Simon A's Home For Himself: The Fucking Idiocy Of Brony Musicians:
generalmumble:
baconmane:
therealsimona:
People like Alex S. and Archie V. have basically been demonized because they left the brony fanbase and this is how I’m gonna start this little rant. Alex, Archie. I apologize on behalf of the fucking idiots on the internet and in the fan-base. These are a kind of victim of reverse fame…
Normally i don’t get involved with stuff like this (or, more appropriately, I’ve gone out of my way to avoid getting involved with this kinda thing for a while), but i just wanna shed some light and give a different perspective on what you’re angry about. I’ve seen similar rants and arguments in the past, and i’m a bit tired of how dehumanizing they can be, and how, whether intended or not, they’re ultimately the result of holding “famous” (if they can really be called it) musicians to a higher, stricter standard than others.
1. I’d like to make, or to be frank, reiterate the statement that popular fandom musicians, artists, voice actors, writers, etc etc, are all people. At the end of the day, we’re all just a bunch of joe blows and jane does that have interests, hobbies, lives, and so on.
2. You claim that brony musicians have “excuses” for not participating in calls with people, but will talk with others whom they know and are already friends with. No offence, but what’s your point? I’m pretty sure you talk to your friends, too. As for the excuses,
a) maybe they actually are legit excuses? I have a job, i have a life, and there are times where i have to tell someone i can’t talk, friend or not, because i have to go hop a bus or something. It’s nothing personal, shit just happens.
b) look at it like this: you have a bit of a following, a couple of thousand youtube subscribers, your stuff ends up on EQD regularly, you’re getting 20-30 comments, messages, tumblr asks, tweets, and facebook requests a day, quite possible of each. 1. That’s hella overwhelming at times, and with life getting in the way, it can get insanely difficult to keep track of. That’s why people who actually are famous hire people, groups of people, to keep track of that shit for them, ‘cause it really is a hassle once you get to that point; even then, you’ll forget people, you’ll be frustrated, and at times you’ll have to let people down to various degrees. 2. there is no contract or unspoken deal that states that ANYBODY is obliged to talk to people, regardless of their degree of “fame” - some people are generally anti-social, and only feel comfortable talking to people on a regular basis that they have come to know really well (see also: friends) Being famous doesn’t mean they have to suck it up and deal with it, and they shouldn’t be expected to do so, ‘cause it’s unfair to them. For those who aren’t anti social, sometimes we don’t want to talk to new people, sometimes we actually are busy, and sometimes it’s just really hard to keep a conversation going when there’s nothing to connect on or to go off of. Fame isn’t even a factor at that point, ‘cause i’ve seen countless posts on facebook and tumblr joking and satirising the classic “hey, what’s up?” “not much, you?” “same” conversation. If you don’t know someone, you shouldn’t have to feel obligated to find something to talk about just because they took the time to say “hi.” Now, from experience, i know that plucking up the courage to do so can be harrowing and stressful, but if you don’t go into it with something to actually talk ABOUT, why should you expect the other person (famous or not) to pick up the slack when you’re the one who initiated it?
But back to the excuses: if they really are lying about having to do stuff, maybe they’re just trying to let them down softly? As a person, while talking to another person I know i’d much rather hear “I have to go make dinner” than “I really don’t want to talk to you/think this conversation is going anywhere”. Like, there’s no way of saying it that DOESN’T come as a bit of a blow, and most people don’t want to come off as rude or offensive. On top of that, you get enough messages a day that go nowhere and start telling more and more people that you don’t want to talk to them, then people start saying you’re an asshole, or that you’re “letting the fame get to your head” (that’s a really popular one). (and of course, all this is again assuming that the excuses aren’t legitimate, ‘cause to use your example as a reference, maybe conversation A was started at a bad time, but conversation B was from either earlier or later, when the time wasn’t bad.)
3. As for calling certain brony musicians spoiled, i’m gonna offer some first hand experience: I had to drop out of EQLA because i couldn’t raise the money to do so. I work a shitty job at odd hours, don’t make much on album sales, and have high rent, bills, and other living expenses to take care off. Ever since the last EQLA, i’ve gotten messages from more people than I can remember asking if i could come to the next one. Did I want to go? yes. But if i was just going for myself, and/or could have afforded to go out of pocket, I wouldn’t have asked for help with the finances, and most people in the fandom with any level of fame wouldn’t have, either. The reason we ask, and subsequently the reason people DO help us fundraise for it, is because people WANT us to go (for the SAME REASON people want to talk to us, so I’m sorry but your argument is a bit of hypocritical).
Look, I don’t know what to tell you. You’re obviously upset about something, because your screed was harsh and came off as being very entitled and dejected. But know this: being a “famous” person isn’t all that fun. Sometimes it fucking sucks. Once you get to a certain level of fame, people get judgmental, people expect things from you, you’re scrutinized for every action, and SOMEONE’s always upset at you for whatever reason, even if you’re the nicest guy on the planet. You become something besides human in the eyes of a lot of people, and quite frankly that can be really demoralizing and discouraging, especially considering that, when a person becomes “famous”, it’s generally because of something they actively like doing (which is why famous people tend to flock together, because they work in similar fields and share interests. Another reason? Because “famous” people don’t treat other “famous” people like their celebrities. It’s nothing personal, but not every famous person likes to answer questions about themselves all the time - sometimes they just like to sit back with people they’re comfortable with and make farts jokes and funny faces). Put bluntly, it’s why a lot of famous people start doing drugs and drinking heavily - it’s not because they think it’s cool, it’s usually to escape from the pressure and stress. And when people post little rants like yours demonizing people for mundane or necessary behaviors or habits, it gets very frustrating, and enough of them have the potential to make people just give up, ‘cause to some it’s just not worth the negative attention. (again, hypocrisy, because of your first point - the same people bitching about artists leaving were and are more often than not saying the same stuff you are in your rant about brony musicians in general).
In short, we’re just people, and it gets rather annoying and demoralizing when people, like yourself, get upset at us for doing stuff normal people would do merely because we’re famous. Sorry, dude.
- Tarby
Tarby is right. Becoming popular can get very stressful with so many people expecting things of you.
I for one do try as hard as I’ll allow myself to keep up with everyone who talks to me. But sometimes it gets overwhelming. I had to get a new Skype account because I simply couldn’t keep up with so many people talking to me, I felt bad for leaving all the random group chats I was added to with no one I know in them. I mean yes, it’s cowardly to run away like that and make a new account but I only did that so I didn’t have to delete people. Yes that’s weak but I didn’t know what else to do. On top of that, I get lots of people message me on Steam, tumblr, twitter, whatever. At times, it can get very hard to keep up with, on top of trying to live life, create music, spend time with loved ones, with friends, with family (all who fall under loved ones
I’m not trying to say that the more popular people in the fandom deserve special treatment because we’re spoiled by our popularity or something. I’m backing up Tarby in saying that we are only human, and it really does become difficult to keep everything in the balance and please absolutely everyone.
I hope I don’t sound spoiled or whatever. I’m tired today so I probably could have worded this better.