The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Mrs. Prospector on December 01, 2023, 12:32:53 AM
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So today on Reddit, I saw someone post their massive collection of Bluey related merchandise. While I agree that the amount of things they own and probably will never use is a bit overkill, the comments seemed to have an anti-collecting rhetoric to them. Many people said that this much merchandise was overconsumption and ultimately wasteful. That it’s selfish for adults to keep toys on a shelf when there are kids that would love to play with them. That it’s just another 60 tons of plastic headed for the landfills. That their obsession of something made for kids is unhealthy, and cannot be compared to collecting merchandise for something “adult” like Star Wars. Any rebuttal of “it makes them happy!” was followed by people criticizing happiness being derived by owning things. For good measure, there were also people making backhanded comments about MLP collecting, insinuating that it’s equally as creepy. I’ve also seen similar comments on MLP collector’s instagrams.
This made me kind of feel kind of guilty about collecting MLP. Is collecting things, especially if they’re second hand, inherently wasteful? I haven’t been collecting for long, but I always make sure to get ones I genuinely like, and don’t spend too much at once. Is it shallow that something that makes us happy is ultimately a mass produced toy? For me, being an MLP fan/collector is much more than buying ponies-it’s connecting with fellow collectors, and using the franchise as an inspiration for art and writing. I’ve loved MLP for almost my whole life, and it’s become part of who I am. Do people really thing it’s creepy or a sign of issues to collect ponies these days? (I swear, the G4 fandom ruined everything when it comes to how the general public perceives MLP and the people who like it).
The argument that really got to me was the “why are you keeping the toys away from the poor little children? Toys are made to be played with, not looked at!!” one. Is it really looked down upon to find cheap ponies second hand, and take the time to clean them up and lovingly display them when they could have gone to a child instead, even if they have already been loved for 20-40 years?
I know I’m blowing this way out of proportion, and that as MLP collectors, we will all disagree, but these comments made me question whether it’s “moral” to collect ponies or not for a minute (although nothing will make me stop collecting MLP or give away my collection).
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I’ve seen a lot of the type of rhetoric lately as well and while I think it comes from a good place, I do think it’s been blown a bit out of proportion. Super lengthy and rambling post incoming!
The way I look at my collection is this: My ponies already exist, right? They can sit on a shelf in my room and be appreciated, the MAYBE could find a home with a kid, if just temporarily, or they can end up in a landfill anyway. Vintage ponies in particular however may not even be suited for kids play. With plasticizer leakage, rust, mold, hair loss, and the other issue that can be found in older toys it may not even be safe for kids to have them. I really don’t see what the harm is in collecting second hand toys that have already been produced. I figure they may as well be appreciated vs left to sit in the trash. There is no “undoing” the materials that created them at this point.
Newer toys I suppose one could argue that the more one buys the more demand there is for more to be produced, so I can see how curbing consumption can be helpful in that regard. But like you said, if you only buy what you truly want and will use, you are not single handedly destroying the planet with consumerism!! The toys will be produced regardless for kids who will love them for a time, and probably end up getting rid of them at some point. An adult buying a toy for themselves here and there isn’t going to skew how many toys are manufactured THAT much. I do think there is a troubling trend of buying more than is needed (I myself am guilty of this!) but idk, I never feel like it’s my place to judge exactly. If having like 20 of the same tumbler in different colors makes you happy, then hey, awesome! At least it’s saving single use plastic bottles from being used right?
I also despise how adults liking childish things has started to become negative in the eyes of some. I’ve seen a lot of the same negativity that you have that implies that adults who are into kids media are mentally ill or creepy or whatever. I mean to some degree I know it can come off as weird, but most folks I know who like kids stuff still are well balanced adults who just happen to still love a few particular things that make them nostalgic. My Little Pony obviously is a huge part of who I am and my interests, but I have other “adult” interests outside of it. I can hold adult conversations, work, and be invested in serious issues along with wanting an escape. I don’t particularly think that collecting toys is a sign of stunted development like some of these people seem to imply. Sure there’s a few in every group, but to paint us all with the same brush is so over simplistic.
To be honest with you I think part of the problem is just where you’re seeing the content. I love Reddit, but man it seems like negativity rules there. I’ve found myself really questioning myself a lot on my morality and views on a multitude of issues, and while that can absolutely be a good thing, it can also get exhausting when it seems like anything you believe in or enjoy is immoral somehow. I feel like there are some posters out there that think unless you live in a tent feel very bad about everything wrong with the world, you don’t take issues seriously enough and you’re part of the problem! The truth is none of us are perfect and we DO live in a very consumer driven society. I feel like if you are relatively mindful with your spending and don’t buy ponies just for the sake of having them, there are far, far more harmful hobbies to have out there. Of course I’m a bit biased, but I think us collectors are a pretty cool group of people! ;)
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Oh boy, a post about guilt among collectors?! Let me get my anxious self in here! :lmao: I'm joking, mostly! :lmao: I'm sure at some level you know these comments are bunk, but it's hard to hear all the same! :hug: So I don't blame you for wanting to hear less-depressing replies to the same argument!
In terms of morality, let's be real... being alive as a human in 2023 is incredibly wasteful in general. If you live in the global West, if you own a cellphone, if you eat prepackaged foods, if you drink coffee, eat meat, you are surviving off of the backs of human suffering. If you are too focused on 'waste as sin', then your only option is to move to a commune and spend your days weaving baskets to atone for the sin of being alive. It's easier to point the finger and say 'oh, THOSE are the sinful wastrels!' and point at someone else, than to consider the ethics of child labor in producing most of the world's chocolate, just for one example. The people on Reddit posting about how evil it is to find pleasure in collecting 'the wrong thing' are likely posting from a computer or cell phone - do I have big news for them about the labor that is involved in those industries! /sarcasm
I saw a really good quote that stuck with me, I think from Tumblr - I actually googled it, and it's from a poem, "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver. Here are the first lines:
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
It's a beautiful sentiment, and one that I'm drawn to, especially as an anxious person myself. There's a lot about my life that I'm sure someone could point to and say, that's so wasteful! And so what? Every life produces waste. Waste is not evil. Being human and fallible is not evil. Nobody's perfect, and if you take pleasure in little bits of plastic that remind you of kinder times, gosh! In times like these, I hope we can forgive each other for the little quirks and foibles that keep us going every day.
