TLDR: I’m from old-fandom, decades ago when bullying was not acceptable. Please respect your fellow fandom freaks. Because you're one too.
TMNT fandom used to be an incredibly accepting place. We were all horrible little freaks with a weird and socially-unacceptable habit of day dreaming and writing and drawing and, honestly, obsessing about hidden turtle men in the sewers.
Social pressure from real life kept us humble and grateful for the existence of others like us online. Because outside of fandom, the world was full of people who had normal hobbies, like sports or crafting or gardening or volunteering for soup kitchens. Those normal people could talk about their interests in public! Mention their safe pursuits in mixed company! Claim their talents and their results in the social circles at school or at work or at church!
Make-believe man-turtle enthusiasts had nowhere in our real lives where it was okay to admit the depth of our interests without being bullied or shunned or branded as a complete freak. Whether you were a kid or an adult!
And I have said nothing about shipping or smut or specific versions of our mutants.
If you wrote/drew/enjoyed the tamest, sweetest, most pure turtle content, you were still an IRL freak!
That's why, when us fans found each other online, space was made for all of us. Our only requirement: love the turtles.
I get that newer fans don't have those extreme social pressures. Times have changed. 'Fandom' is not mainstream, but it's understood to exist for thousands of TV shows and movies and games. Now, the internet is everywhere and it's easier than ever to find people who agree with you. Heck, there's every expectation that there are people who agree with you; you don’t have to wonder if you’re alone.
Loving the TMNT is not an isolating experience anymore.
But it also means that current fandom takes its fans for granted. Fans that write the wrong kinds of fiction are bullied. Fans who draw the wrong arrangement of characters are shunned. Fans who enjoy more than one type of story are disposable, worthless, and unwelcome to speak or share with the larger group.
Fandom is meant to be a refuge for all us freaks.
How did the real world become kinder while fandom got meaner? How does that make sense? Why are the people who have the most in common doing the most damage to each other?
Of course, rate your content, tag your content, respect requests not to discuss certain topics/ships in specific settings or with specific people. Yes, yes, yes. Consideration and respect for each other's boundaries is fundamental in fandom and is how we have been able to co-exist for so long!
But respect and consideration are built on treating each other--all of each other--as if we all have value and worth and dignity.
Every member of fandom is a real person with feelings.
Every member of fandom likes a variety of content.
Every member of fandom deserves to have a safe space where they are not insulted or tormented or excluded for their thoughts or creations.
Please, live and let live. Co-exist.
Respect your fellow freak, you fandom weirdo.
