Why the Unfair Character Bashing?

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

Just now, Goat-kun said:

So if someone really hates her redemption and can't get over it due to their own personality and personal beliefs, are they unfair to the character by their own standards? They'd probably look right at you and state you are treating her in the wrong manner. People can take sides, but in the end it's all personal opinions, bad redemptions and Mary Sues included. There ain't no right or wrong. Though, you can debate bad redemptions and Mary Sues in a less personal manner but that's a long story for a very different thread.

 

 

Again, it isn't that they are wrong to think that or that their opinion isn't valid or objectively wrong.

All I am saying is that if you hate a character based on a single moment in a long line of development, you are being unfair to that character.

To repeat, it wouldn't be fair to hate Twilight to this day because she didn't want to make friends in the first episode.

We are going in circles. So, to conclude

#Featherbangsdidnothingwrong

[ShootingStar159 2,157]

3 minutes ago, Rarity the Supreme said:

All characters in the show should be held accountable by the fan-base for their respective mistakes. We can't just decide who can or cannot do something out of personal preference.

Holding characters accountable for their mistakes in a show that’s Main theme revolves around those character constantly making mistakes to teach a character lesson seems counterproductive. Why not just focus on the lessons learned instead off the mistakes made?

[Goat-kun 2,529]

4 minutes ago, Ryanmahaffe said:

Again, it isn't that they are wrong to think that or that their opinion isn't valid or objectively wrong.

All I am saying is that if you hate a character based on a single moment in a long line of development, you are being unfair to that character.

To repeat, it wouldn't be fair to hate Twilight to this day because she didn't want to make friends in the first episode.

We are going in circles. So, to conclude

#Featherbangsdidnothingwrong

I'd agree that their opinion is weird. A competent hater must know how to bash a character wholesomely

 

#GarbleDidNothingWrong

[Sovereign Leader Rarity 12,010]

6 minutes ago, ShootingStar159 said:

Holding characters accountable for their mistakes in a show that’s Main theme revolves around those character constantly making mistakes to teach a character lesson seems counterproductive. Why not just focus on the lessons learned instead off the mistakes made?

I don't primarily mean in the show itself. I'm talking about how the fan-base deals with things about the matter. That being said though, forgiveness maybe an important aspect in friendship, but so is responsibility. If the main point of the show is to educate the masses about ALL aspects of friendship, then it should go into greater depth about it. It doesn't even have to be much. In the case of "Dragonshy" for example, all that had to be done to tell Rainbow Dash that judging people for their fears is not okay was for one of the other Members of the Mane 6 to say something like "You should be more considerate to other people's feelings" and for her to say something like "Oh, sorry I gave you such a hard time Fluttershy". Quick, easy and not counter-productive at all. Rather helpful actually as it informs the people watching what is socially acceptable to do and what isn't.

Edited December 8, 2017 by Rarity the Supreme

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

If Zerphyl is getting better in his next appearance, and people still find some ways to hate him just because his last episode then i can conclude people are being unfair to him. 

From i saw, I dont see many more people love Starlight Glimmer (many people I know still have the same opinions about her since S6) but i see more people being OK with her presence, season 7 definitely improved Starlight popularity.

Edited December 8, 2017 by Lambdadelta

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,162]

A few posts had to be hidden partially because of going off topic, but also because of needless insults. Do we really need to resort to those? Please avoid that in the future. Not only is it against the rules, but it does nothing to contribute to the main point of the thread. Please keep that in mind.

Also, please avoid backseat moderating. If you see an issue; please report. Don't point it out in the thread.

Thank you.

[Buck Testa 5,505]

10 hours ago, WiiGuy2014 said:

I see your point of emotional baggage in the first paragraph. It was unfair of Zephyr to mooch off his folks like that in the first half.

But it sounds to me that you're missing MY point that a jerk character who managed to improve himself for the better (in this case his fear of failure) can actually be an inspiration to some people to improve themseves! Unlike the other jerk like Flim-Flam bros. and Svengallop, who didn't learn anything!

Do you now see why I'm willing to forgive Zephyr as much as the Mane 6 has forgiven people who did so much worst, like Discord and Starlight?

EDIT: Because I relate to his fear of failure. So when I saw him succeed, it inspired me to finish University.

And that's great and all, but that's not the thing I was answering. The question was "why the unfair character bashing?" 

And I gave you that answer. It's because those characters remind people of assholes in real life, so they have a near Pavlovian response to them when they show up in an episode. It has nothing to do with being fair to the character, it's just how some people respond to those types of individuals. If he ended up being an inspiration to you, great! However not everyone is going to have that response to that personality type. Hell any character on this show can rub a person the wrong way, especially with all of the "I hate X pony cause reasons" threads there are. 

The important thing is to realize that this is just a fictional character and it's best to not put too much emotional investment into defending them. I've known people to take their self identifying with a character WAY to far and would become entirely irrational whenever their character was criticized. It's not healthy to get that worked up over something so trivial. Not saying that is what you are doing, but I am saying make sure to remember that at the end of the day somebody on the internet not liking a character you do isn't the end of the world. 

[AlbaTross 1,586]

8 hours ago, WiiGuy2014 said:

Did you not see my whole point that Zephyr actually improved himself AND had something to relate to. (His fear of Failure) I personally get annoyed when people are ignoring the fact that Zephyr CAN be relatable to certain fans in the right way. Like me.

I just wish Critics would stop acting that there was absolutely nothing good to Zephyr's character at all, when there CAN be something relatable. Can't any of you at least understand that?

I never said that there was nothing good about Zephyr's character.  I was actually just trying to rationalize why people hate on him.  He does redeem himself in the end.  I think people are less concerned with that though, and more focused on the first two acts of the episode.  There's also the recent Equestria Girls short that features the unlikable Zephyr for the sake of a gag which does him no favours.  I certainly think he's a far better character than Zesty, and I'd take him over Feather Bangs too.

[EpicEnergy 23,224]

There will always be a few people who bash characters regardless of whether or not the character deserve it. However, there are some characters who receive more bashing than others because of certain qualities they possess that many consider unlikeable.

[Toastypk 923]

People bashing on characters isn't worth putting your attention too much to, and it doesn't bother me... except in a couple of specific instances.

Stygian is a pony who is incredibly dear to me and I have a gigantic attachment to him and his backstory. But sometimes people will say they disliked him, and that's easy enough to ignore.

....except when it's in a post or video just chock full of negativity, then it runs the risk of getting under my skin and I start wondering what's wrong with them.

Case in point: I search for Stygian in google image search to see if there's something new I can find and upload to derpibooru, but I found someone's post recently that wasn't pleasant to me. https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/847231/mlp-villain-rankings-stygian-the-pony-of-shadows Just full on bashing and rating a 0/10.  I mean, nobody has to like the same characters you do but sometimes it just seems really harsh, more than it needs to.

[They call me Loyalty 1,948]

Why not? Bash away. That is how certain I am of my position regarding some of these characters. It is not like I will go around telling people that they cannot express their opinions. Because if anything, this kind of attitude inspires more critique from people of bad faith, only because you are demostrating your weak position in regards to taking criticism. In other words, it is always better to learn living with oneself, as well as the fact that poeple's perspectives can differ, even when it comes to the meaning of "unfair bashing".

[Tom Gallagher 33,595]

I don’t think any character really deserves it but we’re allowed have an opinion. I’ll always bash the Student Six. 

[dead account 2,713]

I don't know. I prefer to focus on the the characters I like and not bash or hate on the ones I may dislike.

[ExplosionMare 18,086]

Some people have super strong opinions about the characters they don’t like. It’s a bit extreme in my opinion.