I don't think it's wrong to want to do better, and in fact, I think we should do our best to lessen human suffering, especially on a global scale. But the answer is changing the industries that do these things and the capitalist society we live in that permits and rewards it, not tracking down Bluey collectors on Reddit to harass and make ourselves feel better. The world needs more kindness, and less of whatever that group of Redditors is doing right now, LOL.
(I also think it's very "interesting" that it's popular to dump on collectors for being weird, but not on the people who make NFL a lifestyle... and I think it's interesting to consider the gender disparity between the groups of collectors being targeted and the NFL megafans... hmmm I wonder what the difference is! ;))
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I have no idea what Bluey is, but isn't it funny how ok it is to collect vintage toy cars, Star Wars and Barbie, but MLP is creepy? How about adults who collect anything Pokemon? No?
I don't give much of other peoples opinion of my hobbies. I do what I do because it makes me happy and is not harmful to anyone. I might be "childish" at some pooint, I definitly has the Peter Pan syndrome (that sentiment landed me a job in a gadget store a couple of years ago btw) but I am also a fully functioning adult with a job, home and bills to pay, who can afford a spare room for my ponies. The people who look down at others because of this are just sad. I hope they get a mlp for christmas.
Both Minty_Magic and Snapdragon has expressed exactly my feel of it. No other words needed other than that I liked that poem :satisfied:.
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Pffft. Out of all the actual unhealthy things a person can indulge in, toy collecting is not even on the list.
Snap brings up a good point about NFL fanatics and sports fans in general I think. See also, car and gun collectors.
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Collecting ponies especially older ones is not wasteful they are better off on a shelf than in a landfill
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I know this post is about ponies, but when I saw it I immediately thought of when I was insulted by someone for buying Funko Pops. I was really excited to get the Hot Topic exclusive Black Lady from Sailor Moon and this person said "When are you going to grow up and stop buying toys?" It really hurt and took the excitement I had away about the Funko Pop.
I don't see anything wrong with adults collecting toys. Now if you're in a store and see a child grab a toy you want and you take it away from them after it's in their hands, that would be wrong.
Ponyfan
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It's also like when an adult catches a ball at a baseball game and is guilted for not giving it to a kid. If they caught it fairly, then why should they give it up? There's an episode of Rocko's Modern Life about that. All Rocko wants is to catch a foul ball and after going through a bunch of ridiculous things, he catches one. At the end a kid begs him for it and he gives it up thinking the kid would remember it as a special day. Then it shows the kid destroying the ball.
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ugh that person is just trying to spread their misery, Ponyfan. there's nothing wrong with adults buying kids toys. also you're an adult, it's no ones business what you buy! I hope you still bought the Funko Pop.
This kind of stuff is such a pet peeve of mine. I guess i have many pet peeves so it's probably not surprising to anyone.
First off feeling guilty about keeping toys away from children. is there some shortage of toys i'm unaware of? are children unable to play because adults are snatching toys out of their little hands and putting them on shelves locked away? no i don't think that's a thing that's happening. if kids don't have toys that's probably an economic issue that you don't have responsibility for. or you can help by donating toys to organizations that give out toys to children. also, i don't think i've ever seen a toy donation drive take used toys. so whatever.
as far as plastic consumption i do always see comments on the organization instagram accounts i follow that complain about the plastic bins and whatever. i find it annoying. maybe people are well meaning but i don't think random comments on instagram are the place to make your stand. the plastic industry is where you should put your anger if you really care. not people on social media trying to make their lives less stressful or find a little happiness from buying whatever makes them happy. the biggest polluters are large corporations and the very wealthy who finance large corporations. they deflect their bad deeds onto consumers and try to make you feel like it's your responsibility to fix everything to they can continue their polluting ways. Here's an article that discusses this issue https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled. changes in laws can fix these problems. you feeling guilty about buying stuff will not fix anything.
I also get really annoyed when people are made to feel bad for spending money on stuff they like. i don't see billionaires being asked to justify their yachts or 3rd or 4th homes. it's probably a symptom of my own pet peeves but it feels like a "rules for thee not for me" mentality. if you're not rich you should save every dime. how dare you spend money on something just because it makes you happy. makes me think of people who say that brewing coffee at home instead of buying a latte at a coffee shop is the secret of getting rich.
i'm not sure if it's as much of a thing outside the US but some people think frugality and saving money is some kind of sacred virtue. and any purchases outside of bills need to be justified to the world. whatever live your life. sure it's good to save money for retirement or emergencies. but random people online don't know what your finances are like. it's none of their business what you spend money on.
end of rant :) this is something i think about a lot. i'm sorry if i repeat some of the points already made.
i love the quote. i have a lot of issues with guilt myself from my upbringing and the sentiment really speaks to me.
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People KNOW I collect, & I've got duplicate Ponies multiple times. Where do they go??? To a collector friend if they're older, or if newer, to a child. And it's not just Ponies; I also collect plushies, & am in several plushie communities, not least the ones for Blahaj.
Random people can occasionally be negative or not get it, but most people who I see about who comment like my Blahaj, & are amazed at my collections. The internet has a way of gathering those who want us all to live their way in one place. I personally think they should keep their noses out of others' business.
At the end of the day, we're adults, & we can find pleasure in whatever we can afford, whether it's Ponies, plushies, or something else
IMO it's the stick-in-the-muds who are miserable.
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The Rocko ep is a good comparison :) That one's a classic.
