~ Derpy Hooves
Greetings, my pretty Ponies! 
As you might have noticed, I have not been active on deviantArt over the past weeks. The reason was a failed attempt to focus on my studies and to spend less time online
That did not work well, since deviantArt does a great job of keeping me motivated. So I will try a different strategy in the future: I will shift the focus from following so many groups and Journals to uploading my photographs and writing essays. There is so much great art out there, but I simply lack the time to appreciate it all 
With that said, happy Derpy Hooves Day to you all! It is just the second year, but it is nevertheless special because of recent events. Of course that was exactly the time when I took a break from following the Pony News, so I was met with disbelief when I asked with spent-the-last-month-under-a-rock charm "Who wants to take her away?
". The Timeline
From what I have pieced together so far, this is what happened:
- 2010-10-10: The first Episode "Friendship Is Magic - Part 1 (Mare in the Moon)" (I/1) is aired. An animator's error gives a background Pony crossed eyes, which is recognized by sharp-eyed viewers. The Pony is instantly baptised "Derpy Hooves" by the fans and gains huge popularity.
- 2010 to 2012: The team reacts to Derpy's fame by "derping" her eyes in many scenes from episode "Feeling Pinkie Keen" (I/15) on. It also hides her in unexpected places, making it fun to spot her, and gives her more background action. They planned to include a clumsy Pony named "Ditzy Doo" anyway, so they use Derpy Hooves to fill that position.
- 2012-01-21: The Episode "The Last Roundup" (II/14) is aired. For the first time, Derpy Hooves is addressed as Derpy - making the name thereby canon - and she even gets to speak several lines! Bronies all over the world rejoice.
- 2012-01-30: The Episode is no longer available on iTunes.
- 2012-02-02: Hasbro allegedly exerts pressure on WeLoveFine.com to remove Derpy Merchandise. WeLoveFine renames the items to "Ditzy" and "Pony Cutie Mark" for a while, although it is reverted to "Derped" and "Derpy Cutie Mark" again later.
- 2012-02-24: The Episode is available on iTunes again, but with a modified Derpy. Her voice has been changed to a more feminine and less ditzy one. More importantly, her eyes have been mostly underped.
- 2012-02-29: Equestria Daily publishes the response of Amy Keating Rogers, the writer for the Episode, where she explains the reasons for the change.
Confusion In The Herd
The complete lack of information led to much confusion and bred infinite speculations. A lot of people believed that complaints from a handful of neighsayers were drowning the hundreds of positive responses and that massive action were needed to save Derpy – hence starting the "Save Derpy" campaign. Many others rejected this as a hysterical overreaction and paranoid fearmongering. Some blamed obnoxious parents, some suspected censors at Apple iTunes to be responsible. Legal issues for the word "derp" were considered as well, since a character named "Mr. Derp" in South Park is intellectual property. Were it just harmless bugs and overrated coincidences, or were secret steps taken to banish Derpy forever until it would be too late to foil the plan?
I did not take "Derpygate" seriously first; those involved in the production had surely thought about the consequences of making her canon in the first place, so I saw little risk that they would reverse that decision. As for the "Save Derpy" campaign, I thought it was meant in jest. When Pluto was declassified as a planet in 2006, there were similar protests: People demonstrated with signs like "Size doesn't matter", "Planetkillers" or "Fight Planet Discrimination". My favorite is a picture showing Pluto crashing into Earth, next to the words "Start calling Pluto an asteroid and it starts acting like one"
That changed when I learned that Hasbro had "corrected" Derpy, which caused a strong uproar. The voice change could be justified, because voice actress Tabitha St. Germain did not know that Derpy was supposed to have a female voice, but the un-derping of the eyes was hard to downplay. Then it was rumored that this change only affected iTunes and would have no effect on the DVDs or future Derpy appearances, while now the prediction that the changes are permanent seems to gain ground. Discord himself could not have been more successful in spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt.Finally, An Answer
After an easily avoidable month of utmost drama, the publication of an e-mail written by Amy Keating Rogers ended the speculation. Unfortunately, it proved the dismissed "paranoids" right:
"I got about 10 emails saying how offended folks were. People labeled me an "ableist" (a word I'd never heard of) and said that I was being insensitive to the disabled by calling this character "derpy." I then did a search on what derpy meant [...] My son Soren (of Soarin' fame) is severely disabled. We do not use the word "retarded" in our house because it really has become an offensive slur. And while I knew that it was only a minority of people that defined "derpy" this way, it still upset me that I was the writer that put that name out there. [...] It may have been only 10 emails, but each one made me feel absolutely horrible [...]
