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I get that some bronies are awful people. I get that they have a pretty loud voice. What I don't get is the amount of hate bronies get AS A GROUP for the sins of a few. To the right wing they're a symptom of the waning masculinity of society. To the social justice types they're misogynistic brutes who took one of the best modern feminist cartoons and turned it into their sex object, all while adopting a persecution complex that belittles the struggles of actual oppressed groups. Do you know what opinion I don't see often? That they are a large and diverse periphery demographic of a well-made cartoon, among them both bad people and good people. And it's entirely possible to mostly avoid the bad ones. Mainstream communities in the fandom like Equestria Daily generally do their best to keep things family-friendly. Local meetup groups can set rules to keep their meetups friendly, whether it's by limiting themselves to PG discourse or by limiting their exposure to the younger target audience. Cons are, from my experience, mostly positive experiences where, while you might run into more unsavory folks (as you might at any large gathering or convention), largely keep their tone welcoming and supportive and maintain a positive atmosphere. And most communities do plenty of good, whether it's by inspiring creativity among its members, supporting charities, or just going to the people who bring them the show and letting them know how much they're appreciated. Seriously, stereotyping is bad. Every time you call bronies as a group "neckbeards" or "perverts" or what have you, you're facilitating a persistent and broad stereotype that affects both the good fans and the bad ones. As an exercise, think about a group or subculture that you yourself are a part of, be it animé fans, gamers, sports fans, or even Lego fans. Now isolate the worst aspects you've seen in a member or members of that group (be it misogyny, cultural appropriation, perversion, rudeness, whatever), and see what it's like to label yourself as that. It's not nice, is it? One last note to address a common complaint I see: that the good people in the fandom are themselves guilty for associating with the bad ones. This is a false argument. Again, let's relate things to another fandom, that being the Lego fandom. I've seen plenty of misogyny and other bigotry within this fandom through my time on Eurobricks, Brickset, and even BZPower. But I'm not about to quit using those sites (or calling myself an AFOL) because of that. If I did, not only would I be missing out on a lot of the most relevant news and discussion to my interest in Lego, but by divorcing myself from the group, the group would itself become worse due to losing one more voice of reason who's willing to argue with its worst members. Rare is the group or subculture that maintains acceptable attitudes in all its members, but if you isolate yourself from any group that has one or more less-than-perfect members you're going to find yourself awfully lonely. By remaining there to combat regressive attitudes, you can make your part of the world a brighter place.

I respect any man (or woman) who is willing to take the high road by having a civil, logical discussion over an emotionally-fueled tantrum. Takuma Nuva

brb preparing my body

#HoennConfirmed CHOO CHOO

I always like to say "it's okay to disagree with your friends." Then again I don't know you that well. =P. (That was a joke. The first thing I said was serious)

HAHAHAHAHAHA FINALLY FINALLY WE ARE GETTING GENERATION III REMAKES WOOOOOOHOOOOO SING TO THE STARS Totally getting Omega Ruby E: woops my original title broke stuff, needed less "e"s

>complains about people hating bronies because of some bad ones >thinks all right wingers think bronies are "a symptom of the waning masculinity of society" because of some bad ones

where on earth is NOT ALL MEN kool-aid man when you need him

OBOE

HYPE TRUMPETS

I feel like the badness of Nuva shoulders as chest armor is often overstated. It's not that it can't be done well, but rather that it almost never is. I feel like Axonn's stout dwarfish build benefitted from it, and I'm sure in all the time I've been a Bionicle fan I've probably seen one or two MOCs that used it well for "breasts" (though I'm in no mood to try and seek them out now). The problem is that just slapping them on a MOC and calling them boobs is as sloppy as it is lazy, especially on a mid-sized MOC where they inevitably end up ludicrously disproportionate.

what a day to be alive

He's pretty neat.

