I Aim to Be on the Side of the Angels

Blog Number 79: "How a Fan Should Behave" Edition

Now, I like to think (but don't necessarily think) I'm a lot of things: open-minded, civil, reasonable without being a perfectionist, amiable, encouraging, a provider of constructive feedback and moderately intelligent insight.

These are principles I want to uphold, because I'd rather make a little slice of Heaven on Earth, so to speak, and that tends to require us being generously disposed to each other.

Apparently, there exist some people who think making a little slice of Hell - by insulting, by targeting, by bullying, by tormenting, by dehumanizing, by demonizing, all the way up to the supreme crimes of torturing and killing - is somehow a good thing. Not a regrettable evil, or a sad fact of fate. A good thing.

And while the psychologist in me prompts me to consider the causes and reasons of such outlooks - perhaps local peer pressure, or a particular upbringing, or jumping to conclusions based on a personal trauma and a lack of statistical training or comprehensive education - that's akin to my interest in how a coronavirus originated. It doesn't change the fact that this is a bad thing.

I have no truck with it. It is to be hoped some people can change their minds, but until they do, I want to lend my voice to those who say: Your behaviour will not be welcome here.

---

You know, this recent spate of blog posts has been both heartening and dismaying. Heartening, because at least we can see well-intentioned folks coming out to condemn such things as institutional racism that should have gone extinct long ago. Dismaying, because we apparently still need such a condemnation.

When it gets to a point people have to reaffirm that we are NOT a fandom of barely-need-an-excuse bullies with delusions of grandeur, to be lumped in with those making a windmill-tilting spectacle of themselves, I'm pretty open to the idea of banning any user who thinks hostile conduct is worthy of a civilized forum. Because this behaviour is simply unacceptable.

I won't reiterate what's been reported better on other people's blogs, by people who are in the thick of the societal breakdown that is modern USA at the moment. But frankly, I'm appalled.

I'm appalled by a lot of what's going on in the world, starting with that wretched coronavirus and the lives it's claimed. But at least a virus has no brain. It has, in a sense, an excuse for its behaviour.

I'm appalled that the system across the Pond is so bad that it's led to this breakdown. I'm appalled that, in this day and age, we have to remind ourselves that it's a very bad/stupid thing to be racist, i.e. to treat millions of people as colour-coded for your moralistic convenience like cartoon goodies and baddies. As if you can sum up the complexities of the human species into a bunch of crude caricatures.

I'm appalled that all the deaths - of victims of police brutality, of people caught in the crossfire of rioters, of police officers trying to find some peace to keep in all this mess, of protesters who wanted to do what a democracy is supposed to let them do and change the law peacefully - are happening, at any time but especially right at a time when we've already got a goddamn virus tearing people's lungs apart. I'm appalled at the political farce that is the descendant of a country that once prided itself on founding a nation with so much ambition and (for its time) human insight.

I'm appalled that, at such a time, one of our fandom's current poster boys and media representatives apparently thinks charging at people with a sword because Jesus would like it is a sane response to any crisis. And I'm appalled that our own fandom plays host to such people, who seem to think a show about optimism and friendship is best served by associating with an ideology that does nothing but spit, laugh mockingly at everything except itself, and delude itself into thinking that this is a civilized way to behave.

---

Let me remind you of what this show and the fans who respect it do and have done:

• they give to hundreds of charities;
• they donate money as soon as they find someone in dire straits;
• they go out of their way to track down and help any people who suffer depression or who are on the brink of suicide;
• they can discuss episodes/characters/stories they like and don't like without forgetting other people can take different experiences from the same things;
• they give people who might otherwise have lived quieter, darker lives a chance to shine;
• they hear someone announce they're LGBTQ+ and they welcome them to the herd just the same;
• they try and uphold the virtues of a fandom that is one of the few cheerful havens in a world where being "cynical" and "edgy" too often gets confused with being "smart" or "grown-up", as if the height of human achievement involved assuming all of creation was a faddish dystopia.

That is what the fandom has been, and is in many places, and should be, and - if all goes well - will continue to be. That is not even an exhaustive list of what this fandom is capable of. That is what I would like to see people strive for.

---

Now, I've got no say on what happens in the rest of the world. I've got no say on what happens to the rest of the site, either. For the most part, if someone wants to get on a podium and make an arse of themselves, that's their business.

