Well said, All of you. I agree completely with the Saikyo Brony's original post, Though I must admit to not being at all as zealous about it. Unfortunately, I can't contribute anything to this conversation that hasn't already been said. I am glad to be part of such a supportive community. Jeez, all this talk of relationships, though. It saddens me, due to my personal experiences. But not wanting to hijack the topic, I will keep such things to myself.
On one hand yes, but I have an addition to that. all humans should have the right to love whomever they please AS REASONABLY BOUNDED BY THE LAW. After all, stalking, rape, pedophilia, and a number of other things are illegal, and for good reason. Other things, especially in some parts of the states, are illegal for bad reasons, but those laws are falling steadily, one by one.
Of course a vital addition, but I feel the need for a slight adjustment. Anyone can love anyone and anything. There's nothing in the world that can stop that, not even the person in love. You can't help who you fall in love with. However, the the cases of paedophiles and such, it's acting on these feelings that is wrong. As bad as it seems, unless you're attracted to someone able to consent, then you have to accept that you can't do anything to express that love. Just one of those things. I'm holding firm to my belief that nobody should be judged on a sexuality, but it's undeniable that a relationship between an adult and a child just can't be.
Okay, yes, if someone is being hurt or made unreasonably uncomfortable, then a line is crossed. Unfortunately, that line is blurry, but I try to do my best to define it. Still, in most of these cases, we don't have to worry about people actually hurting each other.
Wow Manehattenite, I got 1/10th through your wall of text before I had the make a comment. I'll write it now so I don't forget. A lot of attraction can come from personality. I have an example were I used to be really good friends, with a girl, who was morbidly obese and really ugly. I loved her personality so much, I came close to asking her out. But I didn't because I realised, that if it got any further then dating. I would not be able to overlook how repulsive she was physically. I eventually decided that I would continue being just friends and not risk any awkwardness between us, by saying anything. Now let's read the rest of what you said Manehattanite. Don't really have anything else to add.
how weird.. my school was just talking about this type of thing, people being bullied for their sexuality or their differences in skin tone or ethnicity and religion. the school's GSA(gay-straight alliance) put a video up talking about the "ItOnlyGetsBetterProject" and i was touched, it made me feel more relaxed and gave me hope in my sexuality. I am Bisexual and i find it disturbing when i go around and hear people talk about gay people like a disease, i am still in the closet about it, so i am not bullied or teased. but i have heard totally shocking comments from some people like "I hate these gay *squee!*s! they are an abomination and make us look bad. i am scared to change in the locker room in fear that the guy next to me is gonna f*** me in the *squee!*!" "gay people are c*** suckers, no doubt about it, they don't care for love, only hard sex." "*squee!*! go place your d*** in a pu*** and not an a**hole!"(some high dude said this to a wall... it was sorta funny... but still offensive) i am not offended by the word gay unless you mean it in a bad way. but the names like *squee!*got, *squee!*, c*** sucker, a**Magnet, fru fru boys, pinkies(not in reference of mlp but in reference of the color), etc. i find absolutely horrible. it makes me feel insecure every day and always make me question if liking guys along with girls is a good thing, and whether if i like both sides just for sexual reasons or for other reasons. i want to stand up against these people who dont agree with gay people and bisexuals, but the group is soo large, one person cant do it alone. i am starting to get angry with publicity on how they treat bronies. the brony fandom spread into my school and a couple of people were teased for wearing rainbow dash shirts. people calling them gay when they arent, trying to blame the furry fandoms bad publicity on the brony fandom by saying its all about the sex. its soo amazing that people are like this. i feel that in this current world, the people who are called "not-normal", or retarded, or disabled, or fat, etc... are the normal people in society, while the "normal" people who make fun of us are the retarded, stupid, fat, disabled slobs. the world is going corrupt in my eyes and i want to do the best i can to fix this. i am not going to be one of the people cowering in a corner waiting for it to end, i am standing up for what i believe in and what i do, and i hope that i can get others to join me. don't make yourself seem inferior because everyone else looks superior, show them that they are wrong and that they are inferior. tl;dr: Stand up for what you believe in and don't let anyone else put you down.
I was agreeing with you all the way up until this point. The general problem with people like that is that they don't consider any other aspect of a human other than the one they are using as a target for malicious attitude. They don't consider the person behind the sexuality or the fandom, just that one single trait. By then turning around and calling them names for being this way is not too far from what they're doing. Yes they're bullies for what they're doing, and probably ignorant and possibly even uneducated, but they're people too. It's easy to preach kindness to the ones under discrimination, but to adhere to it fully, you need to make in unconditional. These people taunting others may be misunderstood, or they may be complete douches. You're not going to find out by simply turning the tables and calling them names, you have to rise above it, not sink down to their level. Otherwise, you're no better than them, and that renders all your well thought out points against them useless. Anyone can say 'yeah, down with bullies, they're cowards', but it takes a bit more humanity to actually empathise, not sympathise, and find out why they act the way they do. Have they had a bad experience with gays? Were they raised in a strict and traditional religious family? Does their culture forbid it? Maybe they're afraid of their own sexuality and have to distance themselves from it as harshly as possible, who knows? There's a side to every story, don't forget that. As Abraham Lincoln said, 'Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?' When you've been under the cosh of said bullying, it's understandable that you would have a tainted opinion of these people, as it's hard not to be biased against people who have directly attacked you, mentally or physically. However, as much as you feel they don't deserve it, you do still have to treat them as human. Like I said, the possibility that they're just douches is still there, but then again, we do have people in this community who are here for the very reasons these bullies claim, so it works both ways. Just be careful you're not becoming the very thing you're trying to stop.