Some fantastic posts about this! I guess my thoughts on it are:
If it makes you happy, and it isn't hurting anyone, then I think it's fantastic and you should keep doing it. And let me make this clear, by "hurting anyone" I mean ACTUALLY, unquestionably, inarguably hurting someone. I.e. collecting rocks isn't hurting anyone. Throwing rocks at people is where I'd draw the line :silly:
But I can't stand it when people say "You're taking the toys away from KIDS!!!" You can drive yourself mad worrying about hypothetical situations, children, etc, like this. Or you can just enjoy the thing that makes you happy and that you paid for yourself and rightfully bought. To me that's like yelling at someone for buying a cupcake because "What if someone else was really looking forward to getting a cupcake and now they CAN'T cause you bought the last one!!". Or whatever. You can't live your life worrying about upsetting hypothetical people!!! Unless you're literally ripping toys out of kids' hands or something XP there's nothing wrong with collecting things.
The only time I'd kind of side-eye someone about it is if they were literally going in and like... buying out the whole toy aisle or something. Or just straight-up scalping. That's the only point where I would say "C'mon, leave some for everyone else" (read, everyone else - including adults!)... even then you'd really have to be cleaning the place out before I'd start judging. :P If you're lucky enough to be able to go and treat yourself to a bunch of pretty things then go for it!!!
Going back to the Rocko thing for a minute, I've also gotta say, re: the whole "Let the kids have the toys" thing - I'm not trying to say anyone "deserves" something more than someone else - but I also can't help but think... a collector is going to enjoy something for a while, whereas it seems like these days a lot of kids get bored with things and move on a lot quicker? When I was little I'd mostly find older toys at charity shops and such, these days you see a lot more recent toys popping up second-hand. I feel like someone could make this point better than I can ^^; I'm not sure how to word it. But I wanted to put that in, anyway. I guess my point is that adults deserve nice/fun things just as much as kids do, I don't think anyone is more or less deserving of something just because of their age.
With second-hand things and older toys there is also the point that older toys may not be as suitable for little kids any more. Plasticizer leakage, older materials that are now deemed unsuitable for toy usage, etc. plus hey they've already probably had a good long life with at least one kid, they've earned a nice retirement, right? ;)
Seriously, as long as you're not going to extreme/harmful lengths to add to your collection, hurting others to get there, etc, you've got nothing to worry about. I LOVE that poem Snapdragon :) The toys already exist, they were made to be bought and enjoyed, the makers don't care who gets 'em as long as they get the money for them :P so why should anyone else care?
This nonsense is exactly why I don't post about collection stuff in "non-collector" spaces. Part of it is that honestly, "normies" just don't 'get' it, another is that it attracts stupid trolls and it's not worth it. I've noticed that it's mostly girly/pink aisle stuff that attracts these comments, too... well and Funko POPs, yeah. (Which BTW, the POP hate is so stupid and at this point I feel like it's just trendy/a meme/etc to hate on them. -_- Are they overproduced, overrated and kinda soulless looking? Yep. Do Funko make some questionable decisions? Oh yeah. Do I like them anyway? HELL YEAH! XP It's just the same as how people would rag on Beanie Babies back in the day and mock collectors, etc. They're harmless, let people enjoy them!) People use the "it's creepy" idiocy to make themselves feel good and Moral and etc. Like others have said, you don't see people getting shamed for cars, sports, guns.. makeup, clothes, shoes, etc.
actually, mentioning clothes makes me think of the whole "fast fashion" thing. I think it's wasteful if you're just picking up a new outfit with the idea of just wearing it once and then tossing it out. (I mean, it's your money and if you want to do that, that's your business, but I disagree with it) But if you want to buy a brand-new shirt instead of getting a second-hand one, there's nothing wrong with that either. Does that make sense? I don't think anything's wasteful unless you're like... actively wasting it, you know?
Can't stand the "why waste your money on X/Y/Z" arguments either. Again, unless you're actually spending more than you can afford or going to harmful lengths to get the money (and I mean to the point where it's actually a serious problem, I know we've all had those moments where we've eyed our pricey grail and thought "Hmmm do I really need two kidneys?" :silly:) - yes it's good to save money and consider purchases carefully instead of just buying whatever - but ultimately it's YOUR money and you should spend it on whatever makes you happy! There's nothing wrong with pausing and thinking "Hm, do I really need to get this today?" but there's equally nothing wrong with thinking "Hell yeah I do!". Not just toys, even, I think this about anything/everything really.
The world's a hellscape already. There's nothing wrong with brightening it up with things that make you happy, and no one should ever feel guilty or ashamed for that. Now, shaming people for enjoying things, getting your kicks from judging others and being a jerk just because you don't understand something... THAT'S something to feel guilty about, if you ask me!
*climbs down from soapbox* :P
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The wrong people are the ones who derive validation from criticising someone else's hobby.
The world is full of them. In the past, we came online to get away from those people. Now, because of social media, they inhabit every dark corner and crevasse of it, imposing their life values on everyone else because they have no joy of their own to speak of.
Ultimately, toys are better in a collection than in landfill. Museums have toys and items from past eras because people collected them. Ponies are better collectables than things looted from other places, as happened in the past. Old ponies are no longer safe for children, anyway. Most of my collection would have ended up in landfill by now, also, as I collected a lot of it from carboot sales and second hand sales years ago.
Also, this rhetoric is often also rooted in mysogyny. There are things that are acceptable collectables (because men collect them, like cars, trains, etc) and things that aren't (because women collect them), like ponies, etc. I am not saying it's as simple as guys vs girls on this, but that the ideology stems from that idea that guys don't need to grow up, don't need to validate why they still play computer games or collect warhammer figures, but girls have prams and baby dolls foisted on them when they are tiny so that they can learn their adult roles and should just get on with growing into them. That is the root behind the behaviour. It's also the root behind the idea of it being crazy, connected to the 'woman who has tons of dolls in her room' motif.
Although G4 pony fans did make collecting MLP crazy and a lot creepy. And most generic outside views of MLP collecting will be based on external opinions of bronies. Most internet keyboard warriors do not really know or care the difference between the older gens and the scary that went down during G4, as only the latter really had publicity.
But ultimately, the people critising are the same people who bully a kid in the playground for wearing braces, or having a lunchbox that's too juvenile, or for wanting to play dolls instead of talk about boys or make up, even though they're barely ten.
While there are obvious arguments about organisation, clutter, whatever to consider, giving people who just like to hurt other people a second of your thought time just gives them power.