I've been doing some thinking about some stuff lately, and I want to reiterate something that I feel like I've said before, but want to say again to make clear: if you ever disagree with me, or think I have something factually and objectively wrong, or anything of the sort, please send me a message and lets have a discussion! That's the only way we'll learn the real truth, after all. I'm a reasonable person, and while more often than not I'll defend my viewpoint and cite sources and evidence to back it up, if I'm proven to be in the wrong, then I'm the one that needs to change their views to fit reality. I've said before that I have no issue with admitting I'm wrong, so if I say something you know for a fact is off-base, please tell me!. I might choose to respond in a PM rather than in public, but I will respond!

You could almost say that he's cool.

TUUUUBBBBBBBBAAAAAAAAA

FRENCH HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORN

Fate of two worlds: decided by a teenaged popularity contest. I mean, it was a good movie, but... that's it. That's the plot. =P

Because it's a lot easier to hate a faceless collective than it is to hate specific individuals with names and faces, even if those names and faces belong to people deserving of criticism. It's also a lot easier to get attention and "internet fame" from making sweeping, polarizing statements than it is from making rational, informed statements, sadly. This one isn't just true online, it's true in the real world too - look at how much we talk about a politician that shouts inane things about large groups of people, compared to a politician that says something reasonable and speaks eloquently. People are suckers for emotional appeals, and it's a lot easier to create a strong emotional appeal and misinformation when you're working with a large, ominous "them" instead of "John Doe, the prick accountant from that one website". They can cause damage because they're hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions. John Doe is just one guy. They are dangerous because you don't know who or where they are. You know who John Doe is and where John Doe is. They create an atmosphere and environment. John Doe just stinks up a joint until he's asked to leave. The unknown they is a much more powerful weapon in an emotional plea than the easily identified individual. I have a lot of other thoughts as to what causes it, but as far as the major ones go, that's a big one to me, and one of the few big ones I'm willing to share in public. They're not embarrassing, I'm just not looking to argue too many of them right now; most of the time I would, but I have finals, so I can't engage in debate over the others right now(Still open to discussion though!). I'm willing to share in PM though if people are interested.

I want to see her come back so that some justice can actually be done to her potentially interesting character. Seriously, Celestia's little summary of why she went bad was more interesting than everything else in that movie.

It's fairly easy for people (In general, I'm guilty of it to, unfortunately) to say that a group of people has a specific trait to them. It's justified by saying they're attacking the idea and not the person. The problem is ideas like the ones you mentioned seek to insult the people who hold them and not the idea itself. Like when Galileo made the utterly shocking statement that the earth wasn't the center of the solar system. He was thrown in jail. Really what was being said is that they didn't like him for having the idea, not that they didn't like the idea. (They didn't like it, obviously.) Rather than attacking an idea we don't like, we attack people who hold that idea. It seems to be a common trait among people.

Hoenn was amazing when it first showed up, showcasing more diverse environments than the previous regions, which were more urban in general. But seeing as it's the region that's been absent from the games longest, it's one of the regions most in need of an update. Assuming they do at least as much to improve this game as they did for Heart Gold and Soul Silver, these new games should be amazing.

My entire pokemon experience has been with TPP, and I am super hyped for this.

My body is already ready. -TNTOS-

"trying to find out what a true Hufflepuff is, anyway" I actually researched this.

I would say that's only worth subtracting one point.

You had me at "dress up as Link". Long hair can look really cool. Honestly, though, I find that most any hair looks cool and natural on anyone after a few days.

My English prof for the last three semesters has long hair, he plans to grow it all the way down his back if he can get away with it.

I pretty much agree with this. I'm also mostly socially inept, so take my advice with a whole box of salt. But I've found that when I look back on my life (all 19 years of it.) I generally don't regret many attempts I've made to express those types of feelings to someone. Though at the time it was beyond terrifying. Knowing that makes it somewhat easier for me. But it's still terrifying. (This probably is due to a lot of things ranging from normal fear of rejection to feeling worthless most of the time.) And I never had anything to lose by perusing them. (Within reason obviously.) But, I'm not in your shoes, so I don't have an answer for you. I can tell you what I'd do, but that only goes as far as my experience, which is mostly negative in that area at this point. But unless you think going after her would either offend her or anything like that than it's really up to you to figure that out. And as i mentioned above, I have little self confidence as well, and if somebody did say they liked me I would probably go through something like the five stages of grief. (I'm honestly not sure how much of an exaggeration that is.) So I can sympathize with that, and how much it sucks.

