Why is there so much hate towards bronies on the internet?

[Oblivion 20,266]

People are generally a lot harsher on the internet because they know their will usually be little to no consequences for their actions, vs real life where the moment some one tells some one else to "F*** off and die pony f**" it is automatically taken at face value and thus the offender could actually get in trouble, even legally. But, the moment you give a large group of people the power of anonymity chances are some one is going to abuse it.

 

Lesson learned, never take anything at face value when online....

[whitetiger187 197]

The douchebag mentality has been status quo for quite some time now, and the brony culture shakes this up greatly.

 

The western cultural attitude on men is that they are to be looked upon as these macho types with "only thing on their minds". This mentality is even taken to academic levels.  Grant you, many men have embraced this attitude (Mostly to fit into society imagine, you know, cognitive dissidence) Personally, as a man, I have always resented to be looked upon like in this way.

 

Furthermore, American culture has such a bully mindset on things. Everything has to be so sarcastic and divisive.

 

Bronies have turned these established attitudes up side down. Many bronies make the daring claim that men have feelings too. That we like nice things as well. That not all of us are the sleaze balls that society insists that we are. And, MLP is something that isn't based in mean spiritedness or divisiveness for a change.

 

With status quo being challenged, this upsets people greatly.

 

 

And of course there are the trolls, lol

Edited October 9, 2014 by whitetiger187

[The Crimson Cross 7,532]

My guess is it's the anonymity. 

Chances are that people think they can get away with being a jerk with no repercussions.

Bronies in particular just seems like an easy target, challenging the gender norms, and after all there are a lot of them around.

[Sam Polson 25]

Besides, hate doesn't come just from so-called 'haters'. For example, I hate bronies, too, even if I'm technically one of them. But I'm trying to be less similar to a brony anyway.

So, it's mostly a matter of perception.

[iceestarz 5,764]

Because people love to hate things.

 

They love to click on things that they know they hate because they love when people write back in retaliation. It gets them all pumped up that somebody actually acknowledges their pathetic existence on the internet.

 

Edit: also as a couple have said. Men are supposed to be "manly" and like dude things. Being a brony challenges that gender norm. Heck, I even got in an argument over it with my sisters boyfriend. He's one of those guys that will think you're some kind of gaywad if you like anything girly. He especially thinks bronies are gay(he uses it derogatorily, I don't. There's nothing wrong with gays, I'm just saying what he said.) it kinda set me off. How are you gonna say girls can like guy things but not the opposite? That's hypocritical. That's stupid. I mean I'm not a guy but still. I have a friend in real life who's a brony and he's pretty awesome and funny and totally straight. So....

Edited October 9, 2014 by Cupcakes14

[Windseeker 546]

There are too many contributing factors into why people hate us so much... for obvious starters, the mere thought of guys liking something 'girly' as MLP is too delectable of a target for homophobic stereotypical trolls to pass up.

 

That and there is a never ending loop of hate between bronies and anti-bronies with the latter constantly provoking us and using our reactions as ways of making us look terrible. They slander our name and it spreads like a damn disease, people who are unaware of internet subcultures are more likely to believe the bad things said about us, these ignorant people will then exaggerate negatives before they become obscurely passed along.

 

Much in a way how a rumor is passed on through a line of kids, it will sound very much different at end of the line than when it began, however in our case it is just the aforementioned Loop of Hate. Aside from the occasional invasive brony, the loop can only truly be broken if anti-bronies either end their foolish trolling or we stop feeding them.

 

Ignorance is also a factor on their side, I mean, anti-bronies/haters who are so foolishly blind as to judge someone by their TV show preference is often stubborn to avoid ANY interaction with bronies whatsoever. Hence they jump to stereotypes and over generalization and practically label us as a separate species because they know next to nothing how diverse we really are. What are these people to do if their parents or best friends were bronies/pegasisters?

