Okay, so what is it with the open hatred towards younger fans?
I joined the Hetalia fandom about a year ago, and one thing I've quickly become aware of, and actually rather shocked by, is the open loathing towards younger fans. Their fanfiction is crap, their fanart sucks, they're thick, they have the mental maturity of a toddler, they're trolls, and most importantly, they are DESTROYING THE FANDOM. And yes, I have seen people openly say everything mentioned on the list here.
The thing that get's me the most is the blame relating to the 'destruction' of the fandom. Younger fans are blamed and scapegoated for everything wrong with the fandom. The 'declining' quality of fanfics, offensive stunts, the immature fans who create a poor image for the fandom; EVERYTHING. And all it is just simply convenient scapegoating. They are someone who are convenient to blame because they are too small in number to really challenge it, and they are someone people can look down on and not feel bad about it (since we're 'more mature' than them and everything). It's unfair and disgusting. Younger fans aren't destroying the fandom; the fandom is destroying ITSELF. It is fans of all ages who pull racist and offensive stunts, who embaress the rest of the fandom with their behaviour, and are the creators of 'crappy' fanfiction. Maturity, not age, is the problem.
And yes, I do agree; despite this, there is of course an 'age-limit' in terms of people who are *too young* to be reading the manga or watching the anime. 12's are there to show what little children shouldn't be watching, and 15's are there to show what 12 year olds shouldn't be watching. I'd be pretty sad if I ever heard an 11 year old that they were a fan of the manga, and I have to admit I am a bit funny about 12 year old's who say they have read the manga and watched the anime too. Things do have a '16' rating for a reason. But this is a whole other can o' tomatos, and this, in my opinion, is the only thing that should ever limit the 'age' of the fandom members.
I don't know about other people, but for me, a fandom is a place I can return to after a tiring day at college/work/school, in order to forget my stresses and talk with people with similar interests. It is somewhere to have fun, share interests, and meet funny, interesting people. A fandom should feel warm, fun and friendly. But fan snobbery is an very ugly thing, and can make fandom an incredibly unpleasant place. Fandom is a place where we should spend our time having fun and sharing our love of a topic - in our case, Hetalia - not bitching about and slagging off members of the fandom.
I wrote this post because I find the un-disguised hatred aimed at teenage fans completely unfair and, frankly, disgusting, and I felt that it was something that needed addressing and condemming, particuarly by the older members of the fandom. Please, can't we just let the fandom be what it's meant to be and just get on and have fun :3?