Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But I think no one should go around scruitnizing others about what they like, or believe in. This can be seen quite often. Someone will always find one thing that they hate, and then they have to let the world know they hate it so much. Now, why am I saying such a thing? Well, I am here to say my input on something that should be addressed not just in the MLP Community, but in society itself. And that happens to be... Extremists. When I say this word, I do not refer to the big ol' T word that American Media loves to throw around, but rather how crazy people are when it comes to them wanting to prove their point. In the MLP Community, we know the two types of extremists. We have the total loser who envelops his entire life based on a children's show, to the point that he/she/it has a fetish for it, and dresses up in events. Then we have the guy that is just not happy with hating, but rather wanting to ridicule them for every little thing they do. Of course, this is not new. This is an ancient ideal simply translated into popular internet culture. The more general term described for such a thing is a Duality: meaning you on either on side of the fence, or the other. There is no middle ground. If you're not a Democrat, you're a Republican. If you're not a Christian, you might be a Satanist. Such thinking in today's world limits freedom of a person. Taking MLP into account, let's assume the following... Let's assume that you are neither a fan, nor a hater of the show. Like many, you honestly just don't care. If you are surrounded by a group of people who happen to like MLP:FIM, they might assume you hate the show and ridicule you. The same can be said for a group of people who dislike the show, provided you give them your most honest opinion. By looking at this example, one can see dualities (In this case like or hate) can sometimes suck people into un-needed situations. Dualities can easily caterogize people, assuming who they are without really getting to know them. If a person was neither a Democrat or Republican, they will surley see you as a Liberal, regardless if you believe in such ideals or not. Therefore, this is why I beleive such needless points such as (Hate the haters, or hate the no-life fans) do absolutley nothing whatsoever to help. But what about the people supporting on one of the sides? By engaging in stereotypical practices, you are making your ownself ignorant, while at the same time trying to make the other guy seem bad. To conclude, I have this to say: "There is nothing wrong with life. It's the people in it." If you think this statement is false, think of such things like... School Work Religion Culture Social Life Etc. I, for one, enjoy the show MLP: FIM because it's like a masterpiece, in the way the show was put together, and the end result. But I'm afraid that's as far as I'll go, for I have no need for fan groups, merchandise, and Flame wars. The same can be applied for almost any aspect of life. I am also not willing to fight tooth and nail for ANY ideal, like/dislike I may have, for I always have the benefit of the doubt. __________________________ Thank you if you took the time to read this. This was just a thread to get some of my thoughts together. Feel free to reply and post your own opinions.
There will always be people out there who hate you for some reason. For example I tried to understand vegan views and it ended up making me hate them instead because they hate me for eating meat. It certainly seems like human nature to care more for an ideal and those who follow when more people express how much they hate it. The more I try to act intelligent or think about any subject, the more I will likely find negativity, which is why I like to play dumb a lot of the time. No matter how open and nice you want to be, it can be very easy to lose yourself in a moment. I just feel like I'm babbling at this point, so I'll cut it here. Oh, one more thing. Something I've been noticing a lot lately is people seem to focus more on what they hate than what they love.
This is all about "the grey area" and the problem is that society still doesn't raise people to understand that the world isn't always black and white. There are still too many close-minded people out there who victimize people who want to be different and find themselves. As for the fans that are deeply attached to FiM and the ones who outright hate it: they'll always exist. For better or for worse, every end of the spectrum is covered. I think neither party is bad as long as they say what they want to and move on. If fans want to drown themselves in merchandise, more power to them. If haters want to waste their time in a self-righteous attempt at taking the fans down a notch, more power to them (mostly because they just get ignored and their opinions are hilarious). Fanatics and haters. Neither has the potential to outdo the other in good or bad. In the meantime, we tolerate what we don't love. The world has yet to be weaved around the truth. I hope to see the day when it is.
I completely agree with OP. Yet sometimes I feel like I'm a tolerance extremist... Like, I sometimes catch myself dismissing someone to be a bad person, when they're being intolerant towards something.
well, personally, I don't see why someone would be characterized by one single thing they like/do. For example, you could count me in as big mlp fan (buying merchandize, going to conventions, etc.), but for example, I spend 3 times more money on snowboarding than on poines. Or, I'm vegetarian as well. Also, I'm engineering student. So there are 4 stereotypes in one person: - vast mlp fan that has no life, and all he does is play with mlp toys all day - drug eating, all night party snowboarder that spends all day at skate/snow park, and has no education - Tree hugging guy that will throw red paint on your if you wear fur - know it all guy with no life who studies all day, and does nothing else. Some things are quite contradictory. As someone above said, world isn't black and white. Personally, I don't hate anyone that's different than me, I don't see point in it, and I think it's stupid. So what if someone's a mlp hater, I actually have few friends that are mlp haters, and I get along great with them. Simply I don't talk about mlp, end of story. I don't hate them because they hate mlp, and they don't hate me because I like the show, mlp isn't only part of my personality, same as in any person in the world.
I almost want to throw in a "you don't say" face in here, but I'll abstain. Mostly because I'm too lazy to look for one. By the by, you used the word "duality" incorrectly. Exactly opposite to be exact.
Aside from all the other opinions out there, I think you summed up mine. A couple of weeks ago, I told my Dad how my borther like MLP. His responce? "I like cartoons." I think people should accept everyone, based on their personality and morals, not their looks, or fame.
That's a lot easier said than done. I think the only way that would be possible is if everyone was blind.
