Are bullies in the fandom overlooked?

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

Anti-bronies are one thing, but I never see anyone talking about bronies that treat others the same way. 

I just found this, and it's pretty unsettling.

Spoilers: There's a ton of swearing.

[Limeblossom 482]

SJW's going insane again. I never experienced bullying in the Brony fandom.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Limeblossom

[TubeSock2018 325]

Any fandom that grows in popularity will definitely show these problems.

 

Forgive me for generalizing and if this doesn't apply to whoever read this, I personally believe you should feel proud.

 

Teenagers are prone to being the worst people.

 

Teens lack the mental skills to make intelligent, rational choices. That part of the brain isn't 100% developed until you're like 20-ish.

Give a teen who's already prone to aggression, maybe feeling awkward and out of place, suffering from so much whiny tween angst towards life and access to the anonymous internet, and you've got a recipe for vile toxicity.

 

And popular fandoms are, obviously, big. They have a lot of members.

Popular fandoms also tend to be popular because it's the fad. MLP is a currently a fad and won't leave that status for a while. Steven Universe is also currently a fad.

It's the cool thing right now.

 

Determining if something leaves the fad status is only once show content declines. If fan activity dies with it (or just dies in general), it dies a fad. If fan activity remains constant, despite show content going down, it wasn't just a fad.

 

Example: Earthbound. One U.S. game and two (for a long time) Japanese games that required a lot of patience to acquire.

The fandom of Earthbound was small. It wasn't crazy popular. It had a group of dedicated fans in a content-less environment.

 

Point being, you wouldn't find this hatred in the Earthbound community because most people who knew about the game were young adults when the internet was widespread and young people coming in from Smash Bros saw that there wasn't much. They were appreciative of how much they got from so little. An actual sense of community. A tween who was hell bent on trolling would find a fandom so passionate about their so little content, that you'd pretty much quickly and easily isolate and exile yourself as an already small fandom isnt likely to have as many trolls.

 

Back to MLP.

A. It's huge. Naturally in all that mass, it'll have some bad eggs and easy to join other trolls in an already massive fandom.

B.Constant content = spoiled attitudes.

C. Teens tend to not think rationally and "hey, Filthy Frank makes me laugh by joking about suicide and calling everyone f@gs. I, too, shall mimic his behavior because that's what we teens seem to do. We see popular people dress, talk, and act certain ways and we just seem to copy that". Seriously. Go on instagram and look up hastags like #mlp and you'll find so many troll accounts that joke about suicide, 9/11, "dank memes", and all sorts of other attention-begging BS that I highly doubt a 25 year old who's got their life together would create. Teenage trolls seem to subconsciously compete with one another to see who can outdo who.

 

Overall, popular fandoms will always have their trolls on the internet. It doesn't matter if you're a brony or a whovian. Love and tolerate is a myth. We're no worse nor better than any other fandom. Raising awareness won't do much. As a community we just need to ignore the trolls. Block them and encourage others to shut as many doors on them as possible. There are cyber bullying resources. Use them. Take advantage of every resource but never engage.

1. You won't win

2. Attention is their blood

3. What I mentioned previously is much more effective

 

If you're a teenager and none of this applies to you, good job. You're already acting like an adult and your transition from adolescents to adulthood will go much easier than the trolls that will someday regret their actions.

Edited October 29, 2015 by pollo20x6

[[NULL] 906]

I knew the whole SJW thing was out of hand, but I didn't think it would come to the point where the latest South Park episodes are no longer an exaggeration.

This is usually the part where I think it can't get any worse.

Edited October 29, 2015 by SpaceOnion

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

Overall, popular fandoms will always have their trolls on the internet. It doesn't matter if you're a brony or a whovian. Love and tolerate is a myth. We're no worse nor better than any other fandom.

That's true, but considering how much of a target the fandom's been in general, I never expected the trolling to get to this extreme. I remember from the brony documentary that a guy threatened his friend with a shotgun for liking MLP. What happened to this girl isn't as severe, but I get the impression some of these nutjobs would kill her for the fanfics she wrote if they had the chance. 

