Reflections On The Mixmaster Debacle Today · 5:55am Aug 14th, 2023
Sigh
It seems like every time I intend to leave the internet to get my projects done, something better or worse comes up to drag me back here, and in this case, it has to do with a certain somebody that’s been quite bothersome as of late. Now I am not going to attack him here both because FIMFiction rules explicitly prohibit that and I don’t want you all to feed into his delusions like that by giving him hell. It’s not okay to harass anyone and I think I need to make that very clear, even though I trust y’all to not do that anyway. Plus, I’m adding this disclaimer in case the man of the hour decides to report me to the admins in order to get me banned again if he finds this post and I want to make it 100% irrefutably clear that I am not attacking him whatsoever. But I need to talk about this and get this off my chest because the situation he keeps finding himself in and especially his conduct is one that has consistently managed to impact me in a pretty big way. Let me explain.
So earlier today, Mixmaster226 made the rounds again promoting his “Save My Little Pony” campaign by making a thread on The Insane Creator’s Guild and as expected, me and everyone else clowned on him for being a delusional prick. But even after all of this and the thread got locked, I just can’t help but feel a bit of sympathy for him in a way. I know I shouldn’t, but I understand now more than ever what it is like to start a fandom movement and promote a cause you care about. Obviously, our movement is still in its infancy as the defense video has not come out yet, but the point still remains. It exists and it makes Mix and I two sides of the same coin in ways that I never anticipated. Sure, it was easy to trash on him, but I do see what he is trying to say. This does not in any way make his outright toxic behavior or conduct justifiable by any stretch of the imagination, but he is doing something he cares about. I do not know what it is like yet to put 4 years of your life into something, but I do know what is like to feel like you are the only one who believes in that cause. Contrary to what Boltstrike said in the thread, it is of my belief that Mixmaster’s motivations come from a genuine place, but his way of going about the movement is completely and totally wrong.
What I absolutely can’t stand is how this guy can’t take any criticism whatsoever, and he and I even got into a little spat if y’all were there to see it in regards to whether he was being civil on Brawny Buck’s stream. He flat out accused me of not being civil when I literally wrote him a PM offering my sympathies and encouragement when he penned that bullshit apology open letter, asking to be unbanned from another group. At the time, I thought he was being genuine and I felt bad for him when the thread got deleted, so that’s when I private messaged him. But that was when he showed his true colors to me, deleted my comments, and outright blocked me, but not before calling me out for not supporting him and saying that I’m the problem. I have no idea what possesses someone to be that mean (heck, he makes Ohvist look like a saint), but I do not condone this whatsoever. Now at the time, our encounter could’ve just been written off as another manic episode by this guy, but this matter is actually more personal to me than you might think and it has to do with the very nature of our cause.
I fear that I might become like him. I know it sounds inconceivable, but I’ve been dealing with this self-doubt for quite a while ever since Humanity told me on a previous thread that the way I conducted myself was startlingly similar. And you know what? Looking back on how I responded to what was obviously intended to be a satirical joke on their part, they were absolutely right and I’ve never tried to do that again. I stepped away from frequent debates for that very reason as I became terrified of becoming just like Mixmaster. And it’s honestly a fear that I still deal with. Starting this G5-supporting-reunite-the-fandom movement in the first place has now placed me in the same boat as Mix and I have a responsibility to not let this cause fall into the same trappings as his. A lot of fandom movements are toxic and hateful, and it’s very rare that you see one that isn’t. That’s why I’ve been trying to become better. I think the way he called me out today stuck with me, just like with Humanity’s comments and it’s made me kinda reevaluate this whole situation and whether I want to place myself as the head of my own campaign, knowing full well of the stigma it carries. I see how Mixmaster is so despised (rightfully so) and I see myself going down that road if I’m not careful. I previously talked to ponydog127 about this while we were talking about a situation that I have been politely asked not to disclose nor reveal any details about, so I won’t go any further on that convo, but the point here is that I have been extremely reluctant to reveal this to you all. I know I present myself as 100% confident and self-assured, but that’s more so down to me stepping into the “Hawk Nightwing” character and owning that headstrong personality who doesn’t take crap from anyone. But reality is very much a different story. As I’ve stated prior, I’ve honestly been filled with a lot of self-doubt about the very nature of all of this. The more I see Mix make a fool out out of himself, the more scared I become that I’ll fall down that exact same rabbit hole.
My parents have been incredibly supportive in my endeavors, particularly when it comes to giving me advice about how to navigate the world of being a community activist. This cause means a lot to me, and I’m writing this to get these fears off my chest. I believe in this cause to reunite the fandom so strongly that the prospect of that line between confidence vs arrogance, or campaign head vs cult leader being crossed is very real. And I’ve done my best to make my cause stand out and sound appealing. People are showing up left and right to the channel just for this behemoth of a project and the promise of a fresh perspective that I suddenly find myself thrust into a world that I don’t fully understand yet. You guys obviously deserve the best that I can offer for giving me the time of day at all and I’m still going full steam ahead with this no questions asked. But what Mixmaster did today served as a haunting reminder of what we could become if we’re not careful. Going back to what I said above, I emphasize with Mix on a fundamental level because of his passion for MLP, which is something we both have in common. But passion is a very tight rope to cross and if you’re not careful, you fall off and suddenly become the whining boogeyman of the fandom. That is not what I want. I don’t want to become that guy who constantly spams and whines, the guy who constantly deletes comments and blocks people that give him even a single iota of criticism. I want to be someone who lifts people up, gives advice and encouragement, someone who can serve as the voice of the fandom we used to be, someone who can one day restore this community to the glory of creativity that it once was. We’re basically the last voices of positivity in a fandom that thinks of positivity as old fashioned. And while that may seem like an unattainable goal, I think it’s something we can pull off, unlike “Save My Little Pony.” We don’t even have to bug any corporations to do it. I’m serious about this campaign and I know you all are too. I’ve seen what effect my words alone have on you guys. I’m building a community that I alone have to maintain and that is a huge responsibility in of itself.
