Mariusioannesp Editorial: Love and Tolerate? · 2:32am Aug 27th, 2015
*Pardon the French.
Greetings, my Brony brethren.
It seems that these days one Brony or another or another has come to a seemingly shocking realization when it comes that hoary Brony notion of “Love and Tolerate.” It seems that many Bronies have difficulty living out this mantra; often speaking or acting out vehemently when they encounter something they differ in opinion on. This oft leads to the question of why a fandom built on Love and Tolerate has such difficulty living it out. But is this even the right question to ask? I think we should ask why Love and Tolerate is even a thing. Doing so leads to an even more shocking realization that actually explains really well why Love and Tolerate is so difficult.
I think every Brony who entered the fandom in it’s earliest days like before Season 3 has encountered the phrase “Love and Tolerate.” It was the official mantra and motto of the Brony community, a verbal affirmation that the Brony fandom was different than other fandoms. Bronies are willing to accept anyone in stark contrast of society at large that had difficulty accepting the Brony phenomenon as a legit thing.
I admit when I first entered the fandom, I trotted out Love and Tolerate on more than one occasion. I remember once I was telling a dear friend of mine from college about how I had become interested in MLP and the whole Brony thing, and I did bring up Love and Tolerate. She looked at me and said, “Is this like a cult?” I answered, “It kind of is.” Despite that, I still have high hopes for introducing her to MLP since she admitted to watching the old school MLP as a kid.
However, despite my initial enthusiasm for Love and Tolerate, I was always very wary of it. Mostly, it was because how the term “tolerance” has come to be used in modern parlance as a means of silencing dissent. But more on this later.
Anyway, it turns out that initial wariness may have been well founded. Many may not be aware of the origins of the term “Love and Tolerate.” So, where does it come from? PaleoSteno and Saberspark’s very detailed fan documentary The Brony Chronicles provides a brief explanation of its origin. “Love and Tolerate” actually has its origin among early anti-Bronies. They would spam image macros featuring the term “Love and Tolerate” on MLP-themed threads on 4-Chan in mockery of what they misunderstood MLP to be all about. A new surge of fans that arose in the Spring of 2011 saw “Love and Tolerate,” and having missed the early brouhaha that erupted on 4-Chan when MLP began, mistook Love and Tolerate as a genuine summary of the views espoused by MLP.
Now, I admit, having the Brony community’s motto arise among its early opposition isn’t necessarily a big problem. Similar things have happened throughout history where a community would adopt their opposition’s insult as a badge of honor. During the American Revolution, the term “Yankee” was an insulting term the British had for the American colonists. Eventually, it became the name colonists called themselves, and it still remains in use among Americans today. It even became the name of one of the best/worst baseball teams in the New York area. (I actually have no interest in baseball, so I figured I might as well have both bases covered.
)
Even in the realm of fandom, this has happened before. Sort of. Many Star Trek fans are divided on the use of the term “Trekkie” to describe themselves given that it originally had a bit of a pejorative connotation.
However, there is an issue when it comes to taking “Love and Tolerate” as a motto when the very term “tolerance” has been deeply misunderstood by modern society in general. What is “tolerance” really? Have you ever really thought about that? Well, tolerance actually means, “I don’t accept this, but I will allow it to continue to exist.” Whereas, modern society has taken tolerance to mean, “YOU MUST ACCEPT THIS OR ELSE!!!” I think it becomes clear which form of tolerance some Bronies tend towards. In the end though, Bronies’ failures to live out tolerance isn’t really the fault of the community itself. It’s merely a reflection of how tolerance has been misunderstood in society at large. It’s become magnified by having a central place in the social microcosm that is the Brony community.
Nevertheless, there is one big problem with Love and Tolerate being the motto of the Brony community.
MLP isn’t actually about Love and Tolerate.
Just think about that for a second. Try to remember an episode of MLP where Twilight or whoever learn a friendship lesson about tolerance. There isn’t any isn’t there. There are some that come close, but it’s still not tolerance they’re learning about.
But don’t just take it from me. The Round Stable had an article all about how MLP isn’t really about Love and Tolerate. And that was way back in 2012. So, I’m not the first one to question this.
What My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is about is right there in the title. It’s about friendship. Friendship is at least a kind of love according to the ancient Greeks. It’s also a subcategory of the cardinal virtue of justice according to classical moral philosophy.
When Lena Hall accepted her Tony Award, she didn’t say “Love and Tolerate,” which I’m sure the Broadway crowd would have appreciated nonetheless if you know what I mean. She said “Friendship is Magic” because that is what MLP is all about.