Edited October 29, 2015 by Lord-Pomegranate

[RarityFan01 2,444]

Some bronies were siding with the Diamond Dogs in a Dog and Pony Show. Wanting someone to be enslaved, even a fictional character, is worse than bullying.

[Tao 7,482]

You will always find bullies/people in any fandom and those who are overly obsessed on the show and cannons and details and etc about it.  Yes we have bullies in MLP stuff and also SU sadly who attack other fans of their own fandom and the others shows (given in some ways how both shows have the same themes at times).  Thing is its still simple: bullies want power and attentions in doing so or self pleasure in ways for doing this.    I was bullied a LOT as a kid growing up everyday and the thought of taking my own life did cross my mind given how useless and down I got from the actions and words of bullies and this was before the subject of bullies became such a main stream thing.

 

The difference is having other fans/friends step up,  if they see this or get word of it,  you can do something even if just sending this person message and offering a hand of help or reporting it and taking steps to stop it.  This goes for all fandoms and the term of "haters going to hate" fits and even in our own backyards... 

[Guest]

Bullying exists in all fandoms, period. No exceptions.

[AstralAc3 3]

I'm not sure I should dive right in here and pour all my feelings out.

But the bullying in my local brony community is extensive to the point if your

'face don't fit' they will not only exile you from the group, but make sure every other group in the region doesn't let you in.

 

They are very cliquey and not only have I been bullied and tormented by these people, but stalked and attacked both online and offline.

I've finally busted free from everything they've been doing, and I'm still haunted by the memories of the people who I thought 

would be the most accepting and most trustworthy.

 

I thought, being a lonely guy myself, I could find somewhere to belong, and half the stuff that happened to me most of y'all wouldn't believe.

And I really probably shouldn't go into it, as it might ruin the fandom for some people.

But I was heartbroken for the longest time, I trusted these people!  I bonded with them, and all the time they were laughing at me behind my

back and plotting to do the most damage they could to me.   I still can't go near the cafe they meet up at, even when it's not the day they go.

 

I end up with anxiety attacks just thinking about it, and I can't even enjoy the cafe anymore.  

Sometimes I wonder how the ponies would react if they saw some of the horrible things that happened in this world.  

 

But I will always love MLP and that whole world.  No-one can rob me of that.  

And I know there are loving people out there in the fandom, but I tend to keep the love of the show my own personal thing now,

I don't want bad experiences to put me off the show.

Edited October 29, 2015 by AstralAc3

[Rocky 68]

Bullies exist in every fandom for sure. I've seen plenty of bullies within the fandom. Just look at what people say about Spike or the CMCs.

[TubeSock2018 325]

That's true, but considering how much of a target the fandom's been in general, I never expected the trolling to get to this extreme. I remember from the brony documentary that a guy threatened his friend with a shotgun for liking MLP. What happened to this girl isn't as severe, but I get the impression some of these nutjobs would kill her for the fanfics she wrote if they had the chance.

 

It comes on all sides. Non-fans threatning fans. Fans threatning fans. Fans threatning non-fans. You can find each type on the internet if you look deep enough.

 

Yes, this fandom had its rough moments, but if anything, that just provokes the irattional fans to act even more irrationally.

As long as you have big groups on the internet, someone's going to take it to the extreme.

 

It's like religion (in fact, I even did a presentation on fandoms as a religion)

There is no "Christianity", but rather a bunch of different versions of Christianity, each one claiming to be the "Christianity".

You have the version that believes the bible is full of metaphors. The version that believes it's literal. The ver. that believes being gay is a sin and the ver. that does not think that. There's also time sensitive versions. 1950 Christians thought interracial marriage was a sin and that version is practically all, but gone in the U.S.. And of course, you have extremist versions, like the variant of Christianity found in some countries in Africa that mutilate the genetials of females.

 

This happens because Christianity is so popular. It's all over the world and U.S., so naturally the people pick and choose which ideologies to focus on depending on the context of their lives.

 

The exact same system applies to fandoms.

The bigger they are, the more versions there are.