Also, as Snapdragon said, there's a lot of hypocrisy in the people complaining. Most of them drive cars and use electronic devices. I don't drive a car, and while I use electronic devices, some of mine are seriously old now (my ipod is from 2006). I imagine that my collection of ponies is causing less climate destruction than the average person calling it out. I've noticed how it's a thing these days for climate warriors to victimise other people for little things, while doing those same things themselves. And I am 100% pro-climate awareness. I just got fed up with the "do as I say, not as I do" brigade acting like they have moral high ground.
Final note. When I was a kid, I only had a limited amount of pocket money. I didn't get to buy even ponies very often. I had to save up, often weeks or months, to get a pony I wanted. Often it was with Christmas or birthday money, so not very regularly at all.
Taking one or two toys off shelf that are still in production is not ever going to take anything away from kids. Unless the kids are super-spoiled and get everything they ever ask for (which in my area is definitely not true either.) A lot of toys shelf sit through months of clearance. Then where do we suppose they end up?
Probably landfill.
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I think, most of the times, those "call outs" are about making themselves look moral and beyond reproach by putting someone else down. People who buy things, anything is contributing to human suffering and it really stinks. It's just the pot calling the kettle black. And trying to make one out to be worse is nonsense because we know, we know that the critical one is buying stuff, using energy and "wasting money."
The good side. If anyone buys something, that money goes to someone else. It doesn't just disappear. It pays someone's wages, helps pay someone's rent, feeds a kid, buys them a toy and ultimately ends up in some multi-billionaire's pile of money where it really will go to waste - never to see the economy again. :P Ok, that's probably going too far lol.
But, unlike most of the things we buy, we can enjoy the toys and then resell them and get some of that money back. We are keeping them from going into a landfill and they will, eventually belong to someone else. We are only taking care of them for a short lifetime.
I do support laws that will reduce human suffering and help the planet. I think that's really important. We should be able to buy things knowing that we aren't doing damage somewhere else. It's not at all transparent and it should be.
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yeah i'm also pretty selective with who i share my collection with because of that attitude. i just don't want other people's feedback. i have had people say it's weird to be on collector forums. but internet fandom sites and boards were always part of the internet. i don't think it's weird. my parents are very judgmental and think that if they don't like something then no one should. it's an attitude that really bothers me and caused me to not share stuff i like with them. they know about my collection but don't really comment on it. i'm sure they think it's a bit weird.
i think some people get the idea in their head that being an adult means you're not allowed to have fun anymore. i'm sad for those people. i think it's less common now but it's still there. it makes me think of that 1950s dad who doesn't talk to his kids because he's busy working and drinking trope. just misery :( Don Draper wasn't aspirational.
also i don't really see the whole minimalism trend as being anti-consumerism. i don't think it's bad at all to be mindful of what you buy or bring into your home. but i feel like minimalism also seems to involve buying other stuff. like i see articles saying to throw out stuff you already bought and buy something else that's more compact or whatever instead. it's just different consumerism. it also seems to come with a sense or superiority over people who have a lot of stuff. i think it's fading as a trend too.
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I've had family members get so frustrated with me about collecting. They just kept picking at me until I declared loudly "Right, that's it, I'm going to get cocaine!"
Mild panic ensued.
I'd rather spent money on things I enjoy!
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I think anything can be taken to unhealthy addiction level problems for a person. Unless you are breaking the law to obtain it, not meeting your other adult obligations, neglecting family/spouse, etc , then people have not real business complaining about what you do with your time or money.
I also look at what other things do I choose to spend money on. Personally I don't buy clothes or shoes often, I don't buy makeup or get my hair and nails done. I don't go to the movies much. I think I really only spend money on video games and ponies. Even ponies I haven't spent much money on lately since my G3 collection is only missing super rare and a few repose ones.
I honestly think everyone has a collection of some sort. photos, cook wear sports equipment etc to support what they like or have interest in. Some people just don't understand hobbies and collections they deem to be unimportant or frivolous.
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Don't feel guilty about it. Who cares what they think?
One: These things are going to exist whether you, or any of us collect them or not. And if they're older and sitting on a collector's shelf, or being handed down to a kid then they're not in a land fill are they?
Two: It's not like you're karate chopping 5 yo kids in the store to obtain them. You're not clearing up entire aisles, or making deals with a supply truck to scalp them either.
Three: Some people in the world are just Negative Nellies, who won't stop until they've made the people around them miserable too.
I've had family members get so frustrated with me about collecting. They just kept picking at me until I declared loudly "Right, that's it, I'm going to get cocaine!"
Mild panic ensued.
I'd rather spent money on things I enjoy!
Okay this made me laugh! :lol:
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Ponies are one of the very few things that make me happy and I am not in a good place in my life and if someone where to go up and tell me stop collecting toys they aren’t made for you adults, I’d get even more mlp toys and make them angry! Like what makes you think you have the power to tell me what I can and can’t like!?
Luckily I’ve never come across anything like that personally and my family is very open that I collect ponies and if all mlp toys were only to be given to kids then would you give a child $1000 plastic horse?
Literally anything can be an unhealthy obsession not just collecting kid stuff, literally anything else you can think of! People thinking that collecting Barbie or Star Wars isn’t bad but those could be an unhealthy obsession as well! These people need to think more logically and not see the world black and white
And another thing, someone said to an mlp collector this girl needs to get a boyfriend, no way, plastic horses lasts longer than the relationship I’ve been in lol
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Thanks, Beth. :hug: I did buy it, but my I still associate that memory with it. It happened in 2018 and I still remember it like it was yesterday,
So many great points in this thread.
There's a chain store that I only go in to if I absolutely have to and then I get what I'm looking for and get out quickly. Why? Because I felt looked down on for even entering that store because I guess I don't fit some employee's idea of who should be shopping in that store. It seemed clear to me that the first employee I met in there acted like I shouldn't have even stepped inside because I'm probably not the typical type of customer they get. That was strike one. Strike two happened when I tried to place an order on the store's website. There was some kind of glitch when I tried to order and I ended up calling customer service. When the agent asked if I wanted to place the order for the item over the phone using a different payment method than the one I had tried to use online I told him no because I had had a very long day at work that day and after dealing with the order not going through and having to talk to customer service, I didn't want to deal with it anymore. When I told the agent I wasn't going to reorder the item, he became very rude with me and kept telling me to hang up.
