Stories of people being rude about MLP

[Kitkumi]

There was one day I was in Toys R Us and picked up a few of the brushables for custom purposes and a few packs of the trading cards. The cashier looked young, probably in his late teens or early twenties, but he asked me if I wanted a gift receipt. When I said no he rolled his eyes and muttered an "oh my god" and then started smirking as he bagged stuff. It was really embarrassing even though there was no one else in line. Looking back, I wish I had spoken up but it just totally caught me off guard, mostly because I'm a girl. I kept wondering "wait... when did it become funny for a girl to buy MLP?" O.o

[Evening_Moonstone]

Not exactly a rude comment, but I have a friend (let's call her L) who tends to be very blunt about things.  She doesn't get the MLP craze that's everywhere at conventions at the moment.  (It was kind of funny watching her point out cosplayers and ask "is that one a pony?"). 
Anyway, at the last convention, another friend and I ran an artist table selling (among other things) handmade MLP goods - fleece hats and plush.  When L found out that we sold out of all our MLP things (most on the first day), she said "You know, I thought ponies were pretty silly.  But if they're that profitable, they can't be all bad."

[zora]

i have to say i never had any problems with being a collector of childrens toys. everybody in my workplace knows about my collection, i even have 2 ponies on my desk and G4 ponies on my desktop (i have 2 monitors which are very big and everybody can see them). my co workers like the colorful toys and are very interested in them. also my friends have no problems with it as far as i know. my co-studiers at the university even know the names of the mane 6 because i take every day another one with me to class when i pull out a pony everybody shouts its name

when i bought a rarity in my local "jokerland" i had to return it because it had flaws on the body. the lady to whom i talked looked a bit weird at me when i told her that i am a collector and it maybe wouldnt  be a problem when i bought it for a kid for play, but i want to display it and so it has to be flawless (its a new pony, i dont mind if G1s have flaws). she totally understood but her collegues shook their heads when i left

i find such things very funny, its a hobby like everything else. i also shake my head at girls who have 1000 different nail polishes at home

you have to be confident about what you are and what you do. then the others will respect you and your stuff.

[Luxrayx]

Well, in the beginning my mother and my sister often gave me insulting comments... They stopped when my brother decided to explain how popular they are on the internet 
But strangers? None.

[Vulpy]

The amount of grief I get at school for liking MLP is just annoying.  They even talk to me like I'm stupid, just because I like MLP. I regret mentioning it.

[Eternia]

I have never gotten a bad reaction for my ponies! My co-workers tease me a bit, but they think it's cute, not creepy. My friends accept it. My family took awhile, but now they accept it as well. My past partners have all been supportive. I guess I've been lucky.

[BrightIdea]

Lol I think a tonne of my co-workers have seen my pony collection now (we just bought a new house and were giving tours), but no one has ever been rude to me.

It's more like "Are those my little ponies?? So many ponies!  " Then my husband points at a pony and says "She bought that for $70 and now it is worth 500 bucks." Lol. He is paying attention

I haven't met a anyone rude about it yet. Our friends were teasing my husband though that it is actually his collection, so he definitely gets more grief about it

[saply]

Isn't it sort of an unwritten rule of customer service that you don't discuss someone's purchases with other customers? I mean, if I had to buy a big ol' tube of Vagisil or something from WalMart, I certainly wouldn't want the cashier blabbing about it to the other people in line.

[MilkyTaroMochi]

I've actually gotten more flack from some friends and even family members about me collecting MLP (and MH) than from strangers in a store or in public. And these are the same people that tell me to be myself and not change for anybody.
 
A few weeks back, one of my really close friends told me what another friend of ours had said to him about my apartment and collection (I have my MLPs and MH dolls on a built-in shelf, and have the Walmart posters framed and hanging on my wall), along with some other artworks I'd buy at conventions or poster sales).
Long story short, she had said that I needed to "put my toys away and grow up", stating how I was very immature/childish for being into the stuff, and said how she imagined I'd end up the lonely unmarried 40 year old with a huge doll/pony collection. Among other really out of line comments.
It really hurt me that she said that, especially since she is supposed to be my friend. The guy friend that told me felt bad for letting me know since I had gotten depressed about her comments, but he just thought it was really wrong what she had said and believed I needed to know. I thanked him for telling me.

In a way, I don't really like to tell people what I'm into. But in any case, I basically decided if people really have an issue with what I like, they just don't have to talk to me [anymore] if it bothers them that much.

