Losing Hobbies (Yet Another Post About Fandom Shaming)

I really feel like talking about this subject again.

I’ve been subjected to fandom shaming multiple times in my life. One thing I sometimes did back then was to “hate” something just to spite the person who shamed me. It usually involved various bands or movies and I would tell them straight up “I no longer like the thing you made fun of me for.” just to get on their nerves. Sometimes it would be a temporary thing where I would like something again. I’ve never been able to get someone to stop liking something, but at most when I know I’m right about something I have made people not look at something the same way again especially if there’s something problematic about a fandom or a piece of media. The most successful attempt even though I was only passing information involved telling people about a VERY certain 2019 Netflix documentary covering a music plagiarism case. If you know me, you know exactly what it is, what song, who was involved in that court case, and what caused it to be the straw that broke the camel’s back which caused that lawsuit to happen. I think some of you will get the answer right. It certainly opened up some eyes and also further proved me right about what was associated with that case.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve been losing hobbies. Some of it involves me growing out of certain interests, but other times I remembered being made fun of for certain interests where I just gave up. It really didn’t helped that I struggled with committing to certain activities when I was a lot younger even though there were other issues I was dealing with then. Part of me wondered what it would be like if I gave into temptation to get someone to stop liking something and how effective I could be at it. Conversely, I listened to a podcast where someone talked about how you have so many people online tearing others down (Twitter and YouTube being very specific examples in the conversation) and he wondered how anyone could get an enjoyment in doing so instead of doing something else like talking a walk outside for example. This felt like an angel and devil on my shoulder kind of thing where I think if I should verbally attack someone for their fandoms. I’m not going to pretend I’m a saint. There is a sliver of me wanting to do so as an indirect revenge against those who insulted me for having some hobbies. There are even times where I feel like I have to make pre-emptive self defense statements before I say why I like something by finding any counterarguments to defend what I have interests in. This even goes with some of my more serious interests, too.

Sorry for rambling. While there are bigger issues in the world, this is something that is still bothering me. Has anyone else had that issue with giving up certain interests because of fandom shaming or just getting older? Have you ever dealt with similar situations?

Fandom Shaming Poem

Liking anything is difficult in this day and age
Sincerity dies by tweets and statuses
God forbid anyone is a fan of anything (that isn’t a sport, cars, or shoes)
Backhanded compliments
To overt insults
Are the name of the game
To be detrimental to another person

“What you like is worthless!”
“Only an idiot would like this.”
“You have such crappy taste.”

They all say that to one’s face or through an avatar
Especially when they want to want the fan’s world burn via burner accounts
Fandoms become factions willing to fight for their loves

A cycle could happen
As one gets burned far too many times
“Oh, you’re allowed to make fun of what I like?”
Says the scorned fan
“Now I’m going to reflect your verbal assaults.”
The shaming begins on the other sides
When first stones were thrown due to one’s affinity
Does it truly serve them right even if they were the aggressors?