 

-snip-

Yes we made that meme and bashed it like crazy, but if you knew its origins then you would realize that bronies on 4Chan made that meme in response to the moderators being oppressive prejudice asshats.

[Naiya The Brony 483]

because it's the internet.... and when you look up Get a long or acceptance in the dictionary... Internet is in the deleted rubbish section

No group really gets along and be accepted that easily in the internet.. and it's very stupid

[AlbaTross 1,586]

My firm belief is that Bronies caused the problem themselves. The origin lies in this now infamous meme...

 

It was used to annoy the hell out of people posting on boards featuring Japanese anime and the like, where American cartoon images were against the rules. Then it found it's way onto all manner of boards, because Bronies thought EVERY forum should be about MLP. The movement caused non-fans to begin to hate the upstarts trying to hijack every thread and turn it into one about MLP.

 

This was soon followed by the "How do I go about converting my friend/brother/coworker/whatever into a Bronie." The annoyance factor was raised 20% when fans started trying to ram the show down the throats of people who just weren't interested.

 

Next, the hate was doubled, when Bronies started using the phrase "Coming Out" to describe how they admitted to family and friends the dreaded secret that they *GASP* watched a perfectly legal program broadcast openly to millions of homes nationwide. Of course non-fans grasped on that as meaning Bronies were gay.

 

In summery. All the hate on the internet was DIRECTLY caused by Bronies, at least a very vocal segment of the fandom, THEMSELVES!

I'm only a relatively recent FiM fan, but I heard that posting MLP stuff was banned on 4Chan, because I guess that forum is run by buffoons. There is a reason why it's known as the Elephant Graveyard of the Internet. However, it sounds like fans of FiM initially felt restricted in their ability to post about a show they enjoyed, prior to the days of having FiM forums like this one. If they really did shove the show down other people's throats though, I can see why people disliked them.

 

By comparison to other fanbases I've been a part of, I actually find this one to be pretty tame by comparison. It may very well be a case of a select few ruining the reputation of the entire fanbase. That impression couldn't be further from the truth though, since there are plenty of worse fanbases out there.

Edited October 9, 2014 by Tross

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

 

 

I'm only a relatively recent FiM fan, but I heard that posting MLP stuff was banned on 4Chan, because I guess that forum is run by buffoons. There is a reason why it's known as the Elephant Graveyard of the Internet

Pony related stuff on 4chan is no longer banned. It got banned in 2010 I believe and the ban was lifted in 2011 and the creator of 4chan said he was sorry and even created a special section dedicated to bronies.

 

You can ofc learn about it on wikipedia or by watching this video (I recommend watching the video as it is interesting and fun)

[Darker 1,351]

Because before Bronies decided to stop spamming, trolling and annoying people they were easily in only two or three years of existence the most annoying fandom of all time.

 

And that's saying a lot, because there are lots of annoying fans in the internet.

[Cloud Yeller 69]

Most of the idiots are your common internet Troll.  They do this to everybody.  The only defense is to not feed the trolls.  Don't show a reaction, they get bored and go find someone who will react.  The rest seem to be legitimate Homophobes.  Any man who likes things outside of the societal norm must be gay.  Gays are evil and must be stopped.  Therefore hate, ridicule, and physical violence are seen as justified actions.   Unfortunately I don't know how to stop them.  I see most of the hate online on Youtube as well.  I don't even bother reading comments there anymore.

[Unr3alGamer 230]

Because of one of these reasons:

 

1. They need a reaction out of people

 

2. They need evidence to prove their point by going to videos and sites and looking for people to annoy

 

3. They hate bronies, and they want you to know why they hate bronies

 

4. They're annoyed by the amount of memes and parodies relating to MLP that are out (seriously, it's inescapable)

 

5. The phenomenon began on 4chan, where a good chunk of (actual) basement dwelling autistic people go to, and they base their accusations off of that alone

[Geek0zoid 1,468]

Honestly, I think brony hate on the internet is on it's way out. It's become more accepted, I believe, and people are beginning, after so long, to adapt. But, even then, people will continue to hate on bronies. However, I'm gonna peel back the curtain here, and state a fact that everyone can agree with (I'd imagine); No group of people shall ever be universally accepted.

