Twintix said:
And sometimes, even expressing an interest in anime, manga or anything Japanese makes you a weeaboo.
More often than not, ''weeaboo'' is only used to refer to those who are obnoxious about their penchant for Japanese stuff and/or those who get overly defensive someone else says they don't really care for anime.
That defensiveness is one of my biggest issues with anime-fandom. That and the fact that the line between ''I appreciate this medium'' and ''I'm using this medium as something to make myself come off as cool, different and interesting because it's niche.'' can get really blurred, especially to outsiders.
Some examples of the aforementioned defensiveness:
https://twitter.com/AdamSessler/status/525152979855224832
https://twitter.com/devincf/status/487024328064516096
And some recommended reading for not falling into the same trap:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/answerman/2014-08-22/.77818
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/answerman/2014-08-29/.78050
Just so you know, I'm
really into anime, manga and other types of Japanese pop culture. I'd love nothing more than to introduce more people to parts of it. That said, it's never going to be liked by everyone. Some people just don't like anime, and that' fine. Other people just don't like super hero movies, others still just don't like musicals, others just don't like ballet. I could go on but you get the idea.
I will concede that certain people who don't like anime can be real dicks about it, but that's life,and it shouldn't deter anyone who does from enjoying it.
(wow, that post turned out longer than expected)