I’m sick of it. You people make ME look bad. I am a narcissistic arsehole god amongst men, thus this angers me mightily. Let me explain…
I returned home recently from the London Eurogamer Expo, and as is commonplace with the kids this day and age; many photos of me were ‘tagged’ on Facebook. This 21st century identity parade led only to grief on my behalf as my archaic peers queried me about my adventures and my reasons for being there.
Gaming is not an acceptable hobby here quite yet. Writing about them on one of them scary website things is frowned upon. Gallivanting off to strange cities with weird internet people is grounds for excommunication. Due to this annoying concept, I get more and more angry not only at these people, but at you. Yes you, reader.
What I’m getting at is this: STOP BEING TYPICAL NERDS! Stereotypes arise for a reason; they often hold true. Unfortunately for people who are at least pseudo-normal and have some modicum of social sensibilities about them life becomes rather difficult. People like us know not to talk about videogames in common parlance. Not to use internet colloquialisms when talking to people. And, not to look like we are 40 years old and living in our mothers’ basements.
Let uncle Halfie give you a short life lesson that will guide you through many situations with a positive outcome: What other people think of you is the MOST IMPORTANT THING. Yes this does completely nullify the morals from the fairytales that your parents taught you when you were little. (Except the Ugly Duckling, which seems to be a story about how everyone hates you when you are hideous, then you change into something different – better – and you become instantly popular. THAT is a tale with a message.) Sure, what is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right. So what? Is it really worth the grief? I don’t think so. I’m quite prepared to conform to socially acceptable norms if it’s the easy option and I don’t feel the alternative is worth the hassle.
I recently discovered a classmate of mine is what us Internet denizens would call a ‘weeaboo’. I was surprised. It came up in a perfectly valid discussion (“getting up to much later?”, “Anime club”, “…What?”), this person is quite capable of conducting himself in a normal conversation with normal people. He doesn’t go on about things he knows others look down upon because he knows that it will get him trouble from peers. Smart. I certainly don’t think anything less of him and I’m terrified of Japanese culture.
On the other hand, I know of several people who are quite ready to just sit down and try and start a conversation with total strangers about how the PS3 is blatantly better than any other console or some other similar pointless topic. No one gives a shit, be quiet. You’re embarrassing yourself and giving us ‘gamers’ a bad image. These types of nerd are the worst. At least the quiet ones keep to themselves.
Okay, you have friends who are just as ‘nerdy’ as you. Fair enough. That still doesn’t strike me as healthy. People NEED to be able to communicate well with strangers not like themselves.
“But they don’t care about anything I like.”
So? Small-talk is easy. It’s a piece of piss. Called ’shooting the shit’ for a reason in that no one actually cares about the topics that go back and forth.
“Get up to much at the weekend?” See, no one actually cares what his or her fellow man gets up to, the human race is far too cynical for that.
Videogames are a social pastime now. It is no longer a form of escapism so absolute that it cuts out all human interaction. You can have fun with other people while playing games now! In fact, I’d go so far as to say games are almost always more fun with other people. This means that you’re going to have to adapt or be left behind as other, normal, people go through their social circle phases while you become even more of a disdainful clique.
Short, sharp version: STