If you refuse to buy a gun because you don't like certain people who own and love that gun, that's not really thinking for yourself, is it? That is being influenced by other people and ignoring the intrinsic qualities of that gun.
Except the problem is the margins are so narrow between competing manufacturers of similar guns. Sometimes razor thin, if there is even a margin at all. Most of us will never push our weapons to the limit such that the aforementioned alleged margins (that may or may not exist) even come into play.
When viewed through that lens, it makes perfect sense to base your decision on other...intangibles. Same reason people pick guns for the way they look. Or company reputation, even if it means paying more for--arguably--the same exact thing. Pride of ownership...is not a real thing to anyone but you. So why not pick a gun based on your perception of that gun's typical owner. Real or perceived doesn't matter.
I know several people who own one of those fanboy-type pistols. Some of them shoot them very well, some....not so much. MOST defend their choice, regardless of how much research they did, or if they can even name 2 competitors' pistols. But only ONE took the time to truly research, test several, and picked the brand in question. I respect his choice....the others, who have only ever shot THEIR gun but feel they must argue that it is the best, that gets old. At least if they were just honest and admitted they didn't care to do much research and wanted to go with the "safe" choice, that is fine too. Even though nowadays, "safe" choices are quite plentiful.