NEEEEEEEEEEEEERD!

It has always boggled my mind that people make fun of people for their obsessions. I was, and still am, a geek, and in high school people who played Magic The Gathering were made fun of for it. This is not a new phenomenon. People who are obsessed with things are classified as weird, though only on certain things.

Everyone is a geek about something. I am a geek about gaming of various varieties (card-video-table top). Some people love renaissance fairs, LARPing, movies, or theater. These people are often made fun of for it, which I think is unfair. What of people who are obsessed with cars, football (of either variety), music, or TV shows? They show the same amount of commitment, and sometime the same wild levels of it, where money is no object--see anyone who buys an RV to tailgate with, or where fans will dress up in costumes, or cover rooms in paraphernalia. These hobbies have a strong enough social presence to circumvent any large-scale abuse, despite often being just as ridiculous.

Nothing brings people together like an adversary, and degrading people who are different provides an adversary to group around and encourages feelings of goodwill within said group. People begin to feel a part of something bigger, part of a greater power than themselves, a sensation which can be quite addictive. Driven by feelings of connectivity and triumph, these groups then tend to seek out people to mock to re-experience those intoxicating feelings. Football has been popular with a ton of people for a long time and so fans get a pass for painting themselves and dressing like pirates or vikings or whatever. But those socially awkward kids who paint themselves and dress like pirates or vikings or whatever and play D&D number quite a bit less, so fuck those guys amirite?

It is not bad to try to be part of a group, but at the cost of alienating people I don't think it is worth it. As always I default to the "don't be a dick" school of thought. Everyone is obsessed with something, so making fun of them for that obsession is like making fun of someone for needing oxygen to live. So hey, maybe cut people some slack when they get excited about a thing. Except for bronies. Those guys are fucking weird. (sic)