But I have no interest in associating with people who'd fail the basic morality exam of human decency if they were asked to take it with a cheat sheet. That's not what I signed on for, and there are frankly better, more intelligent subcultures to seek out and spend time in, on this site alone.

So while I hope such people realize what they're actually getting mixed up in and find a better identity to integrate into society with, let me make this simple: if I see any such nonsense in my corner of the site, I'm not going to give it the time of day. I'm not going to tolerate it. I'm not even going to give it the benefit of the doubt: it's not my job to accommodate obnoxious people in the hope they someday achieve an award in basic communication skills.

Because as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't belong here, it doesn't belong in a civilized forum, it doesn't belong in any plane of reality that's worth being on. A user block is entirely an option if I don't like your general conduct. We have rules here, anyway, but I'm making it clear I personally expect a polite, respectful, good-faith outlook and a lack of unnecessary rudeness. It is simple courtesy.

---

Lastly, I want to give a shout-out to the blogs that raised my awareness of the issues touched upon here. Most of you will have read them already, and this is not an exhaustive list. If nothing else, it's important to see that there are other people besides me who don't like what's going on, and who knows? Maybe I'll have pointed them out to you.

This is my first and last word on the matter. This is not a negotiation thread. I'm angry so much unpleasantness has befallen the site; I certainly won't waste patience on anything that makes me even angrier. There are better ways to spend one's time, and it's not hard to think them up.

That's all for now. Impossible Numbers, out.

