History Main / AcceptableHobbyTargets

For most, if not all of the world, the most popular sports in a specific nation will usually include one game that is called "Football"...and usually only one sport at that although in rare occasions two. (ex. AssociationFootball / Soccer and RubgyFootball in the United Kingdom, AmericanFootball in the United States, GaelicFootball in Ireland, and AustralianRulesFootball in Australia). However for some reason, it seems to be taboo for one to like two or more football codes, especially one that is considered "foreign", mainly due to ValuesDissonance. In Australia for example, most of the country is either divided between Rugby and Aussie rules, with soccer being an afterthought (outside of the national team), while in the US; outside the US Mens (and sometimes Womens) National Team, soccer is not seen well as a spectator sport compared to American Football, and it is hard to find someone to openly say they are a fan of both Football and Soccer (or even just soccer for that matter). Of course, since there are quite a few sports that claim the name Football, there are [[{{Understatement}} quite a few]] heated arguments among the fans of each sport on which sport really is the "Real" Football (Soccer vs AmericanFootball debates especially), [[InternetBackdraft with plenty of]] [[SeriousBusiness eloquent]] and [[DidNotDoTheResearch well-researched arguments]] to [[FanDumb make their point]]. Even in ThisWiki, fans tend to get rather [[JerkAss snobbish]] in editing Football-related articles to demean fans of other football codes.

* If you think it is SoBadItsGood people understand especially if you only like the movie's which genuinely are better parodies of Twilight than vampires suck ever will.

* [[DoubleStandard Sports fanatics, however, generally get a free pass on this one]]. Fanatics of computers, consoles, comics, anime, and so on? Not so much.

For most, if not all of the world, the most popular sports in a specific nation will usually include one game that is called "Football"...and usually only one sport at that although in rare occasions two. (ex. AssociationFootball / Soccer and RubgyFootball in the United Kingdom, AmericanFootball in the United States, GaelicFootball in Ireland, and AustralianRulesFootball in Australia). However for some reason, it seems to be taboo for one to like two or more football codes, especially one that is considered "foreign", mainly due to ValuesDissonance. In Australia for example, most of the country is either divided between Rugby and Aussie rules, with soccer being an afterthought (outside of the national team), while in the US; outside the US Mens (and sometimes Womens) National Team, soccer is not seen well as a spectator sport compared to American Football, and it is hard to find someone to openly say they are a fan of both Football and Soccer (or even just soccer for that matter). Of course, since there are quite a few sports that claim the name Football, there are [[{{Understatement}} quite a few]] heated arguments among the fans of each sport on which sport really is the "Real" Football (Soccer vs AmericanFootball debates especially), [[InternetBackdraft with plenty of]] [[SeriousBusiness eloquent]] and [[DidNotDoTheResearch well-researched arguments]] to [[FanDumb make their point]]. Even in ThisWiki.

* To their credit, ''Something Awful'' considers this a [[DeadHorseTrope Dead Horse Trope]] -- the fact that several of the most vocal people commenting on these posts were found (via comparing IP addresses) to also be [[HypocriticalHumor on various art sites making furry requests]] kinda helped kill it, putting this subculture into the realm of OnceAcceptableTargets.
* Or not. Last this troper checked they're still doing it, [[FanDumb for the same reasons as ever.]]
** Unless you're ''{{CSI}}''.

