What things (if any) make you ashamed of being a Brony?

[AlextheAngel]

Noedig, your wisdom is absolute!

[LostSanity]

I think I've found one. Kind of obvious what it is though.

 

When other "Bronies" question my opinions on characters and things I don't like and don't agree with in general. It's even gotten to the point where they outright say that I shouldn't think that way or that it's "wrong."

 

1. It's an opinion. Everyone is allowed to have one. Just because you don't like it or don't agree with it doesn't mean I'm not allowed to have a different one

 

2. Sometimes it's taken so far as to question why I feel the way I do and treated as if I shouldn't feel that way. Really? What's so wrong about it? I don't question anyone else's thoughts on stuff. Mine just happens to be... unique. Or at least that's how I feel when it gets pressed the way that it does.

 

3. Nothing that is said will really change the way I feel about it. But people try to change my mind anyway. Not much gets me to change my mind. The only exception was when Twilight became an Alicorn and then I watched S4. Afterwards, I admitted I overreacted and moved on. Most of the other stuff hasn't changed because I've seen nothing to change my mind about it. In fact... all I see are continuous reasons to feel the way that I do. Which means that anything you try to say won't really do any good because I've seen nothing to change the way I feel about it.

 

Yup. There you go.

 

[Solana]

From what i've seen so far,  It's not necessarily what you say so much as how you say it.

You do tend to come off a bit hostile and tend to overreact.  I think most of us get that you may not mean to, but there it is.

[Noedig]

Well, we shouldn't say things what we don't mean, of course...

If you had a friend that knew you for a long while and your friend understands what you mean, it wouldn't really matter as much on what you say unless you explain to your friend what you really mean.

Now, when you talk to someone who is practically unknown to you, you should consider what you say and what you mean altogether.

 

LostSanity's encounter with that one person was a rough one, the conversation had gone so awry.

I believe it could have been better on his part, but LostSanity was still doing his best to be reasonable, as far as I've seen.

Weird guy, to be honest... I did not mean LostSanity.

[ShatteredCrown]

What you described is fairly endemic to every geeky fandom out there, they all have their share of jerkwards, fawning fanboys, cliques, obsessives, and socially inept, none of this is remotely unique to pony fandom.  It is just part of the baggage one has when they are ever a part of a fandom; my best advice is simply to avoid and ignore such people and focus on those that make the fandom a worthwhile endeavor.

While I can agree that is true, the mlp fandom is in fact one of the worst out there, especially considering the 4chan background, it's definitely up there with the fnaf fandom.

[QueenCerali]

how is it the worst? I haven't seen that great a number of bad people in this fandom compared to others  

[ShatteredCrown]

how is it the worst? I haven't seen that great a number of bad people in this fandom compared to others  

You've probably haven't noticed it around 2013, but it is true, the brony fandom may not be the worst, but it is one of the worst, filled with many who take the brony label too seriously, especially when it comes to anti bronies, and 4 Chan really did a number on it.

[VeiledStorm]

The people that expect money or fame because of their contribution to the community.

[ToothpasteThy]

People seem to fail to remember that the MLP fandom isn't this phenomenon of good or bad peeps. It's just real-world people who happen to like cartoon ponies. It'll be good if you consistently make light of it, or bad if you let it get you down.

 

I personally love the fandom though. For me it really sparks a sense of community with people I don't know at all~ ^_^

[TehBbqdPizza]

I personally don't really care what kind of NSFW content people watch, because let's face it, a fair amount of us bronies watch it anyway, the only difference is regarding how open you are about it. It doesn't matter what fandom you go on, people like 18+ content. I don't have much things to be ashamed about in the fandom, but over the last few months being on MLPForums and other sites it's safe to say that certain bronies do annoy me. 

