*sucks in breath* · 9:19pm Jul 7th, 2021
Okaaaay, now that I've had time to 'process' so to speak I can actually give my thoughts. Honestly? Wanderer D has it right, and this fandom is... exhausting to say the least at times. Admittedly, I'll be reiterating his points but they're very good points.
It's like a warzone at times and the hilarious part is... well, considering what show we're all fans of I do wonder if it honestly went over our heads at times. If you can't agree with someone's opinion being different than your own and you whine and cry about it, I don't really give a fuck about you. Go ahead, ragequit. You won't be missed.
Sadly, nuance is a thing of the past at times. Now look, the whole Princess Cadence thing was a shitshow start to finish even if I admit I missed it all, and quite frankly I'm glad I did. Now I'll try to put this as succinctly as I can, not ramble on and on for several paragraphs though I can't promise that.
Basically, grow the fuck up.
We're all grown adults here even if some of us sure as hell don't act like it. Again, putting myself in the firing line here but this is my take. It, surprise surprise, is entirely possible to be a middle ground. Now look, I'm LGBTQ and will loudly and understandably shout it to the world but newsflash, we're no better than anyone else. For fuck's sake, we as a community basically bullied someone to attempted suicide. I don't care if what they did was wrong or if they did it for the possible attention.
It still happened.
There's plenty of people I disagree with for various reasons, goodness knows I'm a spitfire with certain people over Discord. But I'm not going to attack someone over their point of view. This isn't about one specific subject, one specific thing. It's just speaking in general. Now I admit I don't choose my words carefully at times, so some of this may not mean what I intend it to.
But.
But!
There's a very us against them mentality in the world today. Maybe I'm preaching to the converted here, but if we can't find a way to all get along in some capacity, then we're fucked as a species. Not as a fandom, as a species. We need more balanced people in the world today, not this fandom but in the world in general. People less likely to jump at each other's throats. Common sense, alas seems to be a rare superpower.
Just, in general, seriously people take a chill pill. Changing the world is important, but let's do with with a gentle hand. Not a karate chop. Here's my take on certain subjects. (Totally copying D here, but what can you do?)
I think BLM is needed, but at the same time I don't think all cops are evil.
The idiots who stormed the capitol a few months ago? Idiots. But not all people who voted for Trump should be ostracized. Hell, my dad voted Trump and he's one of the most sensible people I know. Where do you think I got it?
I don't think pedophilia is okay, -far from it!- but nor should any of us be celebrating a pedophile attempting to kill themselves. Ffs.
I'm mixed on guns in general, hell I'm happy to play a good shooter like Doom, and hell I spent my teens playing Halo. But gun laws do need to change.
Newsflash, people are complicated. There's no right or wrong with them in the real world, no black and white. We are not easy to slot into little boxes.
I've been... honestly fortunate in this fandom, I've missed a lot of drama/chose to stay out of it but really if your desire is to see it burn... Grow up. Some of us are happy to be here, so don't ruin it for the rest of us. If you think this fandom's too toxic, that's your opinion and there's always a little 'sign out' button. But me? I'm staying. I want to see where this goes, I want to see what Gen 5 brings us.
Now I don't agree with the mods' policies on everything, but they're only human. It's a tiring and frankly from what I've seen thankless job. The key thing being though, they're trying. Can I just say, let's not be all 'pick a side' for once, because the fact of the matter is... If posts like this have to be made, well it sure says a lot, doesn't it?
The whole 'everyone is wrong and I'm not' thing everyone seems to sport, that'll kill the fandom faster than any actual creeps. If that's too hard for you, to put on your big boy pants well bully to you. Not sure I want to talk to you. I'll point you to the exit door though.
I dunno, maybe acting like grown-ups is too hard for some of us. Probably won't change much, and I'm probably speaking to an echo chamber but just my thoughts on the matter.
Ok I'm outta the loop on drama. What happened?
Well, I agree with you
5551279
A whole lotta shit. That's what happened.
Nicely said. Very nicely said. 👍
Poetry
Gives you a hug and pats you on the back
Did you see MrNumbers' response blog to WandererD? It has a lot of info that Wanderer's post didn't and makes some decent points.
I hate to say it but both sides refuse to even talk with one another. In America we have been divided for over 20 years. We had a very vocal minority on both sides crying and screaming about things for so long that rejecting part of their point of view means you completely reject them. We have adult children who have spread far and wide and they have more ability to speak their minds then ever before. We have people who use the ability to be anonymous on the internet to get away with stuff that would get you roasted on the evening news in the real world.