* Averted in the webcomic ''ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'', where, in the present-day arc, Guinevere comes from a family of nudists, and everyone accepts it (except for the prudish Lancelot).
* Averted - and even [[AnAesop Aesoped]] - in ''FamilyGuy'' when Peter and family are invited to dinner by a bunch of nudists to thank Peter for saving the father (Peter didn't realize he was a nudist, he thought he had just lost his swim trunks at sea). The actual mentality of being a nudist is played for laughs (they literally do everything naked) but Peter and Lois's prejudice against nudists is eventually proven to be an unfair bias and they learn their lesson. When the couple shows up again in another episode, Peter and Lois greet them warmly, and it's not even addressed that the two are naked.
* Averted in ''{{Futurama}}''. At several points during the show characters will walk around in the buff. This is, for the most part, ignored by the other characters after it's initially pointed out. Notable exceptions occur when the nude character had recently engaged in sexual conduct.
* May not be helped along by the fact that a lot of pro-nudism people seem to go the over-the-top route of saying that all those people wearing clothes are just deluding and restricting themselves, and if they'd only strip down everything wrong with their lives would magically fix itself; IE, that ''everyone is a nudist'', they just don't know it yet. People tend to get a little annoyed when they're told that complete strangers know what they need better than they do. (Which is, of course, why you have so many AcceptablePoliticalTargets.)

* The webcomic ''Loxie & Zoot'' is about nudists and nudism, and usually does a good job of depicting the characters as normal people and not deviants. Unfortunately, there's still a strong subtext throughout the comic that "getting nude makes you happier and makes you a better person" that gets a bit grating at times. Also, the comic's BigBad is a prudish straw politician who seems to be genuinely ''allergic'' to nudity.

* A fictional example of this is [[HarryPotter Ron Weasley]]'s unwavering support of the Chudley Cannons Quidditch team, who last won the League Cup in 1892 and in 1972 changed their motto from "We shall conquer" to "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best".

** [[NotSoDifferent By the same token]], enthusiasts of almost any "classic rock" or ProgressiveRock artist, particularly from TheSeventies, particularly after [[SarcasmMode The Great Punk Purge of the Summer of 1977 that saved all music from pretentiousness and self-indulgence]], if you can believe many [[CausticCritic Caustic Critics]].

* However, being addicted to some games (Especially those granted [[ComplainingAboutPeopleNotLikingTheShow immunity to any form of criticism in any way]] like ''TeamFortress 2'') is nonexistant - as if spending 14 hours a day playing something that doesn't even give you in-game rewards (if at all) is much more worthwhile than anything you do on an MMORPG...DoubleStandard and FanDumb, I know, but until people realize they aren't ''forced'' to play an MMORPG that they own, it's not going anywhere soon. So best get comfortable in the MMORPG Speakeasies.

All 30-year-old man children who have no social skills and will live in their parents' basements as long as they can. They also wear silly hats while they play.
* Which brings us to the '''BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats''', though it's rare to see this nowadays...

'''[[SuperSmashBros People who like Melee more than Brawl/Brawl more than Melee/ANYTHING]]'''

What are they thinking?

'''People who non-ironically like works that are generally considered SoBadItsHorrible'''

'''People who prefer to listen to Anime and Game soundtracks over "real" music'''

Men who knit are frequently compared to homosexuals, old ladies, or old lady homosexuals. Despite the fact that knitting was made by men, and a girlfriend would probably love to have a guy that can make gorgeous accessories for her from scratch.

* In hockey, Leafs fans.

* By extension, ''Detroit Lions'' fans.
** And ''Cleveland Browns'' fans. In fact, ''any professional Cleveland team in general''.

** On that note, let's not even start about Lebron James.

'''[[SuperSmashBros People who like Melee more than Brawl]]'''

** [[NotSoDifferent By the same token]], enthusiasts of almost any "classic rock" or ProgressiveRock artist, particularly from TheSeventies, particularly after [[SarcasmMode The Great Punk Purge of the Summer of 1977 that saved all music from pretentiousness and self-indulgence]], if you can believe many CausticCritics.

** [[By the same token]], enthusiasts of almost any "classic rock" or ProgressiveRock artist, particularly from TheSeventies, particularly after [[SarcasmMode The Great Punk Purge of the Summer of 1977 that saved all music from pretentiousness and self-indulgence]], if you can believe many CausticCritics.