 

So here's a list:

• Bronies who bash other bronies for not conforming to popular opinions. (There was a massive flame war almost two months ago on the MLPForums, but since it's political I rather not talk about it here)
• Overly pessimistic, misanthropic, and "edgy" people 
• Bronies who try too hard to be a special snowflake
• Bronies who annoy or press non-bronies to like MLP. (recommending is fine, shoving it down their throats is not)
• RPers who take criticism of their OCs too seriously

[Rosewind]

Interesting topic here. I'm looking at this with a retrospective eye since I think -- everything considered -- the whole pony thing has cooled off dramatically. When I first got into this series 5 (!) years ago I was quite happy to take up the mantle of "brony" or "pegasister" or whatever. It was cute. I went to a pony convention, and ponied it up at other conventions that celebrated geek culture.

 

It was really cool connecting with people that were into it too. Fast forward and I think the rose colored glasses have come off, especially since the series has changed. The main writers have left; even the original creator that pushed the re-imagining of FiM only stuck around for one season. I think if this franchise wasn't owned by a toy company with an agenda (which is not un-vanilla, but that is the reality), everything might have panned out differently. Twilight might not have wings. They might not have embraced the adventuresome stories inside mystic friendship castles and instead stuck to more of the slice of life stuff that was meaningful, sincere, and funny to me. When the CMCs finally got their marks, I think the series ended for me personally because it was an amalgamation of final character development. Sure, there were other stories, but the original main story was all done.

 

I still haven't finished the most recent season. I made it half way and the episodes kept putting me to sleep. My husband visited and we tried watching a few together, and again I dozed off. It doesn't hold my interest how it once did. I do plan on eventually finishing it, but it's not in the cards for me right now. I've moved on.

 

I still love and support this site, but I've stepped back from the RP stuff and let those who are still into it continue on with what we've built here. How this relates to the topic at hand? They're really just labels. I've moved on to discover other things, and people who like ponies tend to appreciate other sub-cultures as well, especially in the geeky entertainment sphere. Everyone, everywhere, does embarrassing stuff, or stuff you'd rather not be involved with. Hell, I'm huge into the furry community and I promise you that gets more stigma than ponies do. A lot of it is totally deserved and true, some of it is overblown.

 

At the end of the day we should love, respect, and try to understand each other. If someone is being mean to you because of a stigma, be kind to them. You are representing not only yourself, but the things you are into. Show some class and kindness as a subject of your own merit, and don't worry about what others are doing. It's all about you and what is meaningful to you as a person, labels or non.

[Lux]

I could say pretty much exactly the same thing as Rosewind has. Like her, I started 5 years ago by simply watching the show. I knew nothing about the brony fandom or all the wonderful people there until a few months later, but what hooked me was the show and its interesting characters, great animation, catchy music, and cohesive plot (something that many animated shows had not and still do not do). Finding this fandom only increased my interest as I was exposed to great artists, writers, musicians, craft makers, and role players. This allowed me to come out of my shell and try my hand (or hoof) at drawing, writing fanfiction, and roleplaying. I even got a chance to go to a few pony conventions. 

 

Flash forward to now, and I can see my interest has waned. I still watch the show, draw, and participate in role playing here when I can, but not nearly as much as I did before. To me MLP is another interest like Harry Potter, Middle Earth, Steven Universe, etc. In the end it comes down to loving what you are interested in, and not being ashamed what you do. 

[SunGuppy]

I haven't had many bad experiences with the fandom, I'm getting much better at avoiding people and subjects that might lead to problems. I'm never ashamed of being a Pegasister; I like what I like and that's all there is to it. If the point of this thread is to ask what makes me ashamed by association with others in the fandom, it's usually the people who make the decent, well-meaning Bronies look bad. In my experience there have been a few who consider themselves superior because they've been in the fandom longer and know more about the show, etc. Normally that's not a bad thing, but I've come across some who have told me I'm not really a Brony/Pegasister because I wasn't with MLP from the first season, so I had no place hanging with the 'big guns'. It didn't bother me. In fact it gave me a pretty good laugh. 

[CallosSombra]

Hmm not much really, honestly im not sure if i even consider myself one now but maybe when i watched the show more a year or more  back maybe.

i still collect things from time to time but right now i just enjoy the role play more then the show, That or fan fics. If anything what i hate about people 

who called them selves bronies are not tolerant to others that or are really two faced  to others.