The Zebra Issue Isn't Black and White

Editor's note: Here we present yet another article from yet another anon on this topic, because why not and we obviously don't have any real content to publish and this is better than nothing I guess.  But seriously, I think this'll be the last one.  I'm 90% sure.

Now, I'd like to preface this article with a bit of introspection. Privilege is a very foreign concept to me, especially after having met so many different people in my short 9 years in the fandom. Coming from a background with a black father and Asian mother, whose resources were taken by hurricanes and internment camps respectively, I still meet people with fair skin and supposed privilege that have lives far worse than mine. I sincerely hope that one day we can follow in Dr. King's words and finally set this racial butthurt behind us. Be you white or black, Asians imperial or jungle, we were all once kangs 'n' shit.

Just Get Better Jokes: Clout, Comedy, and Cancel Culture

Editor's note: This is a response piece to an editorial submitted by a valiant and brave anonymous writer entitled Implying Slavery In Pursuit of Clout.

Let's begin with the title in and of itself, because it speaks to the stunning lack of self-awareness the writer will proceed to portray throughout the rest of the editorial. What the author is attempting to do is to portray anybody who has even a slight criticism with tired, racist jokes as a clout-chaser just doing it for attention. Unfortunately this logic doesn't hold up on several points: chief of them being that everything is done for clout on social media. 

Taking Out the Trash: The Existential Crisis of the Brony Fandom - OP-ED by @SilverEagleDev

Editor's Note: This article is an OP ED fan submitted counter argument by Silver Eagle, in response to the previous OP ED on the same topic.


Man, remember 2012? Those were simpler times. Pony was a paradise back then, when we all bopped along to Avast Fluttershy’s Ass and did the Gangnam Style dance in unison at cons. There was no politics, no factions, no drama, no callouts. We were all one happy family, loving and tolerating each other.

I hate to break it to you, but it was doomed from the start.

Implying Slavery In Pursuit of Clout: An Anonymous Op-Ed

Editor's Note:This article was sent to us by an anonymous member of the community.  We lack the required testicles to have written it ourselves.

This image has been altered to remove any signs of racism

The comedy writer is like the conscience of the king. He's got to tell the truth. And that's my job, to make terrible things entertaining. 

Such is the challenge of a comedian, and usually people who complain about it being 'problematic' and 'extremely subjective' are the least-funny people around. It is true that comedy can be subjective, and far more importantly comedy can simply be unfunny. However, in terms of the latter, people have tried to unpack the reasons behind what makes something 'unfunny.' Comedy is far from my expertise—though I'll indulge in it like a drunk at a bar (or while drunk at a bar)—and I'll not pretend to be a specialist in it nor speak with any great authority; but I have noticed a trend over my life that's worth submitting for the reader's consideration: The people who complain about comedy and those who make unfunny works are not only virtually the same; they are the most tone-deaf, unrealistic, horribly sensitive, weak-willed people you'll find.

I have to start off with that little piece because what I'm writing about today plays into this. I'll refrain from any further waxing on the nature of the subject or delve into anything unrelated and just keep it straightforward to tell what happened, though I'll sprinkle some further quotes from this one comedian to keep things in mind. That being said, let's get the quick rundown of what happened: a funny horse artist decided to do a big meme for his horse artist friend for his birthday and Twitter got mad.

Team KP Fires team member for discussing "loving parody" with subject of parody they supposedly love

A member of the "I<3KimPossibleAlot" team member was allegedly fired last week for breaking a nondisclosure agreement by displaying ethical behavior. The animator who will not be named was immediately canned upon revelation that he had approached the subject of an upcoming "parody" to get the original creator's blessing on the project, on behalf of ILoveKimPossible. The subject thought it odd that KP did not approach him directly, or even ever speak to him before this encounter.

Today a "teaser" for the "parody" was released, covered in "Fair Use" disclaimers, echoing what the animator had said himself over a discord chat.

No Mountain Too Tall - A Follow-up of CMPC, Opinions and Analysis

Note: the Opinions expressed in the screencaps included below are not necessarily the opinions of Horse News or its affiliates (as no one from HN was in attendance at the event itself)

And now for what you've all been waiting for:

So Crystal Mountain Pony Con is over. Forever. And many have been waiting for us to do our follow-up on the event, so let's jump right into it.

First let's answer the question that naysayers THOUGHT we were asking: Did CMPC turn into Las Pegasus Unicon Part 2? The answer to that question is a hard "No" as people were not stranded in the desert and there was considerably less gambling options available. Many guests, vendors, and attendees alike stated after the fact that they enjoyed themselves and some would willingly return if the convention did also. In that regard, the convention was a success.

Now let's examine the question that we were actually asking with our pre-convention post 4-weeks ago: Were the alarms and concerns raised by staff members and vendors alike justified?