'''People who prefer media free of sex or violence'''

For most, if not all of the world, the most popular sports in a specific nation will usually include one game that is called "Football"...and usually only one sport at that although in rare occasions two. (ex. AssociationFootball / Soccer and RubgyFootball in the United Kingdom, AmericanFootball in the United States, GaelicFootball in Ireland, and AustralianRulesFootball in Australia). However for some reason, it seems to be taboo for one to like two or more football codes, especially one that is considered "foreign", mainly due to ValuesDissonance. In Australia for example, most of the country is either divided between Rugby and Aussie rules, with soccer being an afterthought (outside of the national team), while in the US; outside the US Mens (and sometimes Womens) National Team, soccer is not seen well as a spectator sport compared to American Football, and it is hard to find someone to openly say they are a fan of both Football and Soccer (or even just soccer for that matter). Of course, since there are quite a few sports that claim the name Football, there are [[{{Understatement}} quite a few]] heated arguments among the fans of each sport on which sport really is the "Real" Football (Soccer vs AmericanFootball debates especially), [[InternetBackdraft with plenty of]] [[SeriousBusiness eloquent]] and [[DidNotDoTheResearch well-researched arguments]] to [[FanDumb make their point]].

* Which brings us to '''TheBrotherhoodOfFunnyHats''', though it's rare to see this nowadays...

* An aversion of this comes from the web comic, ''{{Shortpacked!}}'', which makes jokes about toy collectors, [[NWordPrivileges but is written by one]].

** It doesn't help that most people in Japan liken otaku with people like Tsutomu Miyazaki...

* Sports fanatics, however, generally get a free pass on this one. Fanatics of computers, consoles, comics, anime, and so on? Not so much.

