MLP:FiM Fandom's neo-Nazi Problem · 7:34pm Jun 29th, 2020
This one has been making the rounds for a bit over a week now. The neo-Nazi/fascist/racist/incel/misogynist/anti-LGBTQ problem in online fandoms and other communities has been known for a while, and now some news outlets are noticing how prevalent it has become in the Brony community. Weirdly ironic, considering the rather explicit and unsubtle message of the show that brought most of us here, a message of not just accepting, but celebrating diversity, and the power of friendship to make us better people. A message diametrically opposed to that of the radical right hangers-on. Some of these articles have also pointed out the general failure of administrators of various fansites to manage the influx of adherents of this violent, exclusionary worldview into their communities.
The most obvious example of this is a rather sensationalist and somewhat inaccurate article in The Atlantic; which, although it gets some things about the fandom wrong, is still somewhat accurate in its portrayal of the extent of the problem, and the lack of effective action taken to control it. The most blatant example mentioned in the article is, or rather was, a Nazi-focused forum right here on Fimfiction. It has since been taken down, but there are still more that persist; making me wonder whether taking down the single large forum was done more to evade the bad PR than any real concern over the problem.
TheAtlantic JUNE 23, 2020
My Little Pony Fans Are Ready to Admit They Have a Nazi Problem
Another, more recent article, is much more balanced; and addresses the wider problem of neo-Nazis online.
The Mic June 23, 2020
An online battle is raging between Nazis and 'My Little Pony' fans
The thing is, this is not news. Many of us in the fandom have known about the problem for years; as have many outside the fandom, who have been reporting it for some time. It's only now that more mainstream news outlets are reporting on it (and pointing up clear and undeniable examples of the problem), during a time of such profound social unrest caused by the self-same right-wing reactionaries, that denialism is no longer a haven, and any action at all is being taken. But again, this has been reported quite a bit in the past.
The Medium Mar 18, 2019
My Little Nazi: The Curious Link Between the Alt-Right and the My Little Pony Fandom
Vice January 12, 2017
Pony Nationalism and the Furred Reich: Inside the Alt-Furry's Online Zoo
The New Republic January 20, 2016
Yes, there’s a connection between My Little Pony, Donald Trump, and white identity politics.
A stronger stance needs to be taken against this stuff; especially at a time when we are seeing racism rife within mainstream culture and political establishment; and minorities protesting against it being met with increasingly violent repression from police and government thugs (in case anyone was unaware, Trump has been using hired mercenaries, from whatever Blackwater is calling itself these days, to violently suppress protestors in DC). As a fandom, we need to do better and be better.
And here we are, on a website run by people who don't seem to have any problem with Nazis (or pedophiles for that matter), at least until international media shines a spotlight on it. So... what can we do about it?
I've discontinued my patreon and added an aggressive ad-blocker to this site, so that they don't benefit in any way from my presence, but that seems pretty pitiful as a reaction. I could delete everything and leave, but that seems self-defeating.
Not news exactly: I stopped posting essays to Rages Reviews because the above mentioned alt rightists would come out of the woodwork en masse whenever they disagreed with any point (anything that strayed to the left of Boris Johnson). It became more trouble than it was worth to deal with them, and the abuse just wasn't worth it.
To add insult to injury, a good portion of stories that show up on the both the new stories list and the Feature box were pretty clearly written by Incels and other related misogynists. Anon and RGRE both have firm roots in misogynistic thinking, and the history of whiny, sulking self inserts who turn their pony of choice into a satellite character is long and storied.
They get get plenty of upvotes and uncritical praise. A surprising number of fans of MLP seem to have difficulty excepting the concept of strong female leads. I often wonder what show these people are watching and what exactly they're taking away from it!
Not to mention the hideous "foalcon" situation.
Franky, this has all been raised as issues in no uncertain terms with Knighty and the Admins, but they always object to any action; I'm pretty sure most of that lot have their roots in 4Chan, and they cannot abide even the most basic limitations on freedom of expression (such as: don't write pornographic child abuse literature, don't be a Nazi).
They are just as accepting to homophobes: Reality Check got away with some genuinely outrageous stuff back in the day, but they never once banned him; he left of his own accord.
They've been warned time and again that they should not be so accommodating to the worst people and impulses of the internet, and it should come as no shock that these chickens are coming home to roost.
5297367
That's pretty much all that can be really done at this point. I've essentially done the same. Maybe if enough people do that, and they see their funding dropping precipitously, they'll finally take some action.
5297435
Yeah, I know, I got threatened with being banned for just bringing up the foalcon issue with him, and requesting some sort of filter. Not even demanding they get rid of it.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Anti-nazi_logo.svg/150px-Anti-nazi_logo.svg.png
This should have been policy from the start.
We shouldn't be struggling with hate speech in 2020 with nine completed years of MLP:FiM's message under our belts.
How do we get rid of this?