Being a Brony isn't clear. Is it just watching the show? Is it buying merch? Participating in the fandom? Everyone has their own definition of what it is to be a brony and there are extremist examples as clearly evident in the fans who encourage a fanfic author to kill herself.

 

One could say it even resembles the Catholic Inquisition.

These fans want those who challenge their beliefs (or headcanons, to be more precise) to go away and some find that solution in death. Murder is illegal and the internet is anonymous. Encourage suicide.

 

Being in a fandom is like being in a religion. The more widespread and big it becomes, the more likely you are to see different types of the same fan and the more likely you are to see extremists.

 

It doesn't matter how much worse bronies have had it than others, it just naturally happens.

Edited October 29, 2015 by pollo20x6

[Limeblossom 482]

@@AstralAc3: Dear Celestia... Really that worse? I never experienced that in the fandom.

 

But... Are your sure they're not SJW's in sheepBronycloth? Those psychos use everything to make someone's live miserable while disguising themselves as a fandom. Look at what happened with Zamii070 (the video in the first post).

 

If those SJW's go even further inside the Brony community we'll get huge trouble. And maybe we should contact the admins and mods if one of them lay a finger on MLPforums. Their ideology is beyond insane.

 

Zamii070's tragedy also caused a blow to the Steven Universe fandom, which was already completely infected by SJW's.

 

I really hope she gets better.

[Moony the Cat 3,702]

As for myself, im terribly sorry.

Its not important what my opinion on this is, because i was already one of these Brony Bullys and i did terrible things.

I tried to be friends with that strange Rainbow Dash Guy on Youtube and did videos, just like his videos.

 

I insulted others and said Mlp was better than everything else.

Im sry for everyone that knows me...i was RainbowdashFan 1995, the Raindow Dash Imposter, Not Mandy ( or something like that ) and Dusch Lampe.

I was also known for  S*** Queen Twilight Sparkle...im sry. ( and a cadence account with similar name ) 

 

I realized my actions were bad, so i deleted every channel i had.

All i can say is, that in my case, i was just really REALLY bored...thats why i started with that. I was stupid.

Edited October 29, 2015 by Smile.Pony

[DageNox 109]

I didn't hear of these "SJW's" till this week I think. what I'm hearing is so horrible and cruel. 

I'm going to keep an eye out now for this kind of thing and report it.

Edited October 31, 2015 by DageNox

[Jeric 46,850]

Overlooked? Perhaps. Not here though. If and when I see or can verify harrasment or bullying ... said person is done here. Unfortunately most people with the authority to act against it are not creating the mechanisms to curb it.

[J. Brony 313]

This sort of behavior is, I'm sorry to say, deeply ingrained into human nature itself.  It's not just fandoms.  Bullying occurs on just about every level of human interaction and has been since the dawn of time.  It's not something that is going to end.  It's not something that we can stop.  

 

But, as with any other negative aspect of human nature, there is an equally positive aspect present.  For every bully out there willing to harass someone there is also a sympathetic soul equally willing to defend them.  I really feel like the MLP fandom is a little better than most in this respect.    

[Kivil 1,721]

That poor girl in the video though.... On topic though I think on this very website that if we see bullying or harassment we are good about reporting it.

Edited October 29, 2015 by PROJECT: Echo

[Hero 63]

I won't argue that bullies in the Brony fandom don't exist, but I cant say I've ever seen any.

[CookieK 74]

Yes all the time, in fact I actually was bullied by some bronies before and it almost made me leave this fandom entirely.

Edited October 30, 2015 by CookieK

[Rainbow Dash 1,472]

@,
I love this guy now.

I could tell you about how i am being bullied and harrassed and having friends turn against me just because a local brony couldnt have intercourse with me.

Yes, I am being bullied by a dude who I refused to have an intimate encounter with. I ignored him and then he started again.

I wont name drop cause im not sure if they are on this site or not. I trust the admins like@,  to stomp out any he said she said they said BS that shouldnt be on the forums at all.

I think the fandom ovrlooks bullying because back in the day, we never had bullies. Then there was an influx of people joinging the fandom and coming onto forums, skype, what have you and sullying the fandom. Of course, we cant do anything about it.

