sentient animal characters featured in this show is different than that of the real-life’s one – which has been proven wrong over and over again, it is still racist and prejudice against mules no matter how you look at it; considering how they are subjected to such hideous, derogatory lines by the ponies as I have mentioned above. So, should I let my little sisters watch a show like this one? I don’t think so."

 

The heck is this guy thinking? I mean.. come on. XD

[Jeric 46,834]

Meh. It's relatively easy to connect two unrelated ideas and thoughts and make something of it. I could find 'hidden' message about anything in this show if I wanted to. That sort of thing is also the life blood of creating head canon too when you think about it. I mean there is nothing in the show that says Fluttershy is Scootaloo's mother ... but some people believe it. 

 

Then there is the Raise This Barn = Racist Barn thing.

 

-_-

[The Taxman 274]

People are overanalyzing things IMO. Besides, even if a thing has unfortunate implications, that doesn't mean the entire product is racist. People are confusing being accidentally insensitive with 'OMG THIS COMPANY IS RACIST IMMA GONNA STOP SEEING WHATEVER THEY DISH OUT'. 

Not that anything in this show is racist, it actually gets handled quite maturely in Bridle Gossip. 

[Banul 3,831]

I dont know why somebody would try to use Zecora as an example of racism, as she is basically the greatest. In fact, her first episode as well as the buffalo episode is about fighting against racism, among other things. If it's anything, it would be how what she does is somewhat voodoo like, but that's a bit of a stretch.

Some people just have a wild imagination..

 

For example this fellow: 

http://racism-in-a-kids-show.blogspot.com/

 

This paragraph after explaining mules...

 

To sum it all up, the mules, according to the racist ponies in this show, are:

1.      Stubborn

2.      Ugly

3.      Lame

4.      Worthy of insults

 

     "Oh, Wow! What a racist show it is! Even if the ethnicity of the sentient animal characters featured in this show is different than that of the real-life’s one – which has been proven wrong over and over again, it is still racist and prejudice against mules no matter how you look at it; considering how they are subjected to such hideous, derogatory lines by the ponies as I have mentioned above. So, should I let my little sisters watch a show like this one? I don’t think so."

 

The heck is this guy thinking? I mean.. come on. XD

When you look so hard for racism, you can probably start to believe you see it. This person was looking very, very hard.

Edited July 19, 2014 by Banul

[Jeric 46,834]

Didn't a review of MLP claiming it was racist and sexist actually contribute to people actually checking out the show in the first place back in 2010?

 

I love the irony if that story isn't apocryphal

[Celli 4,332]

Because people like to over exaggerate things. Or maybe they're looking for attention.

[Fractured 2,683]

Subliminal racist messages brainwashing kids?
Not so much
However, there does seem to be some odd going-ons in the show, especially revolving around earth ponies. In Winter Wrap Up, the central point was that Unicorns weren't allowed to use magic, for instance, and I remember some back and forth's in over a barrel that seemed...biologically based. Also, they do sell deer as pets, although hopefully that was just writers error.

[User07832407840 177]

I think some people think it promotes racism because of Applejack being darker coloured and having to labour and work while Rarity's job has no physical effort in it, and also because Celestia is white. The idea that MLP:FIM is racist, though, is completely wrong and stupid. In terms of the ponies colour, the show does not support supremacy of lighter colours (like some people have actually claimed) because Twilight Sparkle is the main protagonist and Princess Celestia's student and she's as dark a colour as Applejack. Celestia is white whereas Luna is black because day time is lighter and nighttime is darker, it's as simple as that, and also the colour white has traditionally been used to symbolize Good and Purity and whatnot. There's nothing at all racist about any of that.
In terms of allegations of racism regarding the actual races of ponies (people say, how come Earth Ponies have to do tough work like working on farms while Unicorns get easy jobs), this is also wrong; all the ponies, regardless of their race, just do what they're best suited to do. They do what they are talented at. The Apple family is very good at working the fields, and they love it too. They're not being oppressed by some higher power and being forced to do it. They want to. Is the fact that no Earth Ponies can have a job in controlling the weather or have a good chance at becoming one of Celestia's protégé racist? Absolutely not, because it's only a matter of the biological limitations of the Earth Ponies. But some people don't see it this way, probably because they are looking at the pony society not objectively but imposing aspects of our own society onto it, thinking that since racism exists in our world, it must exist there too and thinking that there's something objectively wrong about there being certain jobs and positions that certain ponies can't hold due to their race. This thought comes from the understandable belief that there is always something wrong with any situation in which there are certain jobs/positions that certain humans are not allowed to hold because of their race. Of course it's (almost always) wrong in the case of humans because there's not that many physical differences between the races of humans, but people need to realize that this is not the case for ponies, because the races of ponies do have significant physical differences.

P.S., in case you're wondering, I said "almost always" there because of situations like, for example, in casting for a play or movie, where it's not racist to look specifically for a certain race for a particular character, especially if it's based on an actual historical person or is very important in the context of the play. If a director is casting only a certain race when the context of the play makes this unnecessary and there are other, more qualified people who auditioned who were not selected because of their race, this, on the other hand, would be racist.

Edited July 19, 2014 by Cork Top

[Captain Crow 17]

I can see where parallels could be drawn between say, the buffaloes and Native Americans or something (along with a lot of others) but people are seeing these parallels and calling them racist just because they're there, and not because they're actually racist or offensive (which their not). They've dealt with racism in the show (Hearth's Warming Eve) and they handled it well, and everyone eventually got over their differences and any prejudice was gone. The show deals with racism a lot better than these idiots calling the show racist. 

[Bella_Faus 35]

Nope nope so SOOOOO much nope.

[LZRD WZRD 1,929]

I was recently on a Deviantart page and there was a guy on their talking about how mlp was racist he started giving examples like Zecora, The Buffalos, and Princes Celestia. Could you point out to me why people think this. What I think of it is if you think this your the one who is racist.

Basically there's people who will think everything is racist. If you portray a minority in a way that they generally act, that's racist. Some people try so hard to be social warriors that they miss the fact that there is nothing for them to fight for. Just ignore people like that

[Skye 463]

It's all really stupid.

You see, some people have a lot of time on their hands, so they choose to look deep into a kids show about talking miniature horses for "deeper meanings".

[Windseeker 546]

I believe that is merely troll logic. Anti-bronies who despise this show will most likely cut their damn left arm off if that's what it takes to exploit us.

 

They take something from the show and continuously twist it until it is no longer relevant. Except Racist Barn, I believe that is a sick joke some bronies created to diminish Applejack.

Edited July 20, 2014 by Flandre Scarlet Pony