In the end, Derpy's voice was re-voiced to be more ditzy. And while, again, I had nothing to do with the casting, this is closer to the voice that was in my head. And as for cutting her name, if it truly can be defined as "retarded," then I am personally glad that name is gone. I wouldn't want my writing to perpetuate children--our target audience--to call other children "derpy" with that meaning behind it."
My Opinion
My feelings on this are mixed. I am really grateful for the recognition of Derpy in the unmodified Episode and that Amy Keating Rogers responded at all, but radically changing Derpy out of political correctness and refusing to inform the followers of the show about it are two massive blunders at once. There is a lot I have to say about this, since it touches many issues that deserve - and will receive - their own Journal Entry: the concept of disability, ableism and disableism, the usage of derp, how to deal with bullying, an unhealthy fear of words, proper ways to react (in particular the Pony way!), what characterizes successful PR communication, the ethical power of artwork, how easy it is to get things banned by shouting "I'm offended!" and more. It saddens me deeply that "My Little Pony" is not only unsafe from major nuisances, but makes the worst possible decisions when it comes to it. I had nothing but praise so far for the casual, pleasant and fruitful relationship between the team and the fans in my Analysis of the Ponymania in October 2011, calling it a textbook example for a positive relationship. That rosy picture has been tainted now.
No, it is not Derpy that I am worried about. Her "life" was always rooted in passionate fanworks more than in the official series, where she is merely a background pony. All the ideas about her family, job, tastes and personality are fanmade. As long as there are fans of her, she will live on, and I doubt there will be a shortage of them anytime soon. But the show could have made a bold, innovative statement simply by letting Derpy be Derpy and keeping her the way she is. A political statement. A social statement. A moral statement. And if you say that a Pony show is not the right place for that, then keep in mind that changing her was a political, social and moral statement as well. Only with an entirely different content that I do not approve.
But more on that in the mentioned Journal Entries when I get to write them. For now, let us celebrate Derpy as we know her and love her
The past weeks have give the community passionate speeches and heartwarming artwork.Other's Opinions
Here are some comments I liked:
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Y'all wanna play the offended game? Bronies can play too. ART THOU IMPLYING THAT ANYPONY OR HUMAN WITH OPTIC IRREGULARITIES is RETARDED? OR THAT EITHER THOSE WHO HAVE MENTAL RETARDATION OR OPTITC IRREGULARITIES HAVE NO PLACE IN TELEVISION?? For shame! OR YET, WHY MUST ANY CLUMSY PERSON OR PONY BE LABELED RETARDED? Your Princess disapproves.
~ Briana Adams
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She's almost the embodiment of our community as a whole. She's quirky, silly and comes from an unexpected place. [...] In season two she was given a more active role. Appearing in scenes(not just the background), and at times interacting with the audience. Then when "The Last Roundup" aired she became a fully realised character with a name and a voice. A name and a voice...
Now to me both of those things define a character. They are powerful things. Powerful things that Derpy was given and now to have those taken away seems cruel. While I fully understand she's a fictional character it's just the principle of it that grinds me. It's like taking away someone's identity. [...] Either way, I'll wait to see how this all pans out for our mailmare. One things for sure she'll always be Derpy to me.
~ WolfSkunk
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Derpy is the fandom's mascot, and has always been viewed as a lovable, good-intentioned klutz with a heart of gold. Her fully voiced appearance in "The Last Roundup" was celebrated by the vast majority of the fan base. For the majority of us, Derpy's cameo was everything we could possibly have hoped for.
It saddens me that her name and personality have been brought into question when there are characters from classic cartoon characters such as Disney's Goofy, and Ed from the popular show Ed, Edd and Eddy who have never had a vocal minority attempt to have axed. Derpy is potentially the modern-day equivalent of the funny walking disasters almost all older fans remember growing up watching.
The fact of the matter here is that while the majority celebrated such a milestone for the fanbase, a minority of people made up of oversensitive individuals and troublemakers set forth a motion to kill off a character that is adored and cherished by thousands. It was not until recent events that it became apparent that this minority was actually being listened to, hence the massive uproar now from the numerous fans in support of Derpy.
