Collective Foal

Hello fellow students. Today, I am here to discuss the matter of social deviants and their mistreatment by society.

When one observes society, they find a system of grouping. Take, for example, a group of politicians. While Republicans and Democrats share a rather equal portion of the group’s delegates, the moderates have a much lesser representation. This major difference in number makes the moderates what we call a deviant group. Furthermore, if we look at the Republican delegates, a small, or deviant, group of them will identify themselves as members of the Tea Party. We can see that their smaller number defines them as deviants, as they are not conformers to the mainstream political standard.

However, that idea of deviance is more of a statistical definition. Socially, deviance takes on a much less definite form. In this example, we see several religious groups found in the United States. You see a great variety here: Protestant Christians, Catholics, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus (Polysyndeton). All are recognized religions, with the “Other” pertaining to unrecognized religious sects and cults. We can then assume that as all religions other than Catholics and Protestants have very, very small numbers, they must be considered deviants. Although that is true, it is, in fact, false (Antithesis). They may be severely outnumbered by the Christians, but as they are accepted as major religious groups, they cannot be classified as social deviants. Only the “Other” group is considered deviant, as it is comprised of cults that are not listed on the census paper to be major religions. Those who worship Cthulhu in their neighbor’s basement aren’t considered members of an official religion, and so are classified as deviants. Deviants, by definition, are those who contradict social standards or norms.

This brings us to our main issue. Let’s observe a very tender subject: homosexuality. Gay couples are conceived by many as those who choose to have relations with people of the same sex. This conception is, in reality, a misconception. Homosexuality is not just a human choice. Science has come to prove, through observation, that homosexuality is a genetic deviation in humans, as well as 1,500 other known species. Lions and monkeys and dolphins and fish and insects and over 150 species of birds (Polysyndeton). All of them genetically built to engage in same-sex relationships and intercourse. So it would seem that humans would be no different. This, my friends, is where ignorance begins. Many people believe that homosexuality is an evil choice against the nature of humanity, and so, they turn to hatred.

Hatred is an evil that humans release because of deviance. When something is suspected as different, it is rejected and attacked by others. A socially awkward child may be rejected from a group because he/she acts strangely. Regardless of whether or not that child is good-natured or kind to others, he or she is abused and scorned by his or her peers. This same concept applies to homosexuals. They are protested and hated by many groups of people who view them as a dangerous plague to our society. What exactly have they done to receive this hate? Their only offense has been towards the social norm, so why should they be mocked?

Now keep that in mind when I make the following statement.

I am a fan of the television show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, otherwise known as a brony. That’s correct; I enjoy sitting down every Saturday, eating my breakfast and watching pastel ponies prance around my screen for 30 minutes. I’ve told several people this same statement, and most of them laugh. Now a sense of surprise at something different is understandable; that is only human nature. But to laugh at such a thing is cruel and ignorant.

You make think “But this show is for little girls! Surely that has to be an exception!”

But no, it really doesn’t. Let me start off by giving a concept of this show to at least show the appeal it has to men between 13 and 32. Firstly comes the creator of the show, Lauren Faust. Her previous work includes the shows Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Codename: Kids Next Door, The Powerpuff Girls, as well as the animation for the movies Cats Don’t Dance and The Iron Giant. When she decided to become the creator of the new My Little Pony series, she didn’t want a show that would only appeal to little girls. She designed it so that parents could at least bear to watch the show and find it somewhat interesting. Much like Spongebob Squarepants, the show was made to appeal to a large audience. A great way it does this is through its many cultural references.

The show has made so many nods and hints to culture in its episodes that it’s hard to keep track of them all. In one episode, a group of three ponies in the background bear a striking resemblance to the cast of the movie The Big Lebowski. Another background pony, bearing an hourglass as his cutie mark, a symbol that indicates a pony’s calling in life, was given the name Doctor Whooves by the animating cast. A billboard at Valhalla studios, the same studio that makes The Walking Dead, bore a billboard with a reference to the movie Poltergeist. How many 6-year-old girls do you think would get any of these references to outside media? Even the internet is used as a place for references in the show, with hints at internet memes like “U JELLY?” and “Chocolate Rain.” These are some of the core devices the show uses to keep guys my age rapt with every weekly installment of the show.

Even if you still aren’t convinced that the show is more than an afternoon tea party for dress-wearing pre-school children, at least accept it for what it is. Just as it is with homosexuals and social incompetents, hatred and mockery is not a proper response. What I ask is that you treat deviants with respect as fellow human beings, not as the victim of every joke you make. Do not rebuke and abhor; instead, love and tolerate. One does not have to embrace something they do not care for. But they should at least care for those who embrace it (Chiasmus). And besides, Japan is a world leader in creating strange and odd things, and not many people hate them for it.