Predicting other people's feelings is ridiculously hard and notoriously fickle. Sometimes the people you don't think like you actually do, and vice versa. Basically, people in general are strange. Romantic interactions are not really my strong suit (#INTJProblems), but the advice I'd give anyone is to just ... be honest. It's easier said than done, I know, but if this is something you really want you'll find a way to try and make it happen.

My track record of love: friends, acquaintances, pets, one-sided crushes I never acted on. Any advice I give must be taken with copious amounts of salt grains. Um... yeah, not sure what to say. They say a flip of a coin can tell you how you really feel about something. Heads you act on it, tails you don't. If it stands on end, make a romantic display including a boombox, a rainy night and a giant monster Panda that could potentially level three square blocks. (I think I see why I have not had a romantic relationship. My answer for tails is far too simplistic). Try it and make note of how you felt when you saw the outcome. Also, don't feel ashamed about lying to a coin. As for acting on it, though, it might be a good idea to think about what you'd want out of a relationship at this point in time. Just keep in mind that you don't always have to play it safe. You have every right to take risks should you see fit to do so. Oh, I got a fortune from a cookie that might help too. Maybe not, though. "If you want to win anything-a race, your self, your life-you have to go a little berserk." (Iamstealingadvicefromcookieswhatiswrongwithme)

Hmm, I'd advise from my experience to try and take things easy. You're definitely old enough to fall in love. I was about sixteen when I fell in love with somebody I knew online. However, being able to understand that emotion and how it will affect other people is a whole other matter. I'm not saying to dismiss your feelings. You're the only one qualified to determine whether they're real. But at the same time, acting on them might not be a good idea. You might not realize it, but confessing feelings like that for somebody can put an unfair amount of pressure on them. Unless they feel the same way, they might not be ready to reciprocate, and a person you really, truly love doesn't deserve to have that kind of weight on their shoulders. Of course, perhaps asking you to exercise this degree of caution isn't fair, either. If it is true that you are hoping for something more out of your relationship with this person than just being friends, it wouldn't be right to fawn over her while she's completely in the dark about it. I guess there's no easy answer. At some point, if you're sure about these feelings, you're going to want to be honest with her. Just be aware of the costs that might carry. Once she knows how you feel about her, that might change things between you no matter how she feels. Will knowing be be better for her than not knowing? That's what I think you need to think about.

TOAVAKAMAJAI - THE PROPHECY I'akua, taka-kui rayaku. Amaja lhikai-na rokha: Toa Mata Nui haya. Ivaha, nga roraga-rhui. Still, all hope was not lost. Legends tell of six mighty heroes, the Toa, Who would arrive to save Mata Nui. Time would reveal that these were not simply myths... -- Toa imahra voya, kouya, Ceura, aku-rhui. Mata Nui'ai Matoroi Ikraaka hau takaya. For the Toa would appear on the shores of the island, it was said. They would arrive with no memory, no knowledge of one another – But they would pledge to defend Mata Nui And its people against the darkness. -- Tahuwaha, Onuwaha, Galuwaha, Lewaha, Puahatau, Kuahapaka, Wahata ika'a-nui, inaka voya. Tahu, Toa of Fire. Onua, Toa of Earth. Gali, Toa of Water. Lewa, Toa of Air. Pohatu, Toa of Stone. And Kopaka, Toa of Ice. Great warriors with great power, drawn from the very elements themselves. -- Ikaita'a, maita-na Ivaita-nga: Makuta zya, Mata Nui haya. Nga ro amaja. Together, they were six heroes with one destiny: To defeat Makuta, And save Mata Nui. This is their story. -- Na suvaha Bionicle. This is the way Of the Bionicle.

I bet 20$ that someone is going to die in the story.

The thing I'm teasing is a real beauty too Oh don't worry, there is much you do not know