* '''The devoted hobbyists'''. Whether it's [[TheCollectorOfTheStrange collecting something people generally try not to think about]], spending a lot of time watching/reading/playing something that many would think would have stopped being entertaining days ago, or just peppering any and every bit of conversation with obscure references to their hobby, it's generally considered okay to think of people like this as obsessive freaks. Characters may temporarily become like this during a bout of FleetingPassionateHobbies.
** Sports fanatics, however, generally get a free pass on this one. Fanatics of computers, consoles, comics, anime, and so on? Not so much.
*** [[http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38664 Often, but not always]].
** {{Otaku}} in Japan. Yep. Pretty much being scorned by media (and like in ''DenshaOtoko'').
*** It doesn't help that most people in Japan liken otaku with people like Tsutomu Miyazaki...
** Anyone who is very skilled at a particular video game is regarded as some sort of godly superhuman at best and a total loser with no life outside of that game at worst.
*** And if you play a game with a rating below the one you're in (playing an E game when you're 17+) you're an immature man-child, completely ignoring that these games can be fun at any age (similar to how a G-rated movie must be for children only). As with sports fanatics, sports games are given a pass.
** Fangirls. All fangirls are automatically hysterical, obsessive, semi-literate, 13-year-olds who will never get a boyfriend. No exceptions. Hey, it's the Internet, so anyone can claim to be a rational adult leading a normal life. A group of people have an interest in something you don't understand or think is dumb? "Well, they're just silly little fangirls. Of ''course'' they'd be into ''that.''"
** The exception to this is women/gay men who are into fashion as a hobby.
** An aversion of this comes from the web comic, Shortpacked!, which makes jokes about toy collectors, [[NWordPrivileges but is written by one]].
* '''People who like anything from Japan'''. Too much covered above.
* '''[[FurryFandom Furries]]'''. A group of people who enjoy art and literature about [[FunnyAnimal anthromorphic characters]] (werewolves, Bugs Bunny expys and the like)? No big deal. Popular internet humor/[[FanHaters Fan Hater]] site ''SomethingAwful'' posting the worst dregs of freakish FetishFuel that they can find out of the entire subculture? '''BURN THEM.''' The fact that ''Something Awful'' is supposed to be a satire site is lost on 99% of the people perpetuating this meme.
** To their credit, ''Something Awful'' considers this a [[DeadHorseTrope Dead Horse Trope]] -- the fact that several of the most vocal people commenting on these posts were found (via comparing IP addresses) to also be [[HypocriticalHumor on various art sites making furry requests]] kinda helped kill it, putting this subculture into the realm of OnceAcceptableTargets.
** Or not. Last this troper checked they're still doing it, [[FanDumb for the same reasons as ever.]]
*** Unless you're ''{{CSI}}''.
**Odd enough the main reason why people don't like furries isn't the FetishFuel; it's the really annoying members that cry out "Fursecution" when people make fun of them.
*** It doesn't help when the people laughing at their claims are actively justifying them. It's a vicious cycle, folks.
*** This furry Troper has never heard ''anyone'' use the word "''fursecution''" without irony.
*** Strangely enough, this Troper has had a furry target her as being somehow inferior simply for not being a furry.
** Most if not all of ''EncyclopediaDramatica'''s targets on people with mental illness had the unfortunate case to be a ''{{Sonic}}'' fan.
** This also even happens ''within'' the furry fandom itself. Everyone ''loves'' to attack different people with different fetishes and fursonae.
* '''[[NakedPeopleAreFunny Nudists]]'''. A group of people who like to be naked, depending on viewpoint either because being naked is fun, especially in a group (skinny dippers taken to the next level) or because it's a semi-religious view (that there's nothing shameful about the human body), with most nudists falling somewhere in-between. Often called Naturists in other countries, although some make a distinction -- Nudists like to be naked for fun, Naturists like to be naked because of a lifestyle or philosophical choice. Attracts a lot of new agers, and back in the day, a lot of hippies, so has gotten a reputation for being associated with new age philosophy. In addition, Swingers tend to be attracted to Nudism as it helps them, in theory, find more sex partners -- due to the mistaken idea that Nudists have to be promiscuous because they like to be naked. Nudists as a bit character tend to be pigeonholed into a few stereotypes -- the attractive blond bimbo, the new age hippy, or the extremely ugly old man, with varying levels of promiscuity depending on how they want the character to go.