I heard from a friend that the chain stores in my state often treat their customers that way and give preference to those that they think fit in. I have been in a few times afterwards and the employees have been nice, but the bad experiences make me avoid shopping there as much as possible.
A while back the store had a set of anime figures in the window. I looked at them but refused to go in the store.
Ponyfan
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Im going will if makes you happy then go do it. I feel sad hearing about this its totally depressive. I collect what I love and if it stops it going in the landfill than that is a postive thing. I think ive got to the point I dont care where I shop anymore. If I like something I will buy it end of story. People collect what they love I agree with the (if its a male thing its ok and its not ok for females to collect girl things.) I think the world is going to the dogs. :(
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Gosh, these persons obviously don't think about the "waste" a child can bring to the climate. Just being sarcastic but you get my point :)
Never heard comments about keeping toys away from kids. The main thing where I live is to donate toys for the holidays. There is currently a commercial that shows an attic full of 2nd hand toys. And the kids are asked if they are ok to receive 2nd hand toys. So that's also sends a message not to waste. Nothing to feel guilty about too.
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others have already covered big points like misogyny and older toys not even being safe for kids because of chemicals/lead paint/etc, and keeping plastic out of landfills, so i'll just add:
1. big difference between a grown man suddenly developing an interest in a little girls' series/toy and then making it all about them (you all know very well what i'm talking about), which only started happening around 2011, and the vast majority of collectors before that, who were mainly women who simply held onto their own childhood belongings and simply sustained an interest their whole lives, and often went on to share it with their young relatives.
2. my dad always taught me the value of "cheap entertainment". basically, the world can be positively miserable a good portion of the time, and anything that brings a little sunshine into your day is worth the investment, especially when you get a good deal. take a new pony. that's $5 usd. even if the time i spend cleaning it up, styling its hair, arranging her nicely on a shelf, and snapping a few pics for social media only adds up to an hour, that was still less than minimum wage, to pay myself in happiness. same goes for movies, $10 or so is a good deal for 2-3 hours of entertainment, or a videogame being $80 for 100+ hours of fun and joy? thats an amazing deal. materialism isn't good for us either, but there is value to be found in these things when we pay ourselves first, including in matters of happiness.
people have also been telling me i'm "too old" and "weird" for collecting ponies since i was (checks notes) nine years old. i couldn't bring myself to care then, so i certainly don't care now at the ripe age of 28 :lol:
edit: also, if they're so pressed about "taking away from the kids boohoo", maybe they should pony up (lol) and donate some toys to kids in need? these are mass produced items babe
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this morning i was still thinking about this thread and i didn't see anyone mention that some online discourse is also a bit silly in general. like a year ago on twitter people were losing their minds over a woman who made chili for her new neighbors. if you're fortunate enough to have missed this i'm sure if you google "chili neighbor" you can get caught up. people were saying stuff like "oh what if the pot is too heavy for them to carry?" "what if they're vegetarians?" "how dare you bring them a pot that they'll have to clean later?" there were articles in the Washington Post about this nonsense. IRL she brought the chili over and the neighbors were happy.
i'm not really active on Reddit but on twitter i've seen people try to say cast iron pans are "bougie" and attack someone for having a collection of whiskey. it seems that one should only buy alcohol if they plan to drink it immediately :huh:
people online say stupid stuff to get reactions. it's hard to not let if affect you but a lot of it is just nonsense.
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Going slightly off topic but not really. I remember a conversation with one of my flatmates back at uni, who was in politics or something like that. And she had a very wry sense of humour, but she thought it was hilarious how all the kids in her class with their ipads and macbooks would glare at people who came into class with Starbucks mugs because it was 'American capitalism at work'. She thought it hilarious. So did we.
I do think bronyism had a negative impact on the reputation of pony collecting, but I think it was just lowkey before that point. The comment about it being weird to be on collector forums is laughable. It goes back to what I said before. We came online to escape that kind of judgement. Now those people have not only invaded the internet, they've decided it's their space and they have the right to push into other people's lives.
I don't have most social media because I don't want to butt into other people's lives. I don't need to get involved in their political squabbling. I pulled back from Facebook during the Brexit campaigning and vote and aftermath. I have my opinions on it, but I have no idea what the point is staying divided over something that we all need to just deal with now. But the internet has given literally everyone an opinion on everything.
The thing that frightens me most isn't the officious people in other people's faces about their collections or whatever. It's the people using platforms to marginalise people just in general. Any platform. It's almost like nobody believes in live and let live anymore. There's so many people pushing their life values on others in a hostile way, and using really ugly language when they don't conform or agree. And it's gone through all levels of society. It's not that I'm naive enough to believe that level of intrusiveness didn't exist before the internet blew up, but now it's easier to hurt someone you have never met face to face because you don't share political views or cultural experiences. Commenting on collecting is just the tip of the iceberg.
I see idiotic things in both right and left wing papers in this country on a daily basis. Most of them are opinion pieces that seem designed to stoke division and outrage. It's little wonder that it's pervading every area of life.
The internet had its issues, but it was a better place before it became 'cool'.
@Loa, that made me laugh out loud :D I have always been lucky to have supportive family, even through the generations, with my collecting. Parents have always said that it's better than other habits, and my Dad collects old puppets anyway, so it's in the family. I don't make a huge thing about it in public circles but I don't make a big secret of it either. But one of my colleagues was wearing a care bear skirt the other week and today she had a unicorn scrunchie on. And we literally had G4 MLP stickers we were giving out and several stickers ended up on the back of staff badges. So I feel reassured that there are a lot of accepting people out there.
One of my other colleagues is a massive donghua fan, has figures, cosplays, and everything. She's not that much younger than me. Another colleague plays pokemon. She's a year older. It makes me feel like the judgemental nasty people are actually an echo chamber of their own - and we shouldn't let them influence us with their negativity.
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I remember when I was still going places to shop, I stopped in fye and they had the Futurama box set on sale (the original 4 seasons before it was brought back). I brought it up to the counter and the lady asked if I was getting a Christmas gift for a child *smiles* I said proudly, "No! This is for me!" and her smile faded and she was like 'oh' :lol:
For one, Futurama is not a child's cartoon, secondly don't ask things like that!
edit: I don't think the internet is worse than it used to be. I've been in The Sims community for a very, very long time, and even back in the early 2000s there were websites that attacked and made fun of people and the way they played the game. Heck, Sim Secret was still on Live Journal up until the Russians took it over and made it their political soapbox. There were also burn books and communities made up of Nazis and pedophiles, just like there is today except back then it was easier for them to hide. Man, anyone remember Weird News from the 90s? >.> that was WTF and TMI and too much internet today before those were phrases.
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Going slightly off topic but not really. I remember a conversation with one of my flatmates back at uni, who was in politics or something like that. And she had a very wry sense of humour, but she thought it was hilarious how all the kids in her class with their ipads and macbooks would glare at people who came into class with Starbucks mugs because it was 'American capitalism at work'. She thought it hilarious. So did we.
lol. yeah it's a bit exhausting. i hate so much about capitalism but it's the system we have. i guess they way it functions depends on your country but it's pretty impossible to not participate unless you're willing to completely drop out of society. i don't think putting normal people down for buying things that comfort them is going to win people over.
i think nosy people have always been there but with the internet they can spread their commentary to the rest of the world. plus if they're online, they don't have to worry about someone beating them up for not minding their own business.
BC, yeah i remember in the late 90s there was Something Awful and some other site I don't know the name of that posted celebrity death photos. maybe it was Weird News? and actually even before the internet existed Nazis were setting up networks like Liberty Net. people will always use technology for terrible stuff.
i think in the earlier days it was less in places where "normies" hung out. like you didn't just see awful content while scrolling like you do today. IDK i didn't go on the earlier forums when i was younger. i mainly remember other people talking about it. and i've read articles by people who talking about the connections between early internet and the bad internet places that exist today. i was pretty cautious online when i was young.
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Oh, the internet's always had nasty people in it and horrible communities for them to cluster up in, but it definitely feels different nowadays. I guess they're more... open? spread-out? ...harder to avoid. I dunno how to put it.
But yeah, really what it all boils down to is that there's some horrible, judgemental people out there who derive pleasure from making others miserable. This whole "collectors should feel guilty" thing is just an offshoot of the whole ~*purity culture*~ thing... People see something they don't like and they twist things around so they can insist it's not that they don't like it, it's that the thing is morally wrong!!! and if you argue with them, then you're a horrible sinful person - it's a stupid, pathetic way of trying to get the "upper hand" in the argument.
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BC, yeah i remember in the late 90s there was Something Awful and some other site I don't know the name of that posted celebrity death photos. maybe it was Weird News? and actually even before the internet existed Nazis were setting up networks like Liberty Net. people will always use technology for terrible stuff.
Something Awful is still around. The only reason I know is because I like the Let's Play forum, but there's a standalone site that archives them so you don't need to be on SA to see them. The other site is probably Rotten which afaik is also still around.
Oh, the internet's always had nasty people in it and horrible communities for them to cluster up in, but it definitely feels different nowadays. I guess they're more... open? spread-out? ...harder to avoid. I dunno how to put it.
This is true. I think it's because they've rarely suffered consequences for saying things to other people. But now people ARE being punished for the things they say and do, so I think it's getting better. But that just makes those people louder unfortunately.
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I've had family members get so frustrated with me about collecting. They just kept picking at me until I declared loudly "Right, that's it, I'm going to get cocaine!"
Mild panic ensued.
I'd rather spent money on things I enjoy!
BINGO!!! I haven't had a drop of booze in years, I'm not a big make-up person, & I cut my own hair, while for movies I get a Netflix subscription & occasionally treat myself to a DVD (some have been lent to the place which does film day on Monday so others can enjoy). I haven't eaten at a restaurant in years, my last eating out was at a café, & I haven't even had takeaway food in so long. I rarely buy clothes, & even back when I went to parties, I'd get a nice top from a charity shop, wear it to a night out, wash it, then donate it for somebody else to wear. I'd also hardly drink at such nights out, sticking to soft drinks. But that was years ago. I haven't even travelled further than the local bus route since global healthscare.
So yeah, what things I DO spend money on for my enjoyment are Ponies, plushies, yarn, & the odd DVD & a subscription or so. It's what I choose to enjoy. And I do enjoy it.
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I haven't seen that Bluey collection but I have definitely seen some huge collections of other things. Sometimes they do seem excessive to me, but I was raised in a "moderation in all things" household. Still, it's really kind of a culture shock to me rather than being inherently morally problematic.
There is no way to please everyone all of the time. You gotta think of what YOU value. Unless you are donating every spare (insert your national currency here) to charity, then you could guilt yourself over SOMETHING, I'm sure. Did you fly on a plane this year? Shame on you for climate change! Did you drive a car? Shame on you for all those tire microplastics and danger to pedestrians! Did you watch TV? Shame on you for using electricity when you could have read a library book!
There are so many ways to approach MLP collecting from a moral angle: unnecessary plastic packaging, spending money you could have donated to charity or something, keeping toys from kids who would enjoy them (debatable IMHO), supporting companies with possibly bad factory conditions, encouraging the production of plastic products, etc. I guess the key is to just keep your OWN collecting efforts within YOUR values. If you feel like you've gone too far, then maybe you have! If not, then do your thing :cool:
I definitely don't feel bad about collecting vintage ponies. They are quite possibly no longer even SAFE for children to handle, so they are better off with adult collectors. Just thinking of some poor 2 year old teething on an old pony leaking plasticizer is gross >_<
For new ponies, I do really appreciate the move away from plastic and toward cardboard packaging! Plastic waste is an important issue to me personally, so this is significant to me. But to people who don't care about that, it would be a non-issue. But then, something else that I do without shame might be something they would find really bothersome.
