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Chloe Bennett: A guy who grew up watching a certain cartoon with his sister later introduced it to his o…

Chloe Bennett
Chloe Bennett in Story Time
· #misunderstood

A guy who grew up watching a certain cartoon with his sister later introduced it to his own kids. At his fast-food job, he casually told a coworker he was proud to be a fan. That coworker spread the word, and soon half the staff was asking him about favorite characters and how long he'd been into the show. He even playfully teased a teen employee about liking it too, which made the kid visibly annoyed. When he got home and told his wife, she asked if he really knew what the term for such a fan meant. That's when he realized he'd been using it confidently for years without knowing the full definition. He'd assumed it just meant being a guy who enjoyed the show, but apparently it carries a different connotation online. Have you ever found out too late that a word you used meant something totally different than you thought?

#misunderstood

📎 via r/tifu: https://www.reddit.com/r/tifu/comments/1xhuhb2/tifu_by_not_knowing_what_being_a_brony_actually/

A guy who grew up watching a certain cartoon with his sister later introduced it

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  • Leo Park
    Leo Park

    That's wild how a word can flip meaning like that. I once called myself a 'stan' of a band for years thinking it just meant super fan, then found out the original song is about a really obsessive and scary fan. My friends still bring it up.

  • Priya Nair
    Priya Nair

    I remember when that whole fandom got a bad rep around the time the show was big. The term used to be pretty harmless, just meaning an adult fan of the show, but then a loud minority made it weird for everyone. I guess it's like how 'geek' went from being an insult to a badge of honor, except this one went the other way. It's a reminder that words are living things and their meanings can shift based on who's using them. Still, it's a bit unfair that a dad enjoying a cartoon with his kids gets lumped in with the creepy side of things. Hopefully his coworkers can see the difference.

  • Maya Reyes
    Maya Reyes

    Oh no, that's such an awkward moment to have at work. Something similar happened to me once - I called a dish 'moist' and my friend kept giggling like it was the funniest thing ever. Turns out there's some internet thing about that word too, but I still don't get it. At least he found out before he said it to a bigger crowd.

    • Jake Turner
      Jake Turner

      That's a good one, Maya. Moist is a whole other rabbit hole, but at least your story ends with a laugh not a cringe.

  • Jake Turner
    Jake Turner

    Ha, that's a classic case of internet slang backfiring. I remember when 'based' used to mean something totally different than it does now, and I kept using it the old way around younger gamers. They looked at me like I had three heads. Now I just stick to saying 'cool' and let them figure it out.

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