Most people have a hobby or two and you might struggle to find an individual that isn’t a fan of something. From favorite athletes and sports teams to movie franchises and video games, it’s just plain old fun to like something. Unfortunately, people without a moment's introspection can also be highly judgmental if you happen to like the “wrong” thing.
A woman shared a bit of family drama revolving around her collection of Disney merchandise and her sister, who wanted to have her wedding on OP’s property. Despite getting a free venue, the sister had pretty harsh things to say about her sibling's collection and demanded that it all be taken down and hidden from the guests. OP refused and conflict ensued.
People might get obsessive over their hobbies, but that is every person’s right to choose
Image credits: Carolina Boyadjian (not the actual image)
A woman and Disney fan shared the drama that unfolded over her merchandise after her sister demanded that she hide it from view
Image creedits: Leonardo Miranda (not the actual image)
Image credits: Katie Weber (not the actual image)
Image credits: Liza Summer (not the actual image)
Image credits: thatdisney
Being a fan of something is an older concept than most people might think
Despite its deeply modern connotations, the idea of a fandom, at least for fiction, goes back as far as Sherlock Holmes. People’s obsession with the legendary detective spilled over into real life, as fans held demonstrations to protest, commemorate or just rage at his “death” in 1893. Their love of the character went so deep as to incite the first recorded instances of fan fiction, between 1897 to 1902, as people simply couldn’t deal with a vision for the character that was different from what they imagined in their heads. And these aren’t small, isolated groups either, by 1939 there were full-blown fan gatherings, for example, the annual World Science Fiction Convention. Sports fans go even further back, to the ancient Olympic games, giving that concept a pedigree not enjoyed by most.
This is all to say that being a fan is neither unusual nor even negative in most cases. Many fans report notable improvements in their social lives due to participation in one fandom or another. This is in contrast to a lot of older work that considered fandom a potential risk to people’s mental health. While there can be degrees of obsessiveness and people who are predisposed towards addictive behaviors can overindulge, researchers are starting to realize that practically everyone is a fan of something. While sports might be the oldest form, fiction, like books and now video games and TV are all, at some level normal, acceptable things to enjoy. Indeed, a person with no interests or specific hobbies would probably come off as considerably stranger than, say, a Disney superfan.
Image credits: George Milton (not the actual image)
Entitlement can find a way to disrupt something as seemingly joyful as a wedding
Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, so it’s not unusual that OP’s sister might find her decorations, to use her words, “tacky.” While anyone would want their wedding to look exactly as they want, normally this involves paying for it. As OP mentions in a comment, the sister is not paying a single cent for the privilege of using her house, land, and barn. In other words, the decorations could be the ugliest set of items ever devised, and it still wouldn’t matter, since beggars really can’t be choosers, despite how often they try. At the very least, she could pay to have the items stored and then returned, but this idea seems to have been discarded for the considerably worse “insult your sister’s hobby and make demands” strategy.
The root cause, unfortunately, might be the age-old issue of entitlement. Whether it’s ego, short-sightedness, or a full-blown personality disorder, people can lose track of social norms and begin to think they are actually owed things. More often than not, this manifests itself when it comes to money or material possessions, and the internet is full of tales of people who, despite paying nothing, made ridiculous demands. While it’s unclear how the disagreement resolved itself, the sister could be somewhat forgiven for losing sight of the big picture. Seeing as she is discussing the decor of one of the areas of the venue, it is safe to assume that the sister is doing at least some of the wedding planning. Studies have shown generally, it’s the bride who does the bulk of the planning and by extension experiences the majority of the stress. Let's hope she understands the error of her ways before ruining a relationship with her sibling.
Image credits: Bren Pintelos (not the actual image)
OP gave some important additional context regarding the fact that she was letting her sister use the home for free
Commenters overwhelmingly sided with OP, as it was her space and she was free to set the boundaries she needed