TBH, rehairing does bother me a bit bc of all the tiny plastic bits created when I trim the hair. But I try to keep that to a minimum and make sure it all gets into the trash can.
Overall, I feel like toy collecting by adults is such a minor thing compared to other things that have a MUCH more significant impact on the world around us :blush:
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I see stuff like this and it just makes me want to reply to the negative commenters:
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It is literally no one else's business what anyone else collects and most people who look down on collectors are people who are so boring that they have no actual interests of their own and therefore feel justified in judging everyone else's.
And I just want to throw it out there that being a collector of MLP, Disney, Pokemon, and other "kid" stuff has made me the favorite aunt of 14 niblings (nephew number 15 is due in the next 2 weeks). Their parents usually ask me for information on whatever their kid's interest is because I know something about it. I handed out Pokemon cards for Halloween this year. Oh, and I turned 42 this last week so I'm definitely "too old" to be into any of that stuff. Pfft. Whatever. (I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys 'R Us kid...)
As an artist, I actually have what I call my "Subtle Nerd" line of art. It's stuff that looks "normal," but has a nerdy bend to it if you know what to look for. Like my blue and white Pineapple picture (Psych reference). Or my pink "Welcome" sign that has an acorn instead of the letter 'o' (because Piglet eats "haycorns" and he's pink)--it also comes in grey (Totoro fans anyone?). Anything can be nerdy or have to do with your collection if you know enough about a fandom. I make 'subtle nerd' items specifically for people who have a hard time shutting down the naysayers in their lives because I think that people should have things that bring them joy.
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XD I love it, Pokey.
I guess the key is to just keep your OWN collecting efforts within YOUR values. If you feel like you've gone too far, then maybe you have! If not, then do your thing :cool:
This is exactly how I feel about it.
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I don't have time to read all the prior comments in this thread right now but I'll quickly throw my two cents in.
These arguments from people about collecting these things (MLP, Bluey merch, anything really) doesn't make any sense to me. In the case of buying older items and collecting them, we are keeping them out of landfills. Children can get tired of a toy pretty fast, I have seen many instances of a fairly recently released toy showing up in a thrift store, likely because a child got bored of it very fast. An adult collector buying these toys and displaying them on a shelf is preventing them from ending up in a landfill eventually. Somewhere down the line there is a chance that if another kid got the toy at a thrift store, they too would get bored and stop playing with the toy, and maybe their parents would just throw it in the trash instead of donating it back again.
Not to mention older toys, such as vintage MLPs, were made with different standards for children's toys, and thus many older children's toys aren't quite as safe as they were thought to be back in the day. It probably would not be great for a young kid to be playing with a pony that's going through plasticizer leakage, for example. Especially if they are young enough to still be trying to put toys into their mouths.
And in the case of brand new toys off the shelf, I also don't see how this is taking away the potential for a kid to have it. Buying new products creates higher demand for the product, and makes it more likely for more to be made and more to be ordered by the stores. So that argument for new products doesn't make any sense to me, either.
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i dont believe that collecting is "overconsumption" when you have people on tiktok making mustard gas in their toilets for content. especially in this day and age, people need things that make them happy. the whole cost of living crisis and conflicts around the world can really get you into a bad funk, like how i felt back in 2021. adding to my pony collection a lot more recently has really helped me heal from past relationships and friendships that didn't work out. i have been so much happier in 2023 and it is partially thanks to my collecting habits. checking thrift stores every week or so and toy aisles in department stores really helps take my mind off of the state of the world right now. most people these days are not doing too well and i think its important to have a thing like mlp that makes you so happy, when i get new ponies it feels like im getting part of my childhood back that was taken away too early.
or at least, thats my opinion
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I see stuff like this and it just makes me want to reply to the negative commenters:
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It is literally no one else's business what anyone else collects and most people who look down on collectors are people who are so boring that they have no actual interests of their own and therefore feel justified in judging everyone else's.
And I just want to throw it out there that being a collector of MLP, Disney, Pokemon, and other "kid" stuff has made me the favorite aunt of 14 niblings (nephew number 15 is due in the next 2 weeks). Their parents usually ask me for information on whatever their kid's interest is because I know something about it. I handed out Pokemon cards for Halloween this year. Oh, and I turned 42 this last week so I'm definitely "too old" to be into any of that stuff. Pfft. Whatever. (I don't wanna grow up, I'm a Toys 'R Us kid...)
As an artist, I actually have what I call my "Subtle Nerd" line of art. It's stuff that looks "normal," but has a nerdy bend to it if you know what to look for. Like my blue and white Pineapple picture (Psych reference). Or my pink "Welcome" sign that has an acorn instead of the letter 'o' (because Piglet eats "haycorns" and he's pink)--it also comes in grey (Totoro fans anyone?). Anything can be nerdy or have to do with your collection if you know enough about a fandom. I make 'subtle nerd' items specifically for people who have a hard time shutting down the naysayers in their lives because I think that people should have things that bring them joy.
:biggrin:
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Everything I have to say about this has already been said and much more eloquently than I have the energy for right now. The idea that an adult collecting a *mass produced* toy is taking that toy out of a child’s hands by owning one is absurd. Collecting started for me out of pure happiness to be doing so and has now also become something that helps keep my mental health in check so anyone on Reddit with a negative opinion about collecting can shove it. You know what they say about opinions and a-holes, right? ;)
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Everything I have to say about this has already been said and much more eloquently than I have the energy for right now. The idea that an adult collecting a *mass produced* toy is taking that toy out of a child’s hands by owning one is absurd. Collecting started for me out of pure happiness to be doing so and has now also become something that helps keep my mental health in check so anyone on Reddit with a negative opinion about collecting can shove it. You know what they say about opinions and a-holes, right? ;)
Everyone has one and they usually stink :lol:
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if you want snarky content and one-liners, that is what reddit is literally for.
there are not many communities on the site where thoughtful, intelligent dialogue is promoted. most of those are academic and tightly controlled by moderators.
