What is intelligence? The dictionary defines intelligence as "capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings, etc." So we are talking about an ability to learn, to retain what we've learned, and to logically use our knowledge to reason and make connection with the thing we see in daily life. I was called an idiot the other day, nothing major, I wasn't offended to much, until I heard the reason for the harsh words. "You swear, and only stupid people swear because they can't express themselves normally." So launching a debate with this person was inevidable. I have suffered from an extream social-phobic disorder for most of my teenage years, and in that time, I had compleatly shut myself away from the social aspects of the world. I got into writing and my vocabulary grew immensily (Although my spelling still sucked). When I came back into the social world, I could not pick up on any of the social cues that everyone had already mastered. I talked to my classmates like a 13 year old would talk to an older kid (With a distant respect), except my words were longer and more complicated. So there was occasionally times when there would be a gaping hole in my speech, as my extensive vocabulary would cause words to bounce around my head, and make it hard to find the one I wanted to put in the space. So sometimes I would just curse, to buy myself time to think, or to replace the lost word. This was my arguement, while she basically spouted her above statement, with different wording. And then I realized, that this girl was known to have high grades in all her classes. And she is stupid. School is something that rates your intelligences by you ability to regurgitate given information onto a sheet of paper, a system that makes you seem smart if you have a good memory. I have a friend, really booksmart guy, 94% average overall. He is intelligent, but not logical. I on the other hand, have a 70% average. I am not intelligent, but I'd like to think I'm logical. Confused? Here this is how I see it; Intelligent: A person who scores well in school. Logical: A person who can use logic to make well thought out decisions throughout daily life. Stupid: Someone who would lack the ability to survive in the outside world with their high intelligence, but lack of logic. Idiot: Someone who lacks intelligence and logic. Smart: Someone who has both intelligence and logic. So as someone who is seen by an idiot, by a stupid girl in my class, as well as the school system, I feel kinda weird trying to change our definition of smart and intelligent, but I personally think the words need some fixing up. I'm not a intelligent... but just maybe, I could be logical.
I recently got into a conversation with a friend of mine, who has verbally voiced his distaste for bronies for a while now, and I, knowing this from before I became one, never brought it up with him. But today casually I said I was doing research on popular internet groups, and bronies were one of them. I asked him why does he dislike them so much, and he responded with the classic "It's a show for little girls, and it's creepy for older guys to watch it." I proceded to point out that if older woman watched Transformors (the cartoon) no one would say anything about it. He grunted and mumbled but still insisted that he was somehow right. It brought to my attention the idea of masculinity, and what society wants their men to be like. In the teen's react to MLP video one of the girls said she wouldn't date a brony because she wanted a guy that was 'tough.' Who says bronies can't be tough? Who says we are gay for watching a show about ponies? Society. Society that wants their men to be tough. When people see a show that was intended for younger girls they don't view the show as tough, or manly, instead as soft, and girly. And those tags stick to those who watch it. Then he brought up a point I've never thought of. He talked about those who use the show in a more... "adult" way (rule 34), and when I mentioned this was mearly a subgroup and it was unfair to generalize like that, he shook his head and said. "You just proved my point, bronies want to 'love and tolerate' but I've seen them rip into those who view the same thing as them, just in a different way." And that made me stop and really think, and the first thing that came to mind, was a personal favourite quote of mine. "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." Friedrich Nietzsche In our struggle to love and tolerate our haters, and in our desire to be loved and tolerated by them, have we become like them? Have we singled out those who like things that are different form ourselves, and laid judgement upon them? I would have to say yes, I personally have, and I know of other who have. When we stand by the pledge to love and tolerate, we can not single out those who use the fandom differently then us, and become the monsters we are trying so desperatly to fight. Toleration should not end and the 18+ rating, and I've noticed that on this website, we seem to be a bit more accepting of that form of expression, art and writing. And for that I am proud. But still things like this, make me cringe when I realized, I thought like that, and was being a compleat hypocrite. Anyways that was just a rant I wanted to put down, I don't need to be comforted, or anything like that. But rather, I would be greatful if you could read it and just take a moment to think about it.