---

1. /mlpol/, Or It's A Dangerous Business, Walking Out Your Front Door. [CYNEWULF]
2. Doesn't feel worth it anymore and Positivity [MRNUMBERS]
3. A quick personal update and A quick reminder [PRESENTPERFECT]
4. Black Lives Matter [R5H]
5. This Blog Doesn't Get a Cute Title [FANOFMOSTEVERYTHING]
6. Black Lives Matter [ORBITING KETTLE]
7. I've been away for a while. Has anything interesting hap... *spit-take* [defunct] and Remember and Best Blog EVER [IISAW]
8. Black Lives Matter [CARABAS]
9. On BLM and Taking a Stance [MONOCHROMATIC]
10. Always Remeber [KRACK-FIC KAI]
11. Black Lives Matter [RBDASH47]
12. A Necessary Read & A Statement [MODMCDI]
13. Nature photos to remind everyone that there is beauty in the world [on remembering there is beauty in the world] [THE VOICE IN THE WATER]
14. Black Lives Matter [WISHCOMETRUE]
15. All I Have Are Candles [PATCHWORKPOLTERGEIST]
16. On Protests and Police Brutality [CLEVERPUN]
17. Toleration Of Intolerance Leads To Nothing But Intolerance and Fuck Off And Die Nazis [REGIDAR]
18. Black Lives Matter; making a few things clear here. [SILENT WHISPER]
19. #BLM (or, how Priest destroys the foundation of his platform with one blog) [FLUTTERPRIEST]
20. you already know what this blog is gonna be about [SEMILLON]
21. A Short Essay from a Pale-Skinned Black Man Living in America [THE ALBINOCORN]
22. One Last Update [PROFESSOR PLUM]
23. In Case It Wasn't Clear [SEER]
24. Complicity and Complacency (Or: What to Do When Your Neighbor's House Is On Fire) [AQUAMAN]
25. Black Lives Matter [ZONTAN]
26. I'm not dead [THEMASKEDFERRET]
27. Aquaman explains things far better than I could [PETRICHORD]
28. On Current Events: BLM· [WANDERER D]
29. A small update and clearing up of some things [RK_STRIKER_JK_5]
30. My turn to speak up [DRAKEYC]
31. Peoples' Lives Are Not Politics and Reposting Because Even More Appropriate Now [BATWINGCANDLEWAXXE]
32. Black Lives Matter. [TUMBLEWEED]
33. Diversity and Inclusion [RIVER SHY]
34. A post I don't want to make, but I am [Broader concerns about the message of friendship and its mindset] [WINSTON]
35. Prejudiced [AUGIEDOG]
36. You Know [BLAZZINGINFERNO]
37. Well that happened [on the positivity of the show's influence and why it should be celebrated] [DOCTOR FLUFFY]
38. Black Lives Matter [LURKS-NO-MORE]
39. Two Bits Of News Related To The Riots That May Give You Some Hope [PURPLE PATCH]
40. Have Compassion for your Fellow Man [PROPMASTER]
41. Putting in the full quote this time and In which Logan rambles a lot [LOGANBERRY]
42. Staying silent no longer [THE BRICKLAYER]
43. A Brief Post Concerning the State of Things in the US [VIKING ZX]
44. Racism Sucks [VREN55]
45. Justice [ANTIQUARIAN]
46. Signal / Noise [GREYNOISE]
47. Can't think of a title. [HAZEYHOOVES]
48. Public Service Announcement [JADE DAWN]
49. Black Lives Matter [RAZGRIZS57]
50. What can I do? [OLDEN BRONIE]
51. BLM [6SAMUELB]
52. Black Lives Matter [ANONPENCIL]
53. Riot Prevention [LOFTY WITHERS]
54. On Current Developments [THE CLOPTIMIST]
55. History in our time. [SYLVIAN]
56. The Pandemic of Hatred [MILLER MINUS]
57. Heartache and Black Lives Matter [BABRONIEDAD]
58. Others Have Said It Better, but I Must Share My Support [FLASHGEN]
59. Black Lives Matter [RAINBOWSPARKLE3]
60. Send not to know for whom the bell tolls... [PENNINGTON INKWELL]
61. I don't get it, man [CSQUARED08]
62. I'm tired and sad and angry [ARAGON]
63. Black Lives Matter [TRICK QUESTION]
64. What the hell [NORWEGIAN BOY]
65. Black Lives Matter - Full Stop [MORNING SUN]
66. (Why Shouldn't You Be) Staying Silent [SLEDGE115]
67. #Where'sTheHarmony? [NATURE PASTEL]
68. Solidarity [CALIAPONIA]
69. My Take on Recent Events [SON_OF_HEAVEN176]
70. Black lives matter [THATOTHEROTHERGUY]
71. A statement [NURARIHYON]
72. Black Lives Matter [ETHER ECHOES]
73. Black Lives Matter [also contains video link to other organizations via YouTube] [CAVEMONKYNICK]
74. Silence is not an option. [THE OLD PLUG]
75. Black Lives Matter [SHILIC]
76. A message from your Landgrave [THE LANDGRAVE]
77. Nothing changes if you don't change it [HONEY MEAD]
78. Use of Force [MAGNETBOLT]
79. Black Lives Matter [ALAMAIS]
80. The Newer, Angrier Fimfiction [XJUGGERNAUGHTX]
81. Because it needs to be said· [DAVE BRYANT]
82. Anger [HEARTSHINE]
83. You Are Not Alone [HORSE VOICE]
84. Vague Undercurrents [DAEDALUS AEGLE]
85. Take a Stand [CRYSTALCHAMELEON]
86. I was wrong about everything and I am ashamed of myself. [ARWHALE]
87. Bronies and Nazism Article [MUSHROOMPONE]
88. State of the Author [item nearer the bottom of the post] [ROSE QUILL]
89. Growing Pains (I'm not innocent/Tu quoque) [TWI-FI]
90. Stream's up, and addressing the room's local elephant [also raising awareness of charitable causes] [FLYNT COAL]
91. Black Lives Matter [SONIAK]
92. On Jetfire2012, the man who tried to kill protestors with a sword and Pride and Positivity Event [SIGMASONICX]
93. Mental Hygiene In Times Of Nastiness [ROMS]
94. Unplugged: deliberate ignorance is anti-bliss [ESTEE]
95. Story Advice, and Absolutely Nothing Else [CHRIS]

EDIT: Please note the list continues in the comments here and here. The lists combined yield a total of 90 users posting blog entries responding to recent events, excluding my own blog entry here.

N.B. All of these are samples taken from all the blogs on-site: this is not a complete list.

SECOND EDIT: Compiling the whole list here, instead of leaving it scattered through the comments, because... I honestly don't know why I didn't just do that before. It makes more sense to centralize it.

---

Comments

[Artist]

I agree, why are these people even here?

[Impossible Numbers]

5277890

The short answer is because the human species is incredibly diverse and full of all kinds of characters, and unfortunately that diversity includes the less commendable kinds that spoil it for others.

[Artist]

5277896
I do not like them

[Carabas]

Good on you, Numbers, and much obliged to you for putting this together. It's heartening to have that reminder of the good this fandom can achieve, and to see that list of folk who've spoken up.