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if you want snarky content and one-liners, that is what reddit is literally for.
there are not many communities on the site where thoughtful, intelligent dialogue is promoted. most of those are academic and tightly controlled by moderators.
yeah TBH this forum is where i go to have thoughtful conversations online. everywhere else i just lurk and don't really feel comfortable posting.
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Oh, the internet's always had nasty people in it and horrible communities for them to cluster up in, but it definitely feels different nowadays. I guess they're more... open? spread-out? ...harder to avoid. I dunno how to put it.
But yeah, really what it all boils down to is that there's some horrible, judgemental people out there who derive pleasure from making others miserable. This whole "collectors should feel guilty" thing is just an offshoot of the whole ~*purity culture*~ thing... People see something they don't like and they twist things around so they can insist it's not that they don't like it, it's that the thing is morally wrong!!! and if you argue with them, then you're a horrible sinful person - it's a stupid, pathetic way of trying to get the "upper hand" in the argument.
Yeah, this is basically what I meant.
The internet has always been a wild west, but even when it was, the nasty stuff was mostly in nasty spaces, and not so much in spaces like ours. Now with it being so pervasive, everyone thinks it's fine to trot in and pass their moral judgements on other people's innocent interests or hobbies. And for want of a better comparison, it reminds me of secondary school, with those kids who made fun of someone else's mufti/family circumstances/hair/glasses/freckles/way they wore their uniform/weight/etc...even though none of those things were anything to do with them and they had literally no right butting in.
Those are the people we're talking about. They have a sense of "I am right" about them, and they're universally disgusting :/ They also were the ones who said the internet was nerdy and uncool to begin with - which is why we didn't really see them online until social media.
The other nasty is another matter altogether, though that is also now more mainstreamed because it's just more possible to do. The world hasn't got nastier, it's just capable of spreading nasty quicker.
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Pre-owned collecting is the opposite of wasteful to me (unless it starts to occupy space in your house/flat that should be used for something else, like a child :P).
Speaking of kids, I have always been of the opinion that snatching kids toys is @#$% and I really don't care about the "we have money so we should be the real customers, kids have to ask their parents so they should be secondrate consumers" mantra that really picked up steam with the B.... fandom in G4 days.
In this case, yes I'd agree it would be a waste because the item you buy to showcase at home could go into a kid's hands and be appreciated as the toy it's supposed to be. If someone had snatched all the G1s from shelves when I was little I'd think of them as a crazy and mean adult.
Same goes for scalping.
As for hving too many items... well, that's really a question of psychology. When is too much too much? When does collecting become hoarding? As someone who sold all of her G2-G3-G4 MLPs and Funko Pops I have to say I started to feel like a hoarder after a while and found that collecting didn't "spark joy" anymore as soon as I have had the items for a couple of years.
I didn't stop entirely. I still have collections I appreciate. Like my G1s that I started in childhood. But culling the others felt right and it was like getting rid of clutter. I felt good afterwards and I think that's what counts.
If your collection starts feeling like a guilty hobby or even burden (financially, space, etc) just sell some stuff and see how you like it.
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Well said, and glad to see you Zapper. :hug:
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As someone who sold all of her G2-G3-G4 MLPs and Funko Pops I have to say I started to feel like a hoarder after a while and found that collecting didn't "spark joy" anymore as soon as I have had the items for a couple of years.
I didn't stop entirely. I still have collections I appreciate. Like my G1s that I started in childhood. But culling the others felt right and it was like getting rid of clutter. I felt good afterwards and I think that's what counts.
If your collection starts feeling like a guilty hobby or even burden (financially, space, etc) just sell some stuff and see how you like it.
I'm with you. I gave away the majority of my G3s and G4s because I didn't want to deal with the hassle of selling. I kept a handful of each generation that I truly liked and let the rest go to new homes. It was fun to give things away (I did the G3s as mystery boxes and the G4s went to people at work with kids who would play with them), provided me with extra space, and made other people happy in the process. I don't regret getting rid of any of them.
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Well said, and glad to see you Zapper. :hug:
:shake:
It was fun to give things away (I did the G3s as mystery boxes and the G4s went to people at work with kids who would play with them), provided me with extra space, and made other people happy in the process. I don't regret getting rid of any of them.
Nice ideas! I gave away a huge lot of custom bait for dolls and another one for ponies and the people getting them were so excited to start customizing, it felt great to know they were going to use everything that was just collecting dust in boxes here for years. I plan to give away my last remaining G3 and G4 ponies, too. Because those are still good and clean so kids can enjoy them without ingesting leaky plastic :lol:
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Eh, let those people criticize. They're just jealous at the amazing collections we have and they have nothing. If collecting, whether it's ponies or cars or whatever makes you happy, then continue it! You aren't spending their money but your own. You aren't hurting them, they're only hurting their own pride.
For a while my family would roll their eyes whenever they see my collection, but eventually they warmed up to it seeing it's doing no harm but make me happy; especially when I customise. My coworkers know too and they love it (or silently judge, who knows)
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Like in a way people who collect vintage are actually helping the earth I do think we should talk about helping reduce trash but I notice people only say this about the common person and not the people that own yachts, private jets, the companies that intentionally make items that should be reusable into items that break. Honestly the people who say concerns about consumerism are the ones I would love to talk to because it is an interesting discussion. The people that say your to old are just not worth discussing it with because things people should grow out of are selfishness, cattiness and aggression not harmless hobbies.
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I agree with everyone here! So, to avoid rehashing all the previous arguments, something I noticed wasn't mentioned before was the fact that some people complain that "we're taking toys away from children". Well, who's to say that I don't play with the ponies the way a kid would? :lol: Kids really get bored of toys so fast nowadays! I play with my ponies, redoing their hair, moving them around and putting them places, having them talk and interact with each other, taking pictures of them, making them things. So these toys are being played with the way those people would want... just by someone a bit older. We all deserve to have fun and get in touch with that child-like fun and wonder, no matter our age! That's my motto :)
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The only collector guilt I have is realizing I should have bought more ponies back in the 80's.
Random strangers opinions on my collecting habits count for ZERO on making me feel any emotions other than contempt and disinterest.