 

People look at bronies the same way they look at people who play video games, I believe. They see them as these 20-40 year old, virgin, loser shut-ins, while for most of us (Both gamers and bronies), are the exact opposite. We're cool, civil-minded teens and young adults who just like watching a show about colorful ponies who solve problems through the power of friendship (Or, in a gamer's case, playing a video game by themselves, with friends, or online with other people, whether they're one console, handheld, or PC.)

 

But, neither of those groups of people will be accepted by everyone in the world. There will still be those people who would rather have everything be how they want it to be than adapt and change. Like I said, I feel brony hate has died down tremendously over the years, but the hate won't go away entirely, because bronies, just like every other group of people in the world, won't be universally accepted.

 

Though, that doesn't mean we should stop watching the show. This should be motivation for bronies to say "Yes, I watch a show like this, and I won't let anyone tell me I can't." We shouldn't conform to certain trends just because some people who want things to the status quo want us to. If everyone did that, there wouldn't be any room for a show like Friendship is Magic.

 

(But, we also have a fair share of trolls. In which case, they don't dislike us. They just want to get a rise out of us because they crave attention.)

[Redeye 399]

People hate on bronies because they don't understand, and they are scared by what they don't understand, so they attack it. And some people thrive on making others feel bad, it just makes them feel good for some reason.

 

And yes a lot of them are trolls. 

 

They really don't have any right to hate on people who "clop" either, that's really none of their business.

 

This. It's just like walking up to a sleeping bear and poking it, just to see what it does.

 

Anti-bronies mostly consist of trolls who seek attention by hating on the people who watch a show made for children. (And I said CHILDREN, not just little girls. It's been proven that younger boys watch the show, too.) When they forget that other people have watched shows like Powerpuff Girls, Totally Spies, and Sailor Moon. (Which are all girl shows, I have watched all of them except for Sailor Moon.) And the thing is, they never win anyways. Most of them give up midway into the argument due to being overwhelmed by the sheer fact that it's a 1 vs 10+ battle. They're really nothing to be worried about.

[Nova12 53]

A good point which only a few people have mentioned is that many people only have a few experiences with bronies, and they're almost never good.

See, some types of MLP fans are nice, quiet people who keep to themselves. Other types are the loud, obnoxious idiots who spam every site they find with ponies and nothing else. Because the good bronies are the quiet ones, and the bad the loud ones, most non-bronies only come into contact with the worst kind of bronies.

 

However, (a good point that Geek0zoid made) brony hate is diminishing. This is mostly due to the popularity of MLP in recent years, and the fact that the fandom is spreading to many other demographics. Tons of my friends watch it, my mom loves it, and I myself am a young pegasister. The few times I've gotten into an internet argument with an anti-brony, a bunch of people backed me up, saying that MLP is an awesome show and no one should be ashamed for watching it.

 

Go Bronies!

[A goat 323]

My firm belief is that Bronies caused the problem themselves. The origin lies in this now infamous meme...

 

It was used to annoy the hell out of people posting on boards featuring Japanese anime and the like, where American cartoon images were against the rules. Then it found it's way onto all manner of boards, because Bronies thought EVERY forum should be about MLP. The movement caused non-fans to begin to hate the upstarts trying to hijack every thread and turn it into one about MLP.

 

This was soon followed by the "How do I go about converting my friend/brother/coworker/whatever into a Bronie." The annoyance factor was raised 20% when fans started trying to ram the show down the throats of people who just weren't interested.

