/mlpol/ - My Little Politics

>>114110
>links
My Little Pony, the show that turns Fruits into Vegetables.

>>114111
Already feels like I'm half way through with the way I am now. Here's hoping ponies will bless me with apples again.

>brony
Well friend, here is the actual thing. I've never associated myself with those people, since hopping on the ride in 2011. I've always thought that they ARE weirdos, like most of the people groupped in certain fandom. hell, I even had my figurines in the open (well they are small) and noone seemed to give a fuck with this or my Trixie wallpaper on my laptop back @ Uni during studies. And well, heck if I know why this franchise of pure escapism brings such deviants in. ;^)
Also,
BRONIES, THIS IS YOUR MINDSET!!!!

>>114110
Remember, one is not a collective nor is one responsible for another's actions.

>>114110
>brony fandom
>not horsefuckers
Found the problem.
Like >>114135 said, I just never associated with those folks.
I mean, when this entire fandom was spawned unto the Internet about as exposively as the birth of Slaanesh, you're bound to have a sizable number of turbo-autists spawning forth from that Eye of Terror's worth of sheer, concentrated autism.
What's kept us so stable for so long, and ultimately, what separates us simple horsefuckers from the likes of the normie 'bronies', the degenerate bandwagoning furfags, and the fandom's own versions of the Sonic autism lords, has always been self-awareness and introspection. Just look at your own post for proof of that.
Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do about the stagnancy and the hugboxing. Just kind of happens when you approach the entropic heat death of any fandom. But damn it, I'll sure as shit try to keep that torch lit, in my own little ways.
Also, >ecelebs mattering

>>114145
>I'll sure as shit try to keep that torch lit, in my own little ways.
This.

>>114135
Pretty much this
But as extra though: any fandom there is point where escapism goes too far and in mlp case it's bronies. When you form rl groups for something that has no value what so ever in real world, it tends to go downhill fast and it produces all side effects like buying merchandise, escapism cosplay, larping and it starts to effect how person handles real world situations.
Personally i like the show and handle it as cartoon. Do i use it in anyway to explain or try to change real world / myself because of it? Fuck no. It's fucking cartoon with limited setting that just crashes and burns if one goes autism with it.
And with mlpol i treat this place kinda as old pol, meaning discussion and shit&giggles with nazi horses and i hate all retards that go full autism with show "pills" and altbrony shit, be it to left or right or up/down. It's some religion tier shit right there.

>>114135
>>hell, I even had my figurines in the open (well they are small) and noone seemed to give a fuck with this or my Trixie wallpaper on my laptop back @ Uni during studies.
Ah yes… The power to not give a fuck. I almost envy you. Shame that escapism runs the game, but I will acknowledge it's capable of delaying someone's suicide. …Relatively. Still, I wouldn't blame anyone for avoiding Bronies and Horsefuckers alike just by the deviants alone. Reddit certainly did.

>>114145
>brony fandom
>not horsefuckers
Hehe… Can't argue with that.

Anyways, I see the idea, but I can't say I could be able to find some hope in my own actions. Not when the problems is, frankly, something I have little control over. It's the helpless that gets me.

>>Also, >ecelebs mattering
Eh. Finding pony content to enjoy these days is getting harder. Even if it's E-celebs, I'll take what I can get. I spend enough time, and I can't help but feel a connection sometimes.

>>114150
>>It's some religion tier shit right there.
Religion, eh? You're right on the money with that one. I believe it was a reoccurring joke at one point, where ponies were a part of the occult. Lolz and shit with that stuff. But then again…hindsight is 20/20.

Although, even religion brings people together. /mlpol/ did that, and that strange gravitation is what got me into MLP. Talking and meeting and greeting each other with autistic faggotry… It's like having old pals.