We cant say, this dude aint a brony lets make sure he cant communicate with others and we cant exclude them or else we'd be a worse fandom then *insert a fandom you dont like here*

I feel like we ignore bullying purposely because we want to be known as the best fandom in the world. We want the creators, writers and voice actors to feel like they created something amazing, not have them pull the show because a Brony committed suicide after another Brony called him names and pressured him into committing the act.

[Master Intelligence 53]

Any fandom that grows in popularity will definitely show these problems.

 

Forgive me for generalizing and if this doesn't apply to whoever read this, I personally believe you should feel proud.

 

Teenagers are prone to being the worst people.

 

Teens lack the mental skills to make intelligent, rational choices. That part of the brain isn't 100% developed until you're like 20-ish.

Give a teen who's already prone to aggression, maybe feeling awkward and out of place, suffering from so much whiny tween angst towards life and access to the anonymous internet, and you've got a recipe for vile toxicity.

 

And popular fandoms are, obviously, big. They have a lot of members.

Popular fandoms also tend to be popular because it's the fad. MLP is a currently a fad and won't leave that status for a while. Steven Universe is also currently a fad.

It's the cool thing right now.

 

Determining if something leaves the fad status is only once show content declines. If fan activity dies with it (or just dies in general), it dies a fad. If fan activity remains constant, despite show content going down, it wasn't just a fad.

 

Example: Earthbound. One U.S. game and two (for a long time) Japanese games that required a lot of patience to acquire.

The fandom of Earthbound was small. It wasn't crazy popular. It had a group of dedicated fans in a content-less environment.

 

Point being, you wouldn't find this hatred in the Earthbound community because most people who knew about the game were young adults when the internet was widespread and young people coming in from Smash Bros saw that there wasn't much. They were appreciative of how much they got from so little. An actual sense of community. A tween who was hell bent on trolling would find a fandom so passionate about their so little content, that you'd pretty much quickly and easily isolate and exile yourself as an already small fandom isnt likely to have as many trolls.

 

Back to MLP.

A. It's huge. Naturally in all that mass, it'll have some bad eggs and easy to join other trolls in an already massive fandom.

B.Constant content = spoiled attitudes.

C. Teens tend to not think rationally and "hey, Filthy Frank makes me laugh by joking about suicide and calling everyone f@gs. I, too, shall mimic his behavior because that's what we teens seem to do. We see popular people dress, talk, and act certain ways and we just seem to copy that". Seriously. Go on instagram and look up hastags like #mlp and you'll find so many troll accounts that joke about suicide, 9/11, "dank memes", and all sorts of other attention-begging BS that I highly doubt a 25 year old who's got their life together would create. Teenage trolls seem to subconsciously compete with one another to see who can outdo who.

 

Overall, popular fandoms will always have their trolls on the internet. It doesn't matter if you're a brony or a whovian. Love and tolerate is a myth. We're no worse nor better than any other fandom. Raising awareness won't do much. As a community we just need to ignore the trolls. Block them and encourage others to shut as many doors on them as possible. There are cyber bullying resources. Use them. Take advantage of every resource but never engage.

1. You won't win

2. Attention is their blood

3. What I mentioned previously is much more effective

 

If you're a teenager and none of this applies to you, good job. You're already acting like an adult and your transition from adolescents to adulthood will go much easier than the trolls that will someday regret their actions.

I'm a teenager and I agree with this post. 

Most kids my age don't think logically. Half the time.

This is due to the exact reasons. You gave. The only reason I'm not going to rant in rage with what you said about teenagers.

Was I was forced to think this way. If I was still 11 I would not respond the same way.

But after going through some very personal issues due to my Autism and ADHD. (Let's just say I had some serious issues)

I eventually found peace. But I had to learn the world around me to do it.

I had to force myself to learn to think logically so I could get myself out of the hole.

I got myself into. Health wise (my bowel) and Emotionally (my perception of the world and people).

And as I didn't believe in god (and still don't) I couldn't just pray. I had to fight through my issues.