So, where does that leave us when it comes to Love and Tolerate? I mean, the motto of a fan community should at minimum be reflective of the fictional work the fan community has gathered around. Harry Potter fans ofttimes use the term “muggle” and play quidditch. Star Wars fans have “May the Force be with you,” the traditional Jedi greeting. Star Trek fans have “Live long and prosper,” the traditional Vulcan greeting. Doctor Who fans have “Alons-y!” or “Geronimo!” or “Oh, for G0d’s sake!” All have their origins directly from the source material. But what of Love and Tolerate?
I think it’s time to retire Love and Tolerate. In my opinion, Love and Tolerate has done more harm than good. It made some Bronies think the community was supposed to be something different and even better than other fandoms. The realization that Bronies don’t really live up to Love and Tolerate it seems has left a bitter taste in the mouths of many Bronies. It may have perhaps driven some to leave the fandom.
The truth is the Brony fandom isn’t different from any other fandom. It’s not that unique compared to any other fandom. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We don’t have to be better than other fandoms. There’s no need for us to be better than any other fandoms. We don’t need to be unique. We’re just one fandom out of many that anyone can be a part of if they so choose. And in a fandom, there’s disagreement.
Look at some of our fellow fandoms. There are the old school Trekkies who utterly disdain J.J. Abrams “rebooted” Star Trek. Though, I really enjoyed it. But then again, I’ve never been much of Trekkie. That fact that I used the term “Trekkie” testifies to that fact. But I’ve always been a J.J. Abrams fan.
Still the best show ever in my opinion, even if it never really made sense.
There the old school Star Wars fans who utterly disdain the prequel trilogy. Though, I thought it was okay. I still don’t really get why all the hate on Jar Jar Binks and whole brouhaha over midi-chlorians. And there are already people ready to hate on the new trilogy, despite how awesome Kylo Ren’s lightsaber is.
I mean, look at that thing! Darth Maul’s lightsaber only had two blades. This one has three. It’s got numbers on it.
The one thing every fandom has in common is passion. Bronies have it. Trekkies have it. Whovians have it. Star Wars... enthusiasts have it. Harry Potter... enthusiasts have it. (Do we need pithy names for Star Wars and Harry Potter fans? Sure, why not? I don’t know.) Passion is what makes a fandom. It’s the key building block of any fandom. And you know what? Passion leads to disagreements. Because everyone cares so darn much about it. I admit, it can go too far, and you end up ranting and raving over Twilicorn or midi-chlorians. The fact that we still care enough to fight for our point of views is a sign of a healthy fandom. Of course, that's not an excuse to not be civil to one another. After all, that's what friendship is all about. And friendship is what MLP is all about. Anyway, Star Trek and Star Wars fans have been doing it for decades. And Bronies are well on their way to that level of fandom.
You might argue that the Brony fandom is still unique in that it consists of grown men with an interest in a property that was intended to be marketed towards young girls. Yes, that’s true. But even in that regard, we’re not that unique. You may or may not recall that there was a contingent of grown women who had a particular fondness for Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians. And let’s not forget the Twilight Moms, the grown women who loved the Twilight books just as much as their tween daughters did. That’s probably what contributed to the unfortunate success of Fifty Shades of Gray.
Admittedly, there are a few things that make the Brony fandom unique. In fact, there are specifically three. (At least, that I can think of.) First is the intensity of our passion. Every fandom has passion as I explained earlier. But it seems to me that the average Brony has more passion than the fan of anything else. That abundance of passion drives them to create things that celebrate their love of MLP. There is a whole website dedicated to MLP fanart and other assorted things. I’m writing this on a whole website solely dedicated to MLP fanfiction and blogs. There is MLP inspired music all over Youtube. There is almost nothing like that for other fandoms.
Second is the old school versus new school mentality. As you can surmise from some of the examples I mentioned before, it’s a common occurrence for longtime fans of anything to become enraged by newer versions or installments of their favored properties. It’s even become a stereotype that fanboys hate anything new. This is not the case with Bronies. The Brony community is unanimous in that My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is the best incarnation of MLP to ever be created. While many Bronies do appreciate the original G1 MLP, no one has ever suggested it was better than FIM. Though the mentality still exists within FIM fans with considerable ire erupting over new developments like Twilicorn or Equestria Girls.
Third is the backlash towards the Brony community. Yes, in the past traditionally nerdy fandoms like Star Trek and Star Wars and comics books in general were looked down upon. This though seems to be waning with how mainstream nerd/geek culture seems to have become. 
But it pales in comparison to the utter vitriol Bronies have faced from their detractors, the anti-Bronies. Bronies are the only fandom that has a collection of people devoted to just hating on them. If you believe a movie like Fanboys, there may be a rivalry between Star Wars and Star Trek fans. And there has always been a rivalry between Marvel and DC fans, whether it’s comics or the movies. But it’s nothing like anti-Bronies. And their hatred knows no bounds.