Let's take a look at what has happened, beginning with the beginning and the immediate response to the original post.

Cringe Corner: A stalker brony named "Stalker" - Lightning Stalker / Neon Notes threatening / harassing people

If you agree to be his boyfriend, he'll make you some sandwiches.

As the community continues to wrestle with the fallout of ToonGate, another contender for creepiest Cringe Corner character has crawled out of the shadows onto everyone's twitter feeds. A stalker, who literally goes by the name "Lightning Stalker" (along with several other aliases) has been showing off his skills as a true pickup artist....by literally messaging HUNDREDS of twitter users, and asking "can I be your boyfriend"?

But it doesn't stop there.

Letters to the Editor: Details emerge about ToonKriticY2K's past actions

The following post contains an unedited letter sent to the Horse News staff, from a reader named Massiker Mollie in response to recently publicized information regarding the alleged actions of ToonKriticY2K. The views and information provided are not necessarily those of Horse News, and have not been independently verified.  

In the hours since the information and details about the actions of ToonKriticY2K were revealed to the public, there have been several accounts and comments from others who claim to have been involved with him, attesting to his alleged behavior in the past. Among them is a recount of an experience dubbed "Abby's Story", which is given by Youtube user Cavatina, involving a personal friend. 

Another comes in the form of a Youtube comment on Vida's video outlining the event by a user named PurpleRoselyn who claims their friend had been "groped by him at a con". It is unclear at this time how many others will come forward with their own accounts in the coming days, but there is one account that was sent to us from a Youtube user named Massiker Mollie who had been in a "rocky relationship" with ToonKritic for several years.

Below, is her unedited letter (only altered spacing for formatting purposes).

The Seventh Seal of the Animation Crapocalypse has opened - Powerpuff Teen Titans Crossover

These are dark times there is no denying. The animation industry has perhaps faced no greater threat than it does today. But I say this to our citizenry: We....

well... We got nothin.

An image has been floating around the internet that is making some people ask "why" and others to find out what barrel-oil tastes like. It is the seventh seal of the animation crapocalypse, and it's coming to Cartoon Network at the end of July.

And it's not the only "oh shit" news coming out of the industry this week.

Jeremy Whitley and The Continuing Decline of IDW

    

Jeremy Whitley is no stranger to controversy. Be it Dragontown that was an allegory for racial tension in the US, Twilight "For the Right Reasons" Sparkle, Radiant Hope waifuing a redeemed Sombra, or even just his tendency to textwall, there is no shortage of drama whenever he releases a comic. However, a continuing saga on Twitter shows that we have entered a new era of obsession and it signals further the decline of IDW's MLP.

Season 6 becoming least-watched MLP season to-date

There's no sugar-coating it folks. Season 6, according to the only ratings that are consistent in the cable television market, is becoming the least-watched season of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Not even the premier, which is historically one of the most-anticipated events every season, was able to crack 390,000 viewers - a number that represents the LEAST-watched episode of Season 4.

Just recently, the ratings for Episode 5 "Gauntlet of Fire" came in, at a new record-low - a mere 196,000 viewers.

To put that in perspective, it lost to reruns of Evan Almighty and Happy Feet on HBO Prime in the ratings.

Canterlot Rage-io: Mod discovers 3-year-old meme, gets triggered, decried for censorship

Last week, an admin of the Canterlot Radio Facebook page made a post that has drawn a lot of attention for 2 reasons. First, many believe it is a call for censorship of artwork (something that's...ya know...not usually cool) and second, because it is one of the worst slowpokes in fandom history. The post, which has since been edited, references the "Doing Hurtful Things to your Waifu" meme that has been in circulation in the fandom since at least early February.....of 2013. The meme, which is 3 years old, is potentially even older than Canterlot Radio itself, which according to twitter, was also founded in February of 2013.

The admin expressed shock and disgust at the Fluttershy version of the image, which has over 100 variations. They also expressed surprise when informed that there are others, of this incredibly popular, widely-distributed class of images (the anti-version of the meme has been featured repeatedly on Equestria Daily, and other such sites for years).

It didn't take long for followers to voice their concerns about the perceived call (albeit fruitless) for censorship.

FallenWish 2: Return of the Jew

Editor's Note: The article is incredibly fucking long, heavily opinionated, and almost certainly not worth your time unless you're into this sort of thing. A TL;DR can be found at the bottom. Happy reading.

M'Jew

Remember that article about FallenWish practically conning her fans out of their precious shekels? We don't, but in an unsurprising turn of events, our fair lady has fallen victim to the receiving end of her own devices. The man behind the curtain, the Jew that out-Jewed the Jew, is none other than a brony "analyst" named ToonKriticY2K. A miser who managed to successfully swindle shekels out from under FallenWish's crooked nose.

Op-Ed - Lauren's Gate: The Cult of Faust

Editors Note:  NewsieLicious is a loose cannon Horse News Member that offers in-depth analysis on fandom culture. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely his.