>>114110
>>114156
I've only been on the ride since Apr 1st, but I'll share what I've observed.
There's something about society that is inherently unsound and psychologically damaging. Maybe its not society as a whole, perhaps its just facets of it, but a significant portion of the population is being maligned in their development. Whether its poor parenting, social ostracism (ask Jordan Peterson about a 4 year old who is an outcast), genetic and environmental disorders (ask him again about what happens when a child is subject to a malevolent individual/group), there are endless possible causes; The kids aren't all alright.
Along comes MLP FiM. A delightfully cute cartoon that conveys traditional values, laudable behaviors, and a context in which the viewer can feel part of a world that is absent veritably all the possible affects which would impair an individual's development.
Not only does MLP provide a medium where a person can begin to experience all sorts of healthy ideas and interactions which may have been omitted (entirely even) from their previous experience, it also allows the viewer to literally benefit from the healthy and conducive neurochemicals which are essential toward being a more functional individual in society.
In particular - and I'm speaking from experience here - watching MLP can stimulate an Oxytocyn response in the viewer, which is arguably the most effective brain-drugs for treating depression, anxiety, etc. Just by watching the show, one has the chance (which can be rejected of course) to experience the chemical response that comes from having and maintaining healthy relationships, even without actually participating; watching is sufficient. Simon Sinek talks about this in "4 Most Important Things" (not directly in context of MLP, but its an easy connection to observe).
Bronies however, do not take the opportunity (probably because they're unaware of it consciously) to use the increased neuro-chemicals to improve their situation, they instead repeatedly and consistently escape ever deeper into the fandom and the identity of "being bronies". While this identification makes it easier to connect with other bronies, it also guarantees ostracism from anyone who both doesn't share the connection and is dismissive of the various (and agreeably) cringe aspects of the fandom.
This is also why horsefuckers are superior to bronies, because bronies try and take themselves seriously, whereas horsefuckers realize there is nothing serious to be taken.
Pic unrelated

>>114160
This aligns with many points concerning the digital age. As I've heard, kids are practically parented through television and their own devices, always whenever the parents busy with their own obligations or other things.

I grew up with all the weabo trash and I'm sure so did a lot of anons I've met in passing. You could say I became the family weirdo. If it weren't for childhood friendships, I might've gotten into the deep end, but only because they were an outlet to my cringey antics. Being comfortable and not giving a damn about what others felt refreshing. One them told it to me straight and said that I was being too stupid, and I took offense to this, sulked for awhile, and acted all "smart and sensible" to prove a point. Our parents were the "hands off" sort of people and hardly intervened.

A few fucked up friendships later, I started to feel "self-aware" of my behaviour. Like, what the hell was I doing? Trying so hard? Attempting to change myself to prove a point felt disingenuous, unnatural I got top grades in middle school only to realize how dumb feeling proud over a letter and a number was. Became the class's edgelord, that one quiet and smart dude as if he's channeling his inner Sasuke. Knew a few people, but I always feared that if I opened my mouth, it'll be just like my other friendships.

Somehow, that feeling of constricting myself into being a "normie" was reality check for me: I'm not really okay. 4Chan's culture of giving no shits was something I admired, and so I tried to be a part of it. The pony memes may have turned me into a bigger autist, but at least it's better than taking shit so seriously. I guess I was lucky enough to begin so early when those times still thrived.

That, I and I almost became a halofag.

>>114172
Thank you, I knew my spiel was missing something.
Technology and dopamine-response. It began with computer/console games, continued with smart phones and devices. Society has become increasingly inundated with dopamine-stimulus-devices, the prevalence of which has a degenerative effect on intersocial relationships. In response to Oxytocin (the stress chemical), younger generations are learning to seek increased dopamine-generative activity rather than to engage in inter-connected relationships and inter-personal support.
Essentially social interaction is being reduced to being purely hierarchical, and those who aren't "at the top" are being neglected by the communities they interact with, because they're perceived as less desirable.
This goes hand in hand with the previous, resulting in a self-perpetuating cycle of conditioning that - quite honestly - ponies is the first thing I've experienced that gives some measure of relief from.