[Impossible Numbers]

5277938

Yes, in a few years or decades, I want people to look back on this fandom and see it at its best. That means it has to be at its best, to justify that verdict. And also because personally, it and the show have provided some genuinely benevolent influences for me to take up, in many forms.

[Impossible Numbers]

5277978

Honestly, I wouldn't recommend reading many of those blogs if you want a happy time. Some of them pull no punches. I don't recommend reading the news too often, either: just enough to keep in the loop but not dwell on it.

One of the nice things about the MLP:FiM fandom is that it has provided spaces where you can give some friendly cheer to yourself and to others. I'm proud to associate with people who want to provide that kind of environment.

[PresentPerfect]

That is a lot more blogs than I knew existed. :O

[Impossible Numbers]

5278031

Oh, absolutely. If something's wrong, it should be corrected. We won't improve our lot in life by pretending we're in a good place when we're not. Long before today, I've had to learn that the hard way, and in some respects, it's still not an easy lesson to take on board.

5278033

Like I said, this is not even an exhaustive list. To be fair, some posts inevitably focus on different issues to others, so the overlap can be tenuous, but the collective can basically be summed up as a response to the general unpleasantness of the last few days.

[PresentPerfect]

5278042
It's heartening to see that large number outside the circle of what I usually see on this site. :)

[iisaw]

Thank you for posting that blog list! So many good folk out there.

I wish that some of the more "horse-famous" fans would chime in... time will tell.

[Replica Knight]

This made me think of the years where we knew each other but now were strangers among familiar faces

[Crack-Fic Casey]

Thank you for collecting all of these blogs together! Manehattanite left some good comments on mine, you should read what she said.

[BatwingCandlewaxxe]

Very well said. It's very heartening to see so many people on this site coming out against the bad actors, and the culture that supports them. One tends to feel overwhelmed by it all, sometimes. Good to know we aren't alone.

[The Cloptimist]

The post is excellent; the list is extremely useful (and heartening in itself, of course). I've linked back here, if you don't mind. And thank you.

[R5h]

Good post! I'm happy to see the swell of people speaking out. Enough is enough.

[Doctor Fluffy]

I got linked to?! Huh. Well damn. I wasn't even expecting anyone to read it!

I was inspired to do it by Cynewulf's blog after Sledge115 linked me to it.

[BlazzingInferno]

Thanks for putting this list together. As bad as things are it's good to know we're not alone in our outrage, not in the larger world, not on fimfic

[vren55]

Thanks for the shoutout mate!

[Sypher]

Thanks for the blog collection and for lending your voice.

[Loganberry]

That long list at the bottom heartens me, even if I'm most unlikely to read my way through the lot. As 5278357 says, enough is enough -- though in truth enough has been enough for a long time. Too long.

[Impossible Numbers]

And more and more blog posts keep weighing in. I've noticed several added since posting this - though I don't intend to chronicle beyond that, as I'm starting to feel drained by the experience, to be frank - and yet the number is still growing. See the bottom of this comment for examples.

5278110

Hm, I can understand where you're coming from, but neither would I blame them or anyone for wanting to stay away from this whole toxic business. Some people do come here for the escapism; they don't necessarily want that sort of thing looming over the experience.

5278130

Forgive my ignorance, but I feel that's a reference to something, and I can't for the life of me figure out what. Would I be correct in thinking that?

5278180

Oh, I did. That nerd culture comment alone makes for some sobering reading. I mean, I knew there were some pretty entitled people out there, but that's a whole other level of effrontery...

5278207
5278795

Solidarity is the key. We don't have to agree with each other on everything, of course: that would tip over to conformity, and the problems therein. But it is good to know one has allies to rely on.

5278266

Not at all! I've read your blog post and couldn't sympathize more. Who wants to associate with the sort of aggressive idiocy we've been seeing lately? Not on my site, if I can help it.

5278357
5278942

The trouble is, I rather suspect enough will never be enough in some quarters. The fact that we've gotten to this stage at all speaks volumes.

5278671

Cynewulf's was one of the earlier ones I stumbled across myself. I was, as you can gather from the OP, appalled by what I discovered. Thereafter, I had a look around to see what other people were saying on the topic. Every blog post I've linked to, I've read.

5278845
5278891

You're very welcome.