 

Next, the hate was doubled, when Bronies started using the phrase "Coming Out" to describe how they admitted to family and friends the dreaded secret that they *GASP* watched a perfectly legal program broadcast openly to millions of homes nationwide. Of course non-fans grasped on that as meaning Bronies were gay.

 

In summery. All the hate on the internet was DIRECTLY caused by Bronies, at least a very vocal segment of the fandom, THEMSELVES!

Something tells me you've been in the fandom since 2010, or you've seen a couple of documentaries about us.

Edited October 9, 2014 by A goat

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

Something tells me you've been in the fandom since 2010, or you've seen a couple of documentaries about us.

I never watched any documentaries, but I fell in love with the show only a couple of weeks after the end of the first season. Before I watched, I was seeing ponies pop up all over anime sites, and saw first hand people getting miffed and mods coming back the next day and deleting the pony pictures. I never minded them though. I thought they were cute before I even watched an episode. Then I accidentally stumbled onto the "Fluttershy" clip on YouTube. I wasn't sure if a fan redubbed it, so I turned pirate and managed to get the whole first season and watched it in order. I was hooked after the series premier two-parter. I was a bit annoyed though at first. I was hoping for a grand season long story arc about Nightmare Moon. Oh well! 

[CosmicHooves 2,705]

People have been fed lies for decades by the media.

Boys are supposed to like this and girls are supposed to like that.

Now when someone decides to step completely out of the social norm the media has set up people just don't know how to respond.

They will either be understanding or they'll think it's weird and respond negatively.

Before the internet, most of these negative responses were rarely expressed by people.

When the internet and social media did come out it gave a chance for people to sit in front of a computer and spew out what was on their mind.

Now a days on the internet when someone comes out and says they're either gay or they like cross dressing from time to time, while some people may seem acceptant with the way you are, there are others who will say the most vilest of things.

This was the case for Bronies.

It was common at the start for people to hate on Bronies and I think we expected hate from the start.

So now we ask why do soms people still hate Bronies on the internet.

What I think is that it's a dying trend.

From the start Bronies got a ton of hate.

The hate Bronies got from the start was ligament pure hatred.

Now people just hate on Bronies out of habit.

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

I agree with Geek0zoid's statement that Brony hate has been diminishing. I've even seen it for my self in my community. Although I just became a brony 4-5 months ago I've seen that people are more accepting towards men watching children shows. I'm going to be doing a presentation in a fantasy club that I'm a part of at school about MLP and bronies and I'm expecting great responses (at least from those that show up that is to say ). I was just apologized to the other day by a guy in the club who had had negative thoughts about bronies (and possibly negative thoughts about me) when I told people in the club that I was a brony. He was the only one as the others accepted me. But yeah he apologized and not just to me, but to all bronies out there. 

 

I used to watch Totally Spies when I was much younger. They were my favorite shows. And I am a boy. 

 

Well not all anti-bronies are really bad people and they do have reason to dislike us but I agree that most of them qualify as trolls. I got some interesting videos from Doctor Wolf here to show you (if you haven't seen them already  ). 

 

 

 

 

[Radiance64 7,053]

Just don't let things like that get to you. It's not worth it.

As for why, well, on the internet everything has haters thanks to anonymous-ness. Just how it is.

[Dashie23 103]

I haven't really exprienced much hate. I lost 65 karma on reddit from some brony haters,  and I got hate mail from another guy, but I also got some one else to watch an episode, because you really can't judge until you try it. I used to think people scared by Slender: The Eight Pages were wimps. Then I played it, got 3 pages, and got jumped by Slendy. I'm still not frightened by him, but I understand where they're coming from. Oddly though, on reddit, my name involves Rainbow Dash, and nobody cares, unless I make an MLP mention. I post a lot of non-brony stuff( I made a popular rage comic about playing Slender, and then downloading the Five Nights at Freddy's and Amnesia: The Dark Descent demos recently)

[Veritum 257]

I've done a bit of thinking about this topic. I think the issue is that most anti-bronies make a negative comment and get a bunch of hate, which they then proceed to use to generalize the entire fandom, with something like; "you guys get all defensive," and stuff like that. The issue is, the smart bronies who aren't like that usually ignore the conversations, because they know they will probably just add fuel to the fire. The anti-bronies never get a chance to see the good side because the good side is too smart to involve themselves in such a petty conflict.