>>114145
Always hated "Bronies"
I'm a horsefucker. Not a soyboy, dyke shipping, hasbro cock sucking, SJW faggot.

>>114160
I couldn't put it better. Good entertainment fills in the gaps that our upbringings leave empty. Empathizing with characters, making logical deductions about stories and imagining what-if scenarios are perfectly healthy exercises of the mind that broaden one's thinking. This was true for our grandparents in radio and books, for our parents in television and movies and is still true to some extent for us with the internet. Entertainment itself is not generally the issue (though healthy parenting also requires physical exercise and social relationships), but it has been corrupted.

As for me personally, the first fandom I really got into was that of Undertale (yeah, that cancer-fest). Life was looking dull for me, politics got me whipped up into a frightful frenzy and I didn't have any real friends. That bright little quirky game that I discovered on Youtube in early 2016 gave me something to look forward to, practice to git gud at, and learn as much as possible about the personalities of the characters. The message of pacifism also helped as at the time I was struggling to reconcile the non-aggression of Christianity and libertarianism with modern problems. It made me ponder indirect and mutually helpful ways of resolving conflict. I even made some online friends (though not enough to satisfy my social need) with whom we share common interests and intelligent but unique perspectives.

It was a fun and hopeful little time. After playing through the game several times (which troubled me, as the meta of the game implies an alternate universe where you are an incarnate god: I loved that sense of moral questioning) I figured out just about all the secrets and came up with elaborate theories on what the characters represented, the nature of souls, magic, and consciousness, and what a sequel would entail. I looked forward to and enjoyed each of the game's songs put to words in "Undertale: the Musical" by Man on the Internet. To me, the game was a solid 9/10 (blocked from being a 10/10 only by the presence of lesbian characters), deserved GoTY over Fallout 4 (I've always hated mainstream games, though), and Toby Fox was a heretofore undiscovered literary genius who had hidden secrets everywhere with important messages. I even wrote a hundred long-hand pages of two separate fanfics I wanted to publish and planned on a video game sequel that, unbeknownst to me, would have been much more like Earthbound.

Then I woke up. My little fanboy splurge was altogether private and at most I liked a couple of fandom pages on Facebook. I shared some of the legendary music with my parents and they were largely ambivalent about it, though they appreciated I was passionate about something. I had always distanced myself from the Tumblrite hordes and chalked them up to Sturgeon's Law, but by the end of 2016 my private enthusiasm was already petering out. I generally gave up on it entirely after Trump's victory. Other fans did not like him, obviously, despite my pointing out that it was a victory for peace. In any case, I was too engrossed in politics at that point and I wasn't going to let a few fans from yesteryear get to me. I recognized my appraisal had been overrated and, although still a great game, it does not deserve the lavish devotion.

After that I joined the Gravity Falls fandom for a bit, but it wasn't quite the same, as it was much smaller although it has a dedicated and talented core. If Undertale awoke a childhood I never had, Gravity Falls helped fulfill that by showing that, although it's okay to like family entertainment, one should grow up. For the past eight months I've sobered up and, though I like ponies, I'll never get into the fandom like I would have used to, and probably never will join a fandom to the same extent. I knew about ponies of course since they emerged on the internet, but I never tried to watch the show and was ambivalent to bronies.

tl;dr Every fandom has a cancerous part if it becomes absorbed in the content without any room for anything else that's not entertainment.

>>114156
Agreed. With the decline of religion in society people no longer bond over church and religious discussions, but rather try to find bonds by worshipping their favorite cartoon and discussing whether shipping Star with Marco is a good idea. It's idolatry and one becomes hooked on the dopamine from the single-minded devotion.

Well, that was a self-absorbed rant. Maybe I did become autistic from all this after all.

>>114251
>tl;dr
True, there's always a standard deviation curve at play, but I'll also admit that while MLP is delightful on its on merit, the reason I've had such a wonderful time of it is overwhelmingly because of you loveable horsefuckers.