Fellow brothers and sisters,

    Over the weekend, a portion of the Brony Community was attacked by a Finnish 4-chan-style image board (among other groups). A clop forum known as Redlight Ponyville was the target. The Finns infiltrated the forum and took hundreds of screenshots, many with information such as email addresses and the like. They uploaded these to their site, to spread amongst themselves. Who were they after? “Pony Lovers” - those people whom have given their hearts to ponies rather than to a human. The Finns believed this to be a heinous crime against society, and wished to (between their rounds of laughter and crude slander) bring the Pony Lovers to light, seeing them as freaks and aberrations, anathemas that deserved naught but cleansing fire. 

    They also targeted the Founder of RLPV, not because she was in charge, but because she was Transgender. TRANSGENDER. They hacked her email and blackmailed her, threatening to release personal info all over the internet if she did not shut down the site. She turned them away at first, but they came back, more intent this time and prying into the lives of other forum members as well. Fearing the safety of herself, her family, and the members of her forum, she shut it down. 

    At this point, some of you are outraged, some uncaring, and some unclear of what the issue here is. “A clop forum? Good, we don’t need /more/ of that on the internet”. This is not the issue here. Want to see the Finns’ point of view? Here you go: 

    http://lets-bananna.tumblr.com/post/51453087185

    http://fludatulpa.tumblr.com/post/51630799383/comment-redlight-tulpaville

    I write this not as a Pony Lover, not as a clopper, not even as a Brony, but as a fellow human being. The sort of blind hatred for that which is different that has been shown by these Finns is the very same that caused Rwanda and the Holocaust. That is the issue. They took down a forum on the grounds that they didn’t agree with it, using blackmail and threats. Instead of standing up to the clop forum members and giving their views in a mature and rational way, they opted instead for cowardly, underhanded tactics, including threatening a girl and her family. Those same hateful, bigoted cowards are cheering and patting themselves on the back for a job well done. If one cannot see the similarities here between their line of thinking and tactics chosen, and those of the Nazis, then I would suggest picking up a history book and reading for a while. 

    This is not a war of Clopper v. Finn, this is a war between hateful ignorance and those which it has dubbed “abnormal”. This is just one example of a problem which we humans have troubled through since our beginning. It is wrong, and it is in our problem to stop. The realization that “just because we don’t like something doesn’t make it bad” is a key part of being a human being. This letter is not to Bronies, but to Humanity at large. We can stop hate and ignorance. It is in our power to do so. But only if we choose to stand up for our fellow brothers and sisters and to understand one another, rather than casting aside those deemed different. When they targeted RLPV and its Founder, they were targeting those they had declared “abnormal” – gays, lesbians, bisexuals, pansexuals, transgenders, transsexuals, asexuals, ponyphiles, and everyone else that did not meet their idea of the “ideal human”. This connection to the Aryan mindset should be blatantly clear. 

    Let me tell you a little about myself. I am currently a junior at a prestigious private university, with a GPA of 3.94. I graduated 7th in my class in high school, as well as being a member of the National Honor Society and the local Anti-crime and student support groups. Ever since I was little, I’ve dreamed of helping people. From 8th grade until 11th, my goal was to go to West Point, become a leader in my nation’s military, and eventually become President. I changed my goals, realizing that with a strong education and a different battle plan, I could lead a life intent on helping others and uplifting my fellow brothers and sisters, more than could be accomplished in 4-8 years as President. 

    Want to know something else? I’m a pansexual clopper. I’m sexually attracted to men, women, transgenders, transsexuals, asexuals, and fluorescent-colored cartoon ponies. My point here? 

    THERE IS NO POINT. 

    My sexual preferences have absolutely no connection to what I intend to do with my life and the fact that my heart beats the same blood as yours. And yet, some would have you and everyone else believe that I am a monster, deserving of nothing but the worst punishment, and ultimately, extermination. I am not alone in this position. 

    We, as human beings, must learn from this occurrence. This is not a cry for support from the clop community. This is a cry for support from a fellow human being. Hateful, ignorant intolerance is our greatest enemy. It is the root of all darkness in our world. Loving someone of the same sex is not the issue. Singling out that person and ousting them is the issue. I will not allow this to continue. Join me in this. Tell your friends, tell your families. Do not hate, but love instead. We are all here on this earth together, breathing the same air and bleeding the same blood. This is our fight to win.

    Your friend and fellow human,
    Mustang