I may not agree with other people say but I respect your right to say it. Nobody is willing to compromise anymore. Our politicians are all corrupt and idiots and it is never our person it is always the other guy. With what happened to PC I feel that what nearly happened was a tragedy waiting to happen.
You will never accomplish anything without compromise, if people feel back into a corner they will fight back which makes the situation worse.
But if you give them something they want they are more inclined to give you something you want.
You won't do anything but cause problems making people feel theu need to defend themselves, that will just make them start entrenched and resisting everything you want.
Extremism is utterly poison and needs to be ignored and pushed out because it doesn't help.
Juat look how manu terms have virtually lost all meaning do to them being used to insult people who disagree.
Its a sad state of affairs filled with extrmism and double standards and its poisoning everything.
I'm glad some people are still calm, well as calm as can be, think we are all guilty of having one or two things are have strong feelings on and that okau, its jsit when it becomes the US vs them is when it becomes an issue.
I've been having the same thoughts, Brick.
While I have always tried to understand and empathize with all sides of a discussion or argument, one thought comes to my mine consistently:
The many are more important than the few, or the one.
The fandom and the fundamental reasons we came together, the fact that we came together in friendship, is more important than most any disagreement we have with each other.
Yes, I know some have very strong opinions. But I don't think attacking people is the way to solve a problem. And sometimes, it takes a lot more than compromising to solve the problem. Some things simply shouldn't be tolerated because they hurt others, not because anyone wants to infringe on anyone's rights or prerogative.
But working with so many people is very hard, sometimes nigh impossible. In the end, it should be about making one person or group happy but doing what is right for the majority.
Being in charge is a job that is difficult. I've never been a site moderator but I've been a supervisor and I know, you can't please everyone. And you shouldn't try to do so.
You have to go by the rules, be as fair as possible and don't retreat from your principles, while trying to do what is best for all.
And while everyone might not agree with a decision, hopefully they can be respectful in their disagreement. That is the adult thing to do.
I'm sure this will make some angry. I hope it makes many think and appreciate what we have here as well as one another.
5551289
It's a mess, but... well, despite OffPrint and such existing, running away from the problem simply won't fix it either. There's no easy solutions, and honestly, there shouldn't be. That being said, giving into the mob is... not a good idea, honestly.
I'm not qualified to speak on this matter, so I'll just let you draw your own conclusions. It's just a fucking mess. Forgive me if this sounds like bystander syndrome and I apologize if it does but there's only so much I can do. So much I can say before I talk on things I have no knowledge about.
I just want to be able to write pony fiction and play Assassin's Creed without having to wonder 'what the hell have you guys done now?' y'know?
Goodness, this is a whole lot of overwhelming. I'm not sure it'll do me any good to dive down the rabbit hole, but I do just want to say that I've always heard you as a good voice, whenever I see you post, and I'm glad that, if anyone was to deliver the cliffnotes on the happenings or reactions to how things are going, I'm glad to hear them from you.
For what it's worth, I feel like I'm on the same page as you with a lot of stuff, and I just hope to be another positive voice at the moment who appreciates the best of the civility I can see. I am rambling, but hey! Just glad to still be here.
5551379
Oh, I know. It's not a simple situation. I only linked it because it gives a lot of important background to Wanderer's post. I'm not saying you should leave.
That said, I am very seriously considering packing it in, myself. The site has been slowly becoming more and more toxic over the last couple years and I don't feel my presence here will have any real affect. As much as I love this site and many of the people on it, I'm beginning to think the best thing for us as a group is to migrate elsewhere and let this site implode. The toxic elements have demonstrated that they won't be dislodged unless forced and the mods/admins have openly expressed that they won't get involved.
Please note that I am purposely NOT pointing fingers at specific "toxic elements". That is a whole different (and volatile) discussion. All I will say is that I think we are witnessing a microcosm of the Paradox of Tolerance.
5551421
Do as you will, I intend to stay here and see what happens. I've been here for five years, I'm not going to be chased off so easily.
A big problem we're having nowadays is that we're too focused on making absolutely everything completely black and white. Sometimes we need to keep things gray so that we can objectively and make the right choices. Of course, their are some subjects (suicide, pedophilia, murder) are black-and-white subjects, but we certainly still need to reflect on our judgments and actions.
I still have no idea what's going on
What did I miss?
How does your dad feel about the January 6th attack?