[Flitter]

I always wonder do cashiers have to ask me if it's a birthday gift when I buy ponies?
It happens a lot! Usually at Target it seems. I'm not always sure how to take it and it does sometimes come off as bewilderment over why an adult without a child in tow would be buying toys.
Overall I've had good experiences with store employees though. I mean Walmart employees are nearly always rude, unhelpful and act as if I'm wasting their time or in their way so I don't take their behavior personally. There have been some really nice people at Target who have looked up products for me, gotten items from the back and even sometimes gone so far as to ask if I wanted to inspect and pick which particular one I want or tell me when they are expecting a shipment. (I assume collectors are nothing new to them or they are just tactful enough to be nice about it.) The only person that has ever been rude to me at Target doesn't seem to work there anymore.
Toys R Us employees can seem a little avoidant at times, seeming to run away when I walk up to them to ask something, but there is one person at my TRU that is super nice. I think she may be one of the managers. Though she obviously doesn't collect herself, has asked me about the products since she knows I collect. (Apparently they get a lot of phone calls about mlp and she doesn't know what to tell people over the phone sometimes. Like when they ask what wave of blind bags they have in stock, etc. I've explained to her about the codes on the bags and how different waves come in different color bags and she no longer bats an eye when I'm rifling though them.) She's asked what it was I was looking for when I've left empty handed and I'll tell her what new stuff should be coming in soon. She is genuinely just a sweet person who wants to do her job well.

My family and friends, some of them find it a bit silly that I'm into MLP but they are accepting of my hobbies. My parents even seem to think it's cute that I've started collecting them.

[Yurusumaji]

I haven't met any rude people that I can recall. I'm short, but I carry myself in an intimidating manner. People tend to just let me be. Plus I'm very friendly, so they're more willing to shrug off my quirks, I guess.

My mother, when I started collecting Pokémon, told me I was wasting money. I never stopped collecting, but now I know it bothers her, so we don't talk about it. It's fine, because hubbs really enjoys sharing my excitement with me, so I don't need her support in that area. I'm a married adult, so she keeps her nose out of my business and I don't rub it in her face.

My cousin thinks thrifting for ponies is gnarly. She enjoys the "thrill of the hunt", though she doesn't care as much specifically about the ponies themselves. Ha ha. My sister knows I'm a collector of many different things and generally finds my collections to be cute and fun, so she's pretty much fine with it. Most of the clerks I've met while buying/looking for ponies or dolls have been really nice and at least not stupid enough to say anything rude to my face. I've been in retail long enough to know where to go if I want to file a complaint against someone and I won't hesitate with something like that because it's a personal attack and it is highly unprofessional.

As for other customers, oh no freakin' way. I would have told her to shut her mouth before I shut it for her permanently. Keep your ignorant opinion to yourself. If I'm not in a bad mood though, I'll just smile at them and go, "Yeah! Can't wait to my hands on it! Gunna be awesome!" When they see you're not swayed by their rudeness, they'll usually drop it. If they don't, time to get mean. And omg, catch me on the wrong day and I will be very mean. I guess it's all in preparing yourself to accept and deal with people like that. They're everywhere and you're bound to run into them eventually. Just tell them to stuff a cork in it. What you're into is no concern of theirs.

[Radiance]

So a couple of comic book shoppers laughed at your choice of comic? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Honestly though, it may not be as bad as you think. Comic nerds like myself tend to be socially awkward and say things without thinking, not meaning to actually hurt anyone.

[appleponygal]

What rude nasty people! They should kinda mind their own buisness, probably not so perfect themselves, people like that are so dumb!  It's horrible they treated you like that. 

[Dandy]

Mostly I get it from my mom. She constantly brings my ponies up as an insult. She's a seriel nagger, so she loves to constantly tell me how immature I am, and says, "You waste so much money on your little games and your ponies." (Note: "ponies" is said the way some would decribe a poisonous reptile or expired milk)

Ironically enough, she has a collection of vintage Barbies, so...

I haven't had much else other than my ex-boyfriend constantly calling them dumb. Even when we weren't talking about them, he just went out of his way to say how dumb they were w/e

[lonewolf]

  Being a guy the risk is even higher for me , but luckily I haven't  had any bad encounters when buying ponies so far (even before I got into G4). I have been asked about "birthdays" before, and I try to indirectly answer  (the worst happened recently when a female Walmart cashier asked if what I bought was for my daughter or girlfriend, which I have neither ATM. Made worse by the fact it was Abbey and not a pony  ).
  The only people IRL who know I'm into MLP are my uncle and my younger sister (who likes MLP along with her daughter, and possibly her son also ). I live in a small town where stuff spreads fast and has a lot of judgemental people, so I keep it under wraps. Same on Facebook since a few of my friends are on there also (if one decides to pay a visit I'm dead because most of mine are on display in  my living room. I guess I could say they were my mom's  ).