---

1. Signal / Noise [GREYNOISE]
2. Can't think of a title. [HAZEYHOOVES]
3. Public Service Announcement [JADE DAWN]
4. Black Lives Matter [RAZGRIZS57]
5. What can I do? [OLDEN BRONIE]
6. BLM [6SAMUELB]
7. Black Lives Matter [ANONPENCIL]
8. Riot Prevention [LOFTY WITHERS]
9. On Current Developments [THE CLOPTIMIST]
10. History in our time. [SYLVIAN]
11. The Pandemic of Hatred [MILLER MINUS]
12. Heartache and Black Lives Matter [BABRONIEDAD]
13. Others Have Said It Better, but I Must Share My Support [FLASHGEN]
14. Black Lives Matter [RAINBOWSPARKLE3]
15. Send not to know for whom the bell tolls... [PENNINGTON INKWELL]
16. I don't get it, man [CSQUARED08]
17. I'm tired and sad and angry [ARAGON]
18. Black Lives Matter [TRICK QUESTION]

+ Remember [IISAW] - N.B. Second post to one in the OP

Just keep in mind I'm not going to keep track of all of them. This is getting to be an exhausting task.

[Sledge115]

5278671

I'm happy you did, mate

And thank you, Impossible Numbers, for linking as many blogs as you can.

We are not alone.

[Loganberry]

5278949

The trouble is, I rather suspect enough will never be enough in some quarters. The fact that we've gotten to this stage at all speaks volumes.

Indeed so. Though a more optimistic way of looking at it is: things becoming better-but-not-perfect is still preferable to things not getting better at all.

[Impossible Numbers]

All right, one last round of links. This is at my limit now. I'm not doing any more.

That gives us 89 users minimum posting blog entries on-site, not including my own blog here. Doubtless there will be more that I either overlooked already or will miss as a result of not keeping up.

Remember: this is not a complete list. This is intended to be a sample only.

1. What the hell [NORWEGIAN BOY]
2. Black Lives Matter - Full Stop [MORNING SUN]
3. (Why Shouldn't You Be) Staying Silent [SLEDGE115]
4. #Where'sTheHarmony? [NATURE PASTEL]
5. Solidarity [CALIAPONIA]
6. My Take on Recent Events [SON_OF_HEAVEN176]
7. Black lives matter [THATOTHEROTHERGUY]
8. A statement [NURARIHYON]
9. Black Lives Matter [ETHER ECHOES]
10. Black Lives Matter [also contains video link to other organizations via YouTube] [CAVEMONKYNICK]
11. Silence is not an option. [THE OLD PLUG]
12. Black Lives Matter [SHILIC]
13. A message from your Landgrave [THE LANDGRAVE]
14. Nothing changes if you don't change it [HONEY MEAD]
15. Use of Force [MAGNETBOLT]
16. Black Lives Matter [ALAMAIS]
17. The Newer, Angrier Fimfiction [XJUGGERNAUGHTX]
18. Because it needs to be said· [DAVE BRYANT]
19. Anger [HEARTSHINE]
20. You Are Not Alone [HORSE VOICE]
21. Vague Undercurrents [DAEDALUS AEGLE]
22. Story Advice, and Absolutely Nothing Else [CHRIS]

[son_of_heaven176]

5278949
Thank you for the shout-out.

[Impossible Numbers]

5281192

My pleasure!

[Lofty Withers]

Seeing this warms the cockles of my heart.

[Impossible Numbers]

5296660

Not even a complete list, either. Past a certain point, I ran out of enthusiasm for trawling through all blog posts to get more, so the true total will inevitably be higher than this sample.

[RoMS]

Glad to see you doing the good work here.

[Impossible Numbers]

5297037

Thanks. Especially at a time like this, it's important to maintain connections with other like-minded people who don't accept the nonsense some thugs have tried to pull. And to reiterate that such like-minded people are not alone, of course.

[The Old Plug]

Thank you for bringing my post to a larger audience! Also thank you for giving me several more hours of reading on the other blogs that I have not found on this subject! You have done a good job here! Stay calm and pony on!

[Impossible Numbers]

5297112

And thank you in turn for contributing to the site-wide discussion as you did. I can't guarantee I caught everyone in the net here, but it's a good catch.

Having read each one before adding it, I heartily recommend diving in, though I must admit some posts are more eloquent and thorough than others. I don't always 100% agree with everything thus contained here, and it's a bit of a loosey-goosey collection focusing on different takes and issues, to be fair. But overall, I think it's important to at least show a sample of who's spoken out on all the unpleasantness of recent times.