Of course a huge issue right now that is bringing out some of the worst toxic attitudes I have ever seen in a fandom has been those who dislike the Star Wars Sequels trilogy. These fans are outright vicious in their attacks against people who say they enjoyed the films.
I recently had to deal with a toxic fan who never once was able to counter any of my statements, but continued to mock me directly, questioning my intelligence, flinging insult after insult and just telling me I was wrong because I was wrong. He really seemed to enjoy making fun of me for my view above defending why he did not share them.
In dealing with him and looking at other such toxic fans I have had to deal with, I came to a realization as to what is going on. So back in the day I was a popular target for bullying. It made my years in Junior High the most miserable time of my life. One thing that often happens, was the kids would join in the bullying of me all because that is what everyone else as doing. They wanted to be included as part of the crowd, so often you would get these kids joining in on being mean just because that was show you fit in. In fact I had a former friend at one point go out of the way to focus on bullying me because he thought that was how to make himself more popular even though he was not well liked in general.
And this is a big part of what is going on right now. The big time toxic fans on youtube that I have talked about before, like Doomcock (Yes, he still geos by that truly cringe worthy name) openly make attacks in their videos towards fans who do not share their views (Even when they claim they do no such thing right after they call the fans stupid for having different views, yes Doomcock has done that many times in his videos). They also go off on insult filled rants that often lack anything in the way of constructive criticism, ending up being nothing more then a form of bullying.
So there are groups of toxic fans out there (A popular one calls themselves the Fandom Menace and they have become a noticeable group), doing little more than bullying the creative forces behind films and shows they dislike for all manner of petty reasons. These toxic fans will also openly make insulting comments about fans who do not share their views in their videos. It is no surprise that if you read the comments on these videos you will find a lot of degrading comments that are only there to insulting to towards others. Nothing constructive to be found there. If a fan goes into one such comments section and tries to have a meaningful exchange to defend differing opinions, 9 times out of ten that fan is going to become a huge target for personal attacks.
With all that is shouldn't be surprising that it really is a popular thing to take part in mocking and attacking those with differing beliefs in such a bullying manner all because it makes these toxic fans fill like they are part of a larger community. I have seen it many times now, where they have nothing at all to say, nothing constructive to express, these toxic fans just want to join in on mocking others because everyone else is doing. It really does often feel as if the toxic fans come together over their shared bullying. This does appear to be a driving force for a lot of the toxic comments that get made and the attitude behind them.
This is just historically how humans work, but it does help one to better understand just how to deal with such toxic fans, which is not as easy to ignore as one would think it to be. A person wants to believe their views are the most popular ones and so joining in with others who share their views, even in a toxic manner, helps to reinforce this concept. Communities are built over such toxic mentality uniting such people. If you look you really can see that is so often what is going on. A person will make toxic comments and keep the toxic fights going just to feel like they are fitting in with others who share their views.
Having the revelation is one thing, but I can see no real solution to the problem. The toxic fans have made being toxic too much a part of their identity, so chances are they are going no where any time soon. Just as those who feed off that toxicity and attack anyone who states a differing view, in order to feel like they are part of a larger group is not about to fade away. Now that should not cause anyone to back away from expressing their views and defend those views. If you are part of a fandom you need to learn how to not take personal attacks as a personal thing. You can enjoy what you enjoy while ignoring those who wish to mock you for doing such..
Be a fan, be yourself, express yourself and be respectful in general. That really is the best counter to the toxic fans.
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