I was bullied a lot when I was young and even through back then it used to get to me.

Now it's like a pillow. Soft and just annoying more than anything.

I found acceptance in myself as a person and I encourage others to do the same.

(I kind of share the same opinion as pollo20x6 so that's what I think on the question you asked lord. Just thought I would tell my story in case someone who may need it is reading.)

Edited October 29, 2015 by Coder-MP

[Br O N Y 382]

As for myself, im terribly sorry.

Its not important what my opinion on this is, because i was already one of these Brony Bullys and i did terrible things.

I tried to be friends with that strange Rainbow Dash Guy on Youtube and did videos, just like his videos.

 

I insulted others and said Mlp was better than everything else.

Im sry for everyone that knows me...i was RainbowdashFan 1995, the Raindow Dash Imposter, Not Mandy ( or something like that ) and Dusch Lampe.

I was also known for  S*** Queen Twilight Sparkle...im sry. ( and a cadence account with similar name ) 

 

I realized my actions were bad, so i deleted every channel i had.

All i can say is, that in my case, i was just really REALLY bored...thats why i started with that. I was stupid.

S**y Queen Twilight Sparkle, hahaha awesome

It is good that you admit that you did that, and I'am glad for you that you have changed.

I also did something similar, not with MlP, but with "the beatles". I used to claim, that they were the best band EVER and began to hate every other music, especially the "modern music". I began to hate against classmates, who listend to dubstep, rap and things like that and felt proud for being someone who listen to "the only good music".

But later I realised, that every music style and time has good music and I was just stupid and ignorant.

 

I guess many people did such stupid things in their teens, but it's important to learn from them and also be kind to other fandoms for things like Anime, Minecraft, Minions, etc.., they have the same passion for their things as we do.

[TedEbear 8]

Anti-bronies are one thing, but I never see anyone talking about bronies that treat others the same way. 

 

I just found this, and it's pretty unsettling.

 

Spoilers: There's a ton of swearing.

i'm pretty sure the girl alpha is references is currently dead. it was a thing mentioned a few days ago... pretty tragic... i don't think anyone got reprimanded and there was no amanda todd like outcry... it's ridiculous.

[KillerKingBakudan 702]

i'm pretty sure the girl alpha is references is currently dead. it was a thing mentioned a few days ago... pretty tragic... i don't think anyone got reprimanded and there was no amanda todd like outcry... it's ridiculous.

Damn it. The worst part of all this is driving someone to suicide isn't recognized as a criminal act in itself. I don't care how, but those idiots need to be punished for this. At the bare minimum, their parents should be sued. There should be a few people with the technical know-how to find out who they are.

[Dark Qiviut 22,378]

i'm pretty sure the girl alpha is references is currently dead. it was a thing mentioned a few days ago...

Nope. Zamii survived and posted two vlogs on Tumblr afterwards. Just about an hour, she posted an update on Twitter.

 

Damn it. The worst part of all this is driving someone to suicide isn't recognized as a criminal act in itself.

It depends on the country, but in Missouri, driving someone to suicide after you tell them to is a jail-worthy crime..

 

As for this news, this DIDN'T take place in the brony fandom. There's a reason why bronies and the fandom aren't under fire on Tumblr. All of this took place exclusively in the SU fandom, and this isn't the first time S.U. SJWs on Tumblr really got vicious. (They already chased away a writer off it.) Regardless, what happened was completely unacceptable. I've been around fandoms for at least ten years, and it's one of the sickest displays of fandom mob mentality that I've ever seen. Nobody deserves abuse, period, much less a twenty-year-old. Even worse, rumor has it the Tumblr staff won't do a thing about it because Zamii herself wasn't the one reporting the abuse.

 

Does the fandom overlook it? Depends where. Equestria Daily's moderation is absolutely horrendous; you have so much name-calling and trolling, including from people older than forty. Here, though, is a different story; there were cases of severe bullying and harassment before (once, a now banned user slandered Feld0 in her blog here), and the staff has no tolerance for it.

Edited October 31, 2015 by Dark Qiviut