I want you guys to consider me a friend more than anything else. And friends know when their friends screw up. If you all see me heading down his path, call me out on that, so we can become better together. Success only comes if we prove ourselves better than our opponents. As the opposing voices in the fandom, we have to show through what we say and the content we make that we’re better than the mainstream pony creators of today. And to do that, we have to approach situations like these with the levels of grace that might seem hard for us to do. We have to remind these people why exactly they fell in love with MLP to begin with and that involves not resorting to the gaslighting and name-calling that people like Mixmaster do. We have to practice a level of restraint, even in situations that may seem impossible to win. Whether or not that means completely ignoring Mixmaster or what, it’s become clear to me that he thrives off of the attention he receives. He will not change his ways no matter how many open letters he pens. Yet I want to believe that at one point, he was a genuine person. I want to believe that “Save My Little Pony” started off as well-intentioned as our movement.
I don’t hate him in spite of everything he has done. I can’t. I see someone so caught up in their own passion that they’ve neglected the most important aspects of it. He’s clearly let the lack of success blindside him and the amount of infamous clout he’s generated by the very mention of his name alone is enough to drive anyone mad with power. He wants to be heard and so do we. But what differentiates us from him is that we’re not toxic like he is. I’ve already encountered him a lot more times than I would’ve liked for one lifetime, so I guess the only thing to do is prove that we’re better by our actions alone. We can’t change him and his supporters, but we can change the normal people in this fandom. And that starts by leading by example. I want to be someone that the community can respect, not shun. And I want us to truly show the uninitiated who we are. The reason why I love seeing stuff like G5 animations and stuff is because that is leading by example. Content like that provides alternative videos to the rampant hate, and it’s clear that the haters are becoming so desperate for relevancy that they’re jumping on the whole “G5 is ending” conspiracy theory train. We need to show who we really are.
Fandom movements shouldn’t be defined by toxicity. So let’s make ours the exception. I still have a lot of learning and growing to do as a person and the work will never be over. But I’m open to it and taking whatever critiques I get providing they come from a constructive and genuine place. We gotta “kill ‘em with kindness” as my dad says. As long as we’re open to learning valuable lessons and growing just like our favorite cartoon ponies of both generations, then that alone makes us better than Mixmaster. I just hope that one day he realizes what he’s doing and I wish the best for him to grow as a person and be accepted back into the fandom at large. My hope is that he sees what we do and learns from it in turn. That would be one of the best things to come out of what we’re doing.
Here’s the link to the thread if y’all are interested: https://www.fimfiction.net/group/198512/the-shameless-self-promotion-bureau/thread/522370/join-save-mlp-to-get-a-better-end-for-g4-made#comment/7866914
Anyways, I’m heading out now. I guess welcome to my TED Talk as David Ayer said. I look forward to reading and responding to your comments, as well as hearing your thoughts. Bye!
Dude, you're just drawing more attention to this guy which is exactly what he wants. Just ignore these idiots or they win.
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True, but this sort of thing honestly has been bothering me for a while now and I needed to get this off my chest. Definitely won’t be talking about him ever again, but I feel like being open about my insecurities to you guys is good as I can trust y’all with this sort of information and your perspectives always help.
Um. I know you got this off your chest and that's good... But I agree with the previous comment.
If you really want him to loose, ignore him and move on. It may sound hard but it isn't, hence why I have survived not one, but two communities that can never stop bitching about the slightest detail they don't like about two of the biggest franchises that ever existed.
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Yeah, I’m aware. I had my reservations going into this one, but it was now or never, honestly. Yeah, from now on, we just need to ignore him. But I needed to talk about this as the offhand comparisons between me and him has affected me for quite a bit and I think it’ll be much easier on me now that I’ve talked about this once.
That man is one of the worst and most toxic people in the Brony Fandom. He cannot seem to move on from the fact that the show ended (whether he liked the final season or not) and will block anyone that calls him out on his bullsh*t campaign). He also blocked me as well on Twitter.
4 Years later and there is absolutely no change in him. He was same arrogant a**hole in 2019 and 4 years later, his campaign is still going and possibly making more signatures.
I hope someone at Hasbro lawyers up against him and call him out on his BS.
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media.tenor.com/QdXlGjynt2wAAAAC/correct-plankton.gif
I can see where your fears come from. You don’t have much restriction online and it might almost be too late before you realize how far you’ve fallen.
Rest assured, I promise that if I sense you are becoming a bully or someone similar that I’ll make sure you get the picture right away.
I still don't understand why social media let him get away with something like this knowing for a fact what he's doing is very delusional and probably cyber bullying other people who likes other direction of the later season of the My Little Pony friendship is Magic and even G5 it kind of makes me feel like is fimfic is not going to do anything despite how many times people complain about him how does he get away with it what's going on fimfiction
Well said. Being firm in your goals and beliefs is usually not a bad thing; it's how you manage those goals and beliefs that's the big part.
Here's an example from history.
Back in the 19th and 20th Centuries, there was a railway system in eastern England called the Midland and Great Northern. When it closed in 1959, a society was formed to save all of it.
It was quickly pointed out the plan was unworkable, and as such the plans were scaled back. They eventually saved 5 1/4 miles of the M&GN-well short of the original plan, but better than nothing.
Here's where the comparison is clear. Both the society and MixMaster started with lofty but well-meaning plans, but where they vary is how they respond to constructive criticism. Had the society acted like MixMaster no railway would have been saved at all.
Unfortunately, some manchild maniacs out there just never change.