Stan Lee’s World of Heroes Youtube channel once put up a video that was reporting on “Bronies: The Musical.” I witnessed one commenter declare they were unsubscribing because they reported on something Brony related. Unsubscribing from Stan Lee’s channel because of mentioning Bronies once. And I’m sure I don’t need to remind you who Stan Lee is. He f---ing invented Spider-Man!
Speaking of Marvel-related things, I’m sure many of you heard that Robert Downey, Jr. earlier this year spoke of his fondness of MLP on his Facebook. I witnessed several comments lamenting the fact that Robert Downey, Jr., you know Iron Man, liked MLP.
I once saw Weird Al Yankovic’s Facebook when he shared a clip of himself on MLP a good long while ago. I witnessed several comments lamenting and lambasting him for become involved with MLP. This is Weird Al Yankovic! He’s like the undisputed king of parody music for like the last thirty years. I don’t think he’s ever written a bad song.
So as you can see, some people disdain Bronies so much, it will irrevocably tarnish anything MLP touches, no matter how venerable or awesome it may be. There is nothing like that when it comes to any other fandom. Though the recent trend of hating on Minions comes pretty close.
Moving on to the task at hand, Love and Tolerate was always this affirmation that the Brony community was more than just a typical fandom. However, as we can see outside of a few unique factors, the Brony community isn’t really that different than any other fandom. There really is no need to hold on to this motto of Love and Tolerate. Love and Tolerate is effectively a dead meme anyway. As of writing this, there are precisely twenty items on Derpibooru tagged “Love and Tolerate.” When’s the last time you’ve heard “Love and Tolerate” brought up by any other Brony before this moment? I don’t think anyone is going to miss it.
In the end, Love and Tolerate is like a Trojan Rabbit. 
It was an early attempt by those first anti-Bronies to destroy the fandom that failed spectacularly. I think the time is long overdue to do as those French knights who were inexplicably in England did to their Trojan Rabbit and jettison Love and Tolerate like a cow out of the Brony holdfast. 
And then give those anti-Bronies one last taunting. 
Again, pardon the… French. 
What do you all think about all I’ve said on Love and Tolerate, and it’s history in the Brony fandom? Note that if you disagree, you’re pretty much confirming everything I’ve just said.
God bless you all. God bless America. And God bless Equestria.
It looks like my sharing of Animated James's video got you thinking. This was a very well-written blog and I agree with you one hundred percent.
The Brony Fandom is indeed no different from other fandoms but it most definitely has its unique aspects that sets it apart (as do all fandoms). And, as you pointed out, we're probably the only fandom to have an official hatedom in the anti-Bronies. I've never heard of anti-Whovians, anti-Trekkies, anti-Star Wars, or anti-Harry Potter people before. Only the anti-Bronies. But, in all honesty, I just laugh at anti-Bronies. Someone who's going to willingly identify with a group whose sole purpose of existence is to hate on another fandom should really reevaluate their life choices.
3350384 Yeah, it did get me thinking a lot about why AnimatedJames felt so upset, and it all led back to "Love and Tolerate" and the dichotomy of it having so much weight in the fandom despite its origins among anti-Bronies.
Yeap, I pretty much agree with everything said here. I was one of those people who came in in mid-2011, after Season 1 ended but a couple months before Season 2 was even confirmed, and to be perfectly honest, I also thought "Love And Tolerate" was something that originated with the fandom until reading this post just now. But even then, I'm proud to say I didn't buy into the concept, not entirely at any rate. At the time, Gilda was after all still pretty unsympathetic in canon, and I didn't see much tolerance of her behavior in that episode.
As for the old-versus-new thing, just wanted to observe that I'm in the curious predicament of loving Season 1 and Season 5 the best, liking Season 2 and 3, and disliking Season 4's randomness. (Even if there were some really good episodes in it.) From what I understand, the majority of the fandom likes season 2 and 4, regards Season 1 as quaint, and hates Seasons 3 and 5. I may be wrong on that point.
As someone who got into G1 during the long hiatus between Seasons 3 and 4, I'm pleasantly surprised that you'd count those who appreciate it like myself as 'many' when I thought we were a bit more scarce than that. Just nice to see. On that note, just curious, have you seen any of G1?
3350420
What's this video, if you don't mind me asking? It sounds interesting, and might provide some additional context.
3504421
I'm actually of the opinion that Season 5 so far has been best season followed by Season 4, 2, 1, and then 3 is the worst. I haven't gotten the sense that there's a disdain for Season 5. I don't follow as many Brony analysts as I used to, and the reviewers I follow here seem to be of the same opinion as me. I'm curious as to how you came to that conclusion.
I have in fact. I've even written up reviews of Rescue at Midnight Castle, My Little Pony: The Movie, and The Return of Tambelon. My assessment of "many" is mostly based on Derpibooru. You can find quite a lot of G1 MLP themed fanart there.
Oh you can find that right here.
There's a link of there in the opening of the blog, but perhaps it's not that noticeable.