A Random Thought

While I had a few moments where I was not really able to do much else, I went back and re-read a post I made last year, which got me a lot of nasty comments and accusations of all kinds of ridiculous things.

My verdict a year later and with some distance: the post is fine. There's nothing at all in it to warrant the reactions it got. There's nothing at all in it to justify the accusations thrown at me.

My views on the topic have changed a little since I made the post, but not much, and not for any of the reasons I was theoretically attacked for.

What's the upshot of all this? Nothing really. I'm certainly not going to go back to the people who lambasted me and say "I'm still right." But it does make me feel a little better about an episode that really hurt at the time.

It wasn't my fault. They were just being a bunch of jerks. I can get over that.

-TG

A Followup re: "Bronies, I Am Disappoint"

Michelle Creber, the underage VA who allegedly had horrible things thrown at her at EverfreeNW, posted to her Twitter account that no such thing happened, and in a scenario like this, where the accuser claims to have witnessed something firsthand, but the alleged victim says "nothing happened," it all quickly falls into doubt. If the core of the argument is false, the rest is immediately suspect.

So, I'll come right out and say it. I may have been taken in by a troll. I don't think it's as simple as that, but I have nothing to base this on but my own gut instinct and the general tendency of all fandoms to circle the wagons where issues of gender, race, or basically not being a jackass are involved.

But I have to admit here that, as a commenter pointed out, I have my own confirmation bias to account for as well. I have on occasion been treated like crap by people flying the "brony" flag myself; I have also facepalmed at complaints about humanized Twilight being depicted as black, been creeped out by horribly fetishized pony art that I stumbled on while looking for references, and groaned at self-appointed (and apparently unchallenged) spokespeople for the fandom shamelessly egging on Lauren Faust/John De Lancie/Tara Strong to "Tell us MORE about how awesome bronies are!"

So yeah, it was very easy for me to believe the OP. If she is a troll just expertly pushing my buttons, then shame on her for pushing them and shame on me for allowing them to be pushed. But the fact remains that those buttons are there, and they didn't come from nothing.

Anyway. I didn't want to just leave all this hanging there. Michelle Creber has said that she was treated nothing but wonderfully at the con and I believe her. The rest is all hearsay.

-The Gneech