** Averted in the webcomic ''ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'', where, in the present-day arc, Guinevere comes from a family of nudists, and everyone accepts it (except for the prudish Lancelot).
** Averted - and even [[AnAesop Aesoped]] - in ''FamilyGuy'' when Peter and family are invited to dinner by a bunch of nudists to thank Peter for saving the father (Peter didn't realize he was a nudist, he thought he had just lost his swim trunks at sea). The actual mentality of being a nudist is played for laughs (they literally do everything naked) but Peter and Lois's prejudice against nudists is eventually proven to be an unfair bias and they learn their lesson. When the couple shows up again in another episode, Peter and Lois greet them warmly, and it's not even addressed that the two are naked.
** Averted in ''{{Futurama}}''. At several points during the show characters will walk around in the buff. This is, for the most part, ignored by the other characters after it's initially pointed out. Notable exceptions occur when the nude character had recently engaged in sexual conduct.
** May not be helped along by the fact that a lot of pro-nudism people seem to go the over-the-top route of saying that all those people wearing clothes are just deluding and restricting themselves, and if they'd only strip down everything wrong with their lives would magically fix itself; IE, that ''everyone is a nudist'', they just don't know it yet. People tend to get a little annoyed when they're told that complete strangers know what they need better than they do. (Which is, of course, why you have so many AcceptablePoliticalTargets.)
** On ''Jimmy Macdonald's Canada'', it's footage of a nudist camp that finally pushes Jimmy over the edge. Nevertheless, most of the humour is in his extreme reaction, and not the nudists.
** The webcomic ''Loxie & Zoot'' is about nudists and nudism, and usually does a good job of depicting the characters as normal people and not deviants. Unfortunately, there's still a strong subtext throughout the comic that "getting nude makes you happier and makes you a better person" that gets a bit grating at times. Also, the comic's BigBad is a prudish straw politician who seems to be genuinely ''allergic'' to nudity.
** ''{{Monk}}'' subverted this hard. Monk initially accused someone of murder based on the fact he was a nudist, and his rants on the subject came to the point of denying nudists were even human. Every single one of his friends came down on him for it. By the end he was convinced his prejudice was wrong, and the initial suspect saved the day. (He still freaked out when the naked guy hugged him. Of course, he's ''Monk'', so...)
* '''Chicago Cubs Fans:''' The Chicago Cubs have not won the World Series since 1908, so therefore they are the worst team ever (even though plenty of other Major League Baseball Teams have ''never'' won the World Series), and all of their fans are complete idiots with no class who root for a lost cause.
** Just about ever sports announcer has made a derogatory remark about the Cubs and, by extension, their fans. The Steve Bartman incident did not help things either. Also, many St. Louisans do this, but that's because of the strong regional rivalry between the St. Louis Cardinals (who have 10 World Series wins, the second-highest amount in MLB history) and the Chicago Cubs (who have won the World Series twice, in 1907 and 1908).
*** Played with in ''BackToTheFuture Part II'' in which the Cubs win the World Series in [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 2015]].
**** And in a ''SamuraiCat'' book; titular hero Miaowara Tomokato is nodding in sympathy with two Chicago natives about how bad the Cubs are. Tomokato's a 16th-century samurai, so he has an excuse; the natives, though, are Prohibition-era types, with the World Series win in recent memory and decent chances of making it. Huh?
** Fans of Chicago's two baseball teams stick stereotypes to the other team's fans. Therefore, Cub fans are seen as effete wine-sipping yuppies, while White Sox fans are stereotyped as boorish, cheap beer-drinking slobs.
** At the other end, those teams that are deemed to be ''too'' successful (e.g. the Yankees in MLB, the Lakers in the NBA, the Cowboys and Steelers in the NFL, etc.), and their fans, are often regarded as Acceptable Targets by rival fans and media.
** This troper isn't sure whether it's more or less acceptable to bash Boston Red Sox fans now that their team has ended its "curse".
*** ''This'' troper is glad that you brought that question forth to him! Why don't you step into my office in downtown Boston and we can have [[TroubleEntendre an extended discussion]] about that...
*** If it is acceptable to bash Red Sox fans, it's not because they're a lost cause. Though you can still bash them for constantly gloating about how great their team is. (To be fair, [[NewYorkCity those other guys]] are equally annoying.) Reached critical mass in 2004 when the Red Sox and Patriots both won championships.
** By extension, ''Detroit Lions'' fans.
*** And ''Cleveland Browns'' fans. In fact, ''any professional Cleveland team in general''.
**In baseball, despite the team's success, Oakland A's fans are Acceptable Targets for being stupid enough to support a [[{{PerpetualPoverty}} dead-broke team]] that will ALWAYS lose their best players to free agency. Taunts along the lines of "we can afford (insert name here), he's ours now, enjoy your rookies".
** Fans of all of Philadelphia's sports teams tend to be depicted in a less-than-flattering light.
