A Clarification

Right, this post is going to be fairly... spoiler-ish with regards to Three Little Words. Therefore, if you would like to maintain some semblance of surprise, I'd scroll back up the page.

Now.

Okay, since you've stuck around, you may be wondering what exactly Three Little Words was about, or wanted to know precisely why I would mock something held quite dear by many in the fandom.

With that in mind, I intend to clarify exactly what my stance is on 'Love and Tolerance'.

There is a TL;DR version available at the end, just in case you've already had enough of sifting through a wall of text from me. So, without further ado, here's a very slightly cropped version of something I prepared earlier :

"Basically, the idea for Three Little Words was born out of the threads during Derpygate. Not about the change, at all, but about one little sentence in Kreoss' reply: 'you're forgetting you own motto'.

And that got me thinking. 'Love and Tolerance'. Is that really such a good idea?

Now, obviously, I know there is a difference between the words 'love' and 'tolerance' and the meaning of the phrase 'Love and Tolerance'. The phrase describes the general atmosphere of the community, which I think could best be summed up in a little speech I was going to give to Celestia in this story:

"Of course, it is a wonderful land, Equestria, where the magic of harmony and friendship are held deep in the hearts of everypony.

But that doesn't mean that everypony will always get along, and nor should you worry about that. Some ponies love frills and fashion; some could hardly care for it. Some ponies love to run around and play all day; some would think it a terrible waste of their time for learning. You're all different, and myself and Luna love each and every one of you for it.

So you should never feel afraid to express your opinion, or to disagree with somepony. The important thing is to try and keep hatred from seeping into your words. Be respectful, be accepting of your differences, but, most importantly, accept that other ponies are just as entitled to an opinion as you."

A little wordy, and probably un-Celestia-ish, but that basically sums it up, as does some parts of Pinkie's monologue near the end. And, for the most part, we do stick to broadly that idea.

So, my issue was 'Where do the words 'love' and 'tolerance' come into that?'

Okay, 'Love' I can understand, and to be honest that was directed more at the people you agree with. But 'Tolerance'?

When I think tolerance, I think Wilt from FHFIM. Tolerance is when you simply put up with something, irrespective of your own opinion, and, to me, it is just about the laziest response to an issue that there possibly is. Not only because you do nothing in terms of support or opposition, but because you don't change your own view. You don't accept anyone else's opinions or viewpoint, or grow as an individual; you just grit your teeth and bear it, letting the hatred and anger build up.

And that, I think, would be an awful lesson for a children's show. Which is good, because the show doesn't actually teach it in the slightest.

However, going by some of the threads and comment responses, you would think that love and tolerance would be the entire message of the show. Especially in the blanket manner that some people in the fandom appear to throw it out for every, single issue. Now, I know that those people are referring to the ideas behind 'Love and Tolerance', of respect for each other, acceptance of differences, polite discourse etc., and not what those words actually mean. But, as a 'semantics-nazi', as it were, it constantly makes me feel as if you can't criticise or disagree with anything and be a Brony at the same time.

So that's where this idea came from. To sum it up in one sentence, this is how I imagine Pinkie would react to discover that all of her friends had to adhere to the new values of 'love' and 'tolerance'. "

TL;DR: I have no issues at all with what people usually mean when they ask for 'Love and Tolerance' (that is, to remember the show's lessons and values). I think they're fine. I think that they should be encouraged!

I just think, and this is probably me thinking too deep, that we could give these values a better moniker--because the current one is wrong without ever looking like it's wrong.

Comments

[General Spritz]

Haw. Well analyzed indeed.