 

That's my take on it at least.

Edited October 15, 2014 by qMotus

[Solid 1,327]

A good point which only a few people have mentioned is that many people only have a few experiences with bronies, and they're almost never good.

See, some types of MLP fans are nice, quiet people who keep to themselves. Other types are the loud, obnoxious idiots who spam every site they find with ponies and nothing else. Because the good bronies are the quiet ones, and the bad the loud ones, most non-bronies only come into contact with the worst kind of bronies.

 

However, (a good point that Geek0zoid made) brony hate is diminishing. This is mostly due to the popularity of MLP in recent years, and the fact that the fandom is spreading to many other demographics. Tons of my friends watch it, my mom loves it, and I myself am a young pegasister. The few times I've gotten into an internet argument with an anti-brony, a bunch of people backed me up, saying that MLP is an awesome show and no one should be ashamed for watching it.

 

Go Bronies!

The Hate is dying, that's a good thing. People are becoming more open-minded. I feel happy

 

There are Haters who hate a lot of passions, but because there are also people who loves those passions, it halts the Hate.

My firm belief is that Bronies caused the problem themselves. The origin lies in this now infamous meme...

 

It was used to annoy the hell out of people posting on boards featuring Japanese anime and the like, where American cartoon images were against the rules. Then it found it's way onto all manner of boards, because Bronies thought EVERY forum should be about MLP. The movement caused non-fans to begin to hate the upstarts trying to hijack every thread and turn it into one about MLP.

 

This was soon followed by the "How do I go about converting my friend/brother/coworker/whatever into a Bronie." The annoyance factor was raised 20% when fans started trying to ram the show down the throats of people who just weren't interested.

 

Next, the hate was doubled, when Bronies started using the phrase "Coming Out" to describe how they admitted to family and friends the dreaded secret that they *GASP* watched a perfectly legal program broadcast openly to millions of homes nationwide. Of course non-fans grasped on that as meaning Bronies were gay.

 

In summery. All the hate on the internet was DIRECTLY caused by Bronies, at least a very vocal segment of the fandom, THEMSELVES!

As a very early brony (even watched the previous gens before FiM came out) I agree with this. A significant amount of Hate is caused by the bronies ourselves since some of us spam the *** out of peeps with ponies and make it a huge deal. I mean, sure, watching ponies is unique, it's amazing, but it doesn't give the reason to make it a shocking deal, because it just reinforces the idea that watching mlp is "abnormal."

 

However, though it's a significant cause, it's not the only cause...

[Kings&Hooves14 616]

Because people love to hate. We all do, whether we're willing to admit it or not. Why are shows like Dr. Phil so popular? Not because people are seeking solutions to their problems, not because they find pleasure in seeing others lives improve, but because they enjoy villainizing the guests. (I'm not saying everyone who watches those kinds of TV shows feels that way, but many--myself included, I'm sorry to say--do.)

 

The fact that Bronies don't adhere to society's unwritten rules give people an excuse to bully us.

 

Wow, that sounded really pretentious, didn't it?   Sorry. LOL 

Edited October 10, 2014 by Kings&Hooves14

[ShadowPirateX 600]

I can understand some of the hate. Bronies who shove MLP down people's throat are no fun and there are some bronies thay are genuinely annoying (not gonna give any names). But other haters just come off as trolls or people who try to look cool, to me. Frankly, I'm not quite sure where all the hate came from, but I think it might be due to how social norms says guys can't like "girly" things. Which is stupid, considering how it's perfectly fine for girls to like "manly" things.