A fandom is a group of people who are fans of a particular television show, movie, sport, game, music album or anything else made famous, while fan bases are the actual people inside these fandoms. Generally, everyone is or has been a fan of at least one thing in their lives.

Nevertheless, a problem I see weekly, whether it’s the Internet or real life, is when people are taunted by others who have a strong dislike for that particular fandom or when a fan base picks on another fan base. If the rude opinions are expressed genuinely, you can closely relate these actions to cyberbullying; a problem that’s been growing in recent years.

An example of a fandom that is picked on on a daily basis is the Brony fandom: the kind, teenage/ adult fans of the show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Honestly, I think it’s obvious why bronies are picked on at all. They’re grown ups with sophisticated minds who like something as simple as ponies; they’re own respectable opinion. That is to say, it’s not just bronies who are picked on because of what they like. Anime fans, sports fans, music fans and video game fans are all picked on constantly throughout the world.

Instances where I’ve seen some of the stupidest arguments are in the YouTube comments section. If a brony or a fan of any other TV show has their profile picture set as a character from that specific show and posts a comment completely unrelated to their profile picture, there’s a great chance that a random person will reply to them with very unpleasant comments. This then leads to a huge and pointless argument if the fan responds back.

For the people being messed with on the Internet,  school or anywhere else because of what they enjoy, all I can say is to not care. The judgements of random people on the Internet shouldn’t affect what you love. In my opinion, people on the Internet wouldn’t actually say those unpleasant things to your face in real life. If you understand that they’re just an ignorant person over the Internet, then you probably wouldn’t feel as mad or sad about whatever they say. I believe these peoples’ opinions generated because of how their parents raised them. I respect that, even if I disagree with their beliefs.

In my opinion, many people abuse the “freedom of speech” from the First Amendment in the Constitution. If you ask me, I think it’s very wrong that fans of their subjects and haters alike express the opinion of, “What those guys like is really stupid,” in the meanest or most terrible ways possible. You’re allowed to have an opinion of course, but there’s a difference between informing others of your opinion and being rude about it.