*** But that doesn't have as much to do with the Philadelphia teams' success as it does the fans' behavior. In the 1970s, the Philadelphia Eagles' fans ''threw snowballs at Santa Claus''. On July 25, 2009, the Phillies played a home game against the St. Louis Cardinals, and a couple of fans had started flashing a laser-light in the Cardinals' batters eyes for a couple of innings--no wonder the Cards had gotten some 7 runs behind. After the game, some Phillies fans attacked a small group of people who were wearing their Cardinals jersey, and one young man was killed. Classy.
*** It is in my experience that there are plenty of obnoxious fans for all sports teams. (Let's just say that having a full water bottle thrown at you by Michigan fans is no picnic).
** A fictional example of this is [[HarryPotter Ron Weasley]]'s unwavering support of the Chudley Cannons Quidditch team, who last won the League Cup in 1892 and in 1972 changed their motto from "We shall conquer" to "Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best".
**This troper wonders why the record of a team even matters, if it's beyond the lifetimes of its current players and coaches. Seems there's nothing magical enough about a name or symbol that should imbue the team with a real universal similarity that justifies continuing fandom of a team once all of the original members are gone.
***That troper is obviously not a sports fan... or from Boston.
**On a related note, specific sports trades, especially in pro football. Depending on the state (or even city), Brett Favre is either a traitor and should have never come out of retirement or a complete hero. Needless to say, arguments on either side tend to escalate quickly.
*'''ProfessionalWrestling fans.''' Feel like coming out of your steel cage closet and admitting you're a fan to, say, your boss?
** Here's how bad it was at one point: a gentleman was once trying to avoid admitting that he was watching wrestling when he was discussing how he saw a local hero, Lance Storm, on television; instead, according to Storm, he claimed that somehow, while channelflipping, he came across the channel showing the programme just as Storm was in the ring. Storm figured the odds of that are remote. And the worst part? The fan was talking to someone he knew to be Mrs Storm.
* '''[[MusclesAreMeaningless Bodybuilders]]''' Doesn't help much that they use steroids, or that everything about the lifestyle strikes this troper as HoYay.
** Even more so, Female Bodybuilders.
* '''[[{{Goth}} Goths]]''' There are, generally speaking, three major Goth stereotypes: The Lone Psycho Goth, the Perky Goths, and the Gloomy Goths. For a more detailed description, see [[{{Goth}} here]]. It should be noted though that not everyone who wears black thinks they're a vampire, although the reverse does generally hold true.
* '''People who prefer media free of sex or violence''': Unfortunately, all people who uphold this preference tend to be lumped in with MoralGuardians - even if those are just personal preferences, and they have no intention of pushing those personal preferences onto other people.
* '''[[DiscoDan Fans of a]] DeadHorseGenre''' At least, the people who like the latest teen pop have an excuse of "following the crowd" - but if the music is no longer even popular, then what's their excuse? [[SarcasmMode Surely, it can't be because it just so happens to be the music that they derive personal pleasure from. No, of course not!]] [[FanHaters It's because they're too stupid and misguided to know any better.]]
*'''Trainspotters''' (US: railfans). They have become a byword for all pathetic, pointless hobbies.
* '''People who obsessively play online games''': Especially stuff like ''WorldOfWarcraft'', which is the biggest target. For some reason, partly due to NewMediaAreEvil, it's seemingly perfectly acceptable to blame any addictions to online games as the fault of the game itself - whereas doing this for just about anything else (namely blaming the murder on the ''murder weapon'' and not the ''murderer'') usually results with a YouFailLogicForever and a lecture on ''why'' YouFailLogicForever. But for video games? Nope!
** The FanHaters will have you believe everyone who plays ''WorldOfWarcraft'' is a min-maxer or one of the hardcore raiders which [[EvenNerdsHaveStandards some of the players themselves hate]].
** However, being addicted to some games (Especially those granted [[ComplainingAboutPeopleNotLikingTheShow immunity to any form of criticism in any way]] like ''TeamFortress 2'') is nonexistant - as if spending 14 hours a day playing something that doesn't even give you in-game rewards (if at all) is much more worthwhile than anything you do on an MMORPG...DoubleStandard and FanDumb, I know, but until people realize they aren't ''forced'' to play an MMORPG that they own, it's not going anywhere soon. So best get comfortable in the MMORPG Speakeasies.
*Gun hobbyists are either right-wing nuts or terrorists in training.
*'''Men who knit''' Men who knit are frequently compared to homosexuals, old ladies, or old lady homosexuals. Despite the fact that knitting was made by men, and a girlfriend would probably love to have a guy that can make gorgeous accessories for her from scratch.
*'''Tabletop Roleplayers''' are all 30-year-old man children who have no social skills and will live in their parents' basements as long as they can. They also wear silly hats while they play.
*Which brings us to '''TheBrotherhoodOfFunnyHats''', though it's rare to see this nowadays...