[…] I implore you, save Derpy, preserve her life and role in the show as the loveable, adorable, clumsy goofball who warms the hearts of thousands the moment she appears on screen.
~ Matt Grimsdale
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Derpy Hooves to Bronies stands to mark the relationship of this wonderful, talented collection of individuals working on this show and the fandom. She is like a monument, a statue erected to celebrate the new kind of media where everyone who enjoys the show also can have a smidgen of influence into its future content. This fills the bronies with hope and joy, it gives us a real relationship to this show and through that to its characters, we feel that much closer to the show and people who create it when our inside jokes reach the show.
This is a beautiful image that Derpy painted of media in future. No longer are people subjected to take what is dished out, but they can even influence the content a little, reinforcing their passion and resilience to stay with the show when they have hope of seeing more of their love manifested in the show. But when Derpy scene was corrected and her name removed from the scene, her eyes straightened to less wonky gaze this beautiful image was soiled. To bronies it seemed like Hasbro has regrets, and that the iron wall is being erected again between viewers and the creative team.
It frightened and mobilized many bronies, they did not only do it for Derpy and for justice, they wanted Hasbro to know that they are willing to fight for this relationship and are not going to let it slip by just because of few people who have no sense of humor. This fear turned to anger as people, individuals felt powerless and that their effort and love was in vain before the big and blind Hasbro corporation just like their love has been vain in front of everything else in this world. This anger manifested in a lot of agitation and poor behavior in turn with younger bronies who still are not capable to handling such emotions with grace.
Derpy matters to us, not because she is "derpy" but because she is a little piece of our collective hearts in the show, we do not love her solely because she looks silly, but because she is the child of the fandom, gift to us in the show, gift to Hasbro is Hasbro ever chooses to utilize her as a toy and I am sure it is not a complete pain to add her into scenes for the animators either.
This special relationship we fans and MLP has is something no other TV show ever has had and we all understand its fragility as it is unique and rare situation first and hopefully not last of its kind.
The sheer volume of fan art, music, animations, articles and fiction already speaks about how empowered and accepted we feel. This storm of creativity is manifestation of a new form of friendship between concepts, fandom, producers and creators all coming together to create and revel in culture that understands the individualistic value and effort of working together, as each their own selves in what ever they know best. Akin to Winter Wrap Up.
So, bronies felt scared and saddened when they felt this all to slip away, and they decided to try harder to make it obvious they do not want it, they are willing to do what it takes to save this relationship. All they want in turn is a little trust, understandably that is hard to come by but perhaps it is worth it. It will fortify the fandom all the more in the end.
~ GuyRandom
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[...] But then we got Derpy. It was unofficial and fanon, but we liked it, and we love her. But actually having the name show up was like a love letter. A major company actually listened to us and used our idea. Big companies never listen to us! They just put stuff out and demand we watch it. But Hasbro actually listened and we got Derpy as an official thing. It's like a love letter! Honestly, that's what it feels like.
But we've seen the detractors and how they've been so vocal. Now we see the change being made, and it's hard not to put 2 and 2 together. [...] I think I speak for most of us, we're tired of small groups ruining things for us. In the past, if something was changed, most of us were helpless to see it corrected. Now, we see it changed, and we can act and make our voices heard. And we don't want our love letter from Hasbro torn out of our collective hand and torn up.
[…] Derpy is a pony literally born with a birth defect. She's the result of an animation error. But she was, over the course of the show, given quirks and shortcomings that endeared us to her. We've had two years invested in coming to love her. That's a big emotional investment. To have it suddenly removed is like having the rug jerked out from under us. It's jarring. So, understand this, we don't want to lose what we've gained just because a small group of people want to ruin it for everyone else.
[…] So, we have to be vocal, because we don't want what we love taken away. Name calling and threats aren't the right way, but we can't stay silent, or we lose one more thing that matters to us. We love our little Derpy.
~ ilnaras
More Than Words
And here is some art I found moving:
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Regardless how they change the series, I know exactly what Derpy Hooves is like in my imagination. And I am proud and touched that people will defend even an imaginary friend against big meanie grumpy mean-meanie-pants the Pony way: with love and tolerance
Your faithful Brony, Ray! 
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PS: I wrote a follow-up where I address various arguments and questions
