art by NCMares
Years ago, bronies held themselves up as something special and unique amongst fandoms: a group of love, tolerance and charity as well as exceptional creativity. It was easy to claim exceptionalism when we were small and more tightly knit.
But bronies have always been inclusive, not exclusive. We are a welcoming fandom. And an energetic one. As we spread word of how wonderful this show is to the far reaches of the internet, people took notice. And while many reacted to what was new and different with hatred or fear, people joined the herd in droves.
Now we are huge, large enough and diverse enough to put lie to the stereotypes, including the good ones that we had created for ourselves. Bronies have become legion... and in doing so, we have become a fandom like any other.
But we don't have to be.
art by AssasinMonkey
Not long ago, I engaged in the single least productive activity of the modern age: arguing on the internet. Specifically, attempting to crack the blinders of prejudice worn by a self-proclaimed "furry" who was ranting about bronies. As expected, the discussion was a small waste of time. But here is a portion of it that I think is worth repeating:
I will let you in on the secret: people are people. Furries are just people who really enjoy anthropomorphic animals. Pony fans are just people who really like the human-like technicolor ponies of a specific show. That is all. The extent to which any furry or brony enjoys what they do, and how they act on that enjoyment, is individualized. You do not need special brain chemistry or a particular background or a specific social disposition to be a furry. And you do not need one to be a brony. Or a fan of Star Wars, or Star Trek, or anything else... [They] are a fandom. Made of people. Just like every other fandom. And in any fandom, you will find good people and bad people, superfans and the passively interested, perverts and prudes. Furries are not inherently superior people to bronies, and bronies are not inherently superior people to furries. No more than Trekkies are to Whoovians, or football fans are to hockey fans, or people who like classical music are to people who like J-pop. At the absolute most, you can try to claim superior taste in one tiny and extremely subjective facet of the grand category of "things people like". Woohoo, you rock.But this is the important part: we do not have to be just like any other fandom.
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic offers more to love than just cute, colorful ponies. Most of us, I would hazard to wager, didn't fall in love with the show for the ponies as art -- we fell in love with the characters, with what they did and how they behaved, with the idyllic-but-not-sugary-perfect the world of Equestria, and with the heartwarming messages of virtue and friendship at the emotional and philosophical core of the show. An if we are fans of that, then we are fans of something with more depth and meaning than just an artistic concept or musical style or type of sports.
We can be something very special and unique by lauding those messages of friendship and virtue, and trying to adhere to them as best we can. We can treat "love and tolerance" as calling again, rather than just a 4-chan meme whose time has passed. We can strive to be better people.
And if we do, we can be something truly beautiful -- we can be the realization of what the early brony fandom held itself to bo. We will do so as individuals. Points of brilliant light in the gloom. In general, the rest of the fandom will not follow -- it is too large, and many will never be interested beyond "I like cartoon ponies." But that isn't why we strive to shine. We should do so because it makes us better, and we want to be better than we are. Because we are inspired to do it. And for those in the darkness who are looking for a light.
art by AssasinMonkey
We are large and growing, but we have lost many as well. We have all seen people leave the fandom because "it isn't what it used to be." The most surprising element of this is that so many of them were surprised. They saw their fandom grow, change and evolve... and apparently they hadn't expected that. Instead of remaining in the fandom and being examples of what they believed it should be, they abandoned it and moved on. Perhaps I can fault them for that, but only just a little. And I certainly cannot fault those who left simply because their interests changed, as interests often do. Plus, we have seen many whose contributions to the fandom launched new careers, and who have gone off to follow these dreams professionally. To them, we raise our glasses, thank them, and wish them well.