We pledge allegiance to the Faust...

Earlier this month at EQLA, MLP show creator Lauren Faust sat before an audience of some of the most fervent supporters she has enjoyed in her entire career. The announcement of her arrival had flooded social media with thousands of excited bronies wishing to see her in person, many for the first time ever. She had entered the room to a standing ovation from a crowd of almost two thousand adoring fans.

Yet, when asked about how the bronies felt about her, she sighed, saying it felt like we had forgotten her. That "all the work she did was for nothing".

The audience couldn't disagree more, and neither could I. Faust's name has attracted such clout and influence in our fan base that, despite her departure from the show itself, there's a cult of personality surrounding her name that won't soon disappear. Anything she supports, you can bet that thousands of Bronies will toss their hard-earned shekels at it with little, if any, critical thought.

In fact, I hear a few people are betting on that, to the tune of almost half a million dollars.

Op-ed: AnimatedJames, Leekfish and the Third Rail of Honesty

Editors Note:  NewsieLicious is a Horse News Member that offers in-depth analysis on fandom culture. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely his.

If you still haven't heard about AnimatedFishLeekJamesGate, crawl out from under that rock and grab a pitchfork and some stale popcorn.

Recently, an article was posted here on HN that lambasted AnimatedJames for his recent video, "The Truth about the Brony Fandom". In the video, he says the fandom has lost touch with one of the show's core values, honesty, in its seemingly unanimous resistance to people who may be considered "brutally" honest. He concludes that this hugbox mentality will slowly unravel the fandom we know and love, as nobody wants to be the one to tell people when they really need to just stop.

Here's the thing, though: I think he's right.

Slaughterhouse Barney: A Journey into Insanity

I have you now, Barney

The my little pony fandom is no stranger to freaks. Hell, I have come across plenty of them inside and outside of the fandom, both on the internet and in real life. The world is chock full of them, and the internet -especially the dark corner of the internet we call home- is their watering hole.

On the internet, there is no way to tell if the person on the other end of my screen, with its tangle of cables and radiation waves that connect us, is sane, or even a person at all. There is no escaping the freak nation.

My point is that My Little Pony attracts some really odd people. This Barney fag for instance is just one in the sea of freaks.

Economic Anticipation: new EQG announced, commence speculation

While I was sleeping (for those unaware I now live in Korea), something was posted that has once again kicked the gears of the speculation engine into action; a promotional image released by Hasbro indicating yet another Equestria Girls property. What does this mean? Follow me on a game of educated guesses.

Released Photo Shows Possible Pregnancy Storyline for the Royal Family

Artists Impression of Hasbro Board Directors

A leaked photo from hasbro shows a wedding cake with a baby bed on top which leads to suspicions about a new story line featuring a royal baby.

Without a doubt, this image is a harbinger for the future of the show. In the past, the show writers were strong armed into force feeding us new characters and gimmicks in order to adhere to the status quo of a toy commercial imposed on them by the higher ups at Hasbro. There is no reason NOT to assume that the same is happening in this case. It is highly likely, almost a certainty, that the execs at Hasbro Corp of Evil will

Op-ed: Why Discovery Family seems to hate you and themselves.

By TheOtakuX

Editors Note: TheOtakuX is a 'Geek Culture' blogger and comments on a variety of topics with a focus in Anime and My Little Pony. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

TheOtakuX

So the latest news is that Discovery Family has shot themselves in the foot again. First they delayed season 5 by about 6 months. Then they refused to make new advertisements for it. Then, when we all thought they'd run out of feet to shoot, they split season 5 in half, giving us another mini-hiatus that will inevitably lead to more drama and the fandom going at each others' throats once again. But what we half to ask ourselves is. Why?

I think the simplest reason is, they don't care about the adult fans. The Hub was run more by Hasbro than by Discovery Networks. Hasbro has long been involved with adult fans through Transformers and G.I.Joe. They know the value of catering to the basement dwellers and their precious disposable income. But Discovery Networks has far less to gain from selling pastel plastic ponies. They sell adspace. And adspace works best on new episodes.

Discovery Family losing viewers - C&D's CinemaQuestria

By now, most everyone has heard the news that CinemaQuestria, a Saturday-morning Streaming Staple, has been suddenly slapped with a cease and desist, spotlighting a sad state of affairs for the show. CinemaQuestria is just one of many private streamers of the episodes on Saturday mornings, and potentially just the first to be struck with the banhammer.

This has of course led to speculation over the biggest question: "Why?"

Why would Hasbro and Discovery Family do this now, after all this time, and from a business aspect why is it even a bad thing?

A few anons have noted a fact that has gone overlooked this season; a shocking trend that we wouldn't have expected. 

Discovery Family is hemorrhaging viewers.