Well, there's quite a bit to say here, so settle on in, this might take a bit. First of all, this is all great on paper, but empathy is a two-sided process. If you can't get the other person to work with you, all you end up doing is getting the other party mad. While this may be of use if you WANT to get them into a blinding fury, it's in most cases counter-productive and taxing. A far better strategy to deal with haters is to just not care, or at least it seems to me that way. First and foremost, I respect free will. This means that if a person chooses a path for themselves, no matter how I disagree with it, I won't force them to do anything. I might suggest an alternate course, maybe even try to convince them, but if they are too stubborn to try, then that's their choice. Sadly, like many above me said, the 'haters' have deep rooted reasons for what they do, and in many cases, will not budge even if the whole world is against them. If this is the case, no amount of caring and compassion will help. The person will have to walk out of this trap they put themselves in on their own. Next, ignoring people tends to make them lose interest. Of course, like I said on my analysis of trolls and haters in a previous thread, this is not always the case, and if you happen to stumble upon a strong troll, this will not help, but in most cases, if you can't talk it away, you can ignore it away. In either case, yes, you can stand there and try to explain that you are trying to help, trying to make them forget their fears, or whatever it is the situation is about, but when push comes to shove, you gotta take action. Sometimes, the best way to deal with a problem is the simplest. Even if it's just getting the person so mad they do something stupid. Anything goes, really, as long as you don't give up, as long as you do something. When you do nothing, that's when you've lost. As for becoming who you fight, that's where moderation comes in. If you can moderate what you do, if you can remain in control of your actions, if you can get past that instinct telling you to gnaw, scratch, and claw, then you can see clearly whether or not you are what you are fighting. If you see you are being overly aggressive, or if you are letting hate get the best of you, step back. It's true, becoming a bully while trying to stop one is too easy, and happens to often, but as long as you control yourself, you should be fine. Fighting hate is a dangerous thing, but it has to be done, and often, it has to be done actively, not passively. After all, when you are attacked physically, would you not fight back? Then how are words any different? Scars from words take just as long to heal from. Luckily, most people who try to fight with words are inept at doing so. TL;DR : Y U NO READ POST? It say about not letting them get upper hand, about pacifists, and all of the other things!
This is a pretty safe rule. You should try to be "the better man" as it were. Giggle at the ghostie, bronies. Well, don't actually giggle at the bullies... But you know what I meant.
i was not trying to point out calling them names as an option, sorry if i did. but i meant that you should stand up for yourself and let the bullies know what they are doing is wrong. if you took it that way then i need to change it, so i don't spread wrong ideas. i disapprove of bullying to the max, bullying doesn't do anything but hurt others and in the end the bully notices his mistake and feels bad for it. i was just saying what i see, i don't know what its like over where you are, but around here, its havoc. even the teachers bully its soo bad. but the school is making big changes and beating down on bullies, they fired a few teachers for bullying already. tl;dr: i did not say to bully the bullies, just let them know what they did is wrong.
Hmm, very interesting thread. Very good on your first TL;DR post, Saikyo. I approve. I was bullied when I was a kid. I was the weirdo that everyone picked on. And I do mean everyone. I've never had more than two or three friends at a time, and most of the time it was one friend. There was one in particular, back in Elementary School, who constantly picked on me. And he got his friends to pick on me, threaten me, and in general, terrorize me. Never got quite so far as actual beatings, however. Perhaps that was because I was a fink - I always told on them. Police were called at one point, I'm not sure what happened with that. That bully dropped out of school after the sixth grade. I never heard from him after that. At first, I was glad. But now, I wonder what happened to him, and wonder why he was the way he was. What made him so cruel? Once, I had an ordinary conversation with him - none of his friends were around, so he talked to me like a regular person. It was very - strange. Which leads me to my next point. I've been with my wife for 26 years. We're very happy together. When we first met, there was a physical attraction, especially on my behalf, at first, but I didn't jump her on Day One. We met at a D&D group every week, talked, got to know each other, started spending time with each other away from the gaming group, and, eventually, realized I was in love. That first bit of physical attraction is always strong, and that's what lots of people act on, and then get all surprised when it doesn't last forever. That strong desire you have when first meeting each other usually only lasts, mmm, maybe a year, if you're lucky. But I imagine that if you spent every day of a year with some gorgeous super-model, that, too, would seem "ordinary." Here's another thing: Do we always agree? No. Do we fight? Yes. But they're never the knock-down, drag-out fights her parents and mine used to have. When we find things we disagree on, we talk it out. I think that's what friends (and, yes, we consider ourselves friends and lovers) do. Sometimes, we have to agree to disagree. My point is this: There's things about her I don't really like, or perhaps I should say, I don't like as much as other things. I'm sure if I got to know you all better, there's things I wouldn't like about you. We're all going to have our differences - it doesn't have to mean we're enemies. Hmm, I'm probably not saying this as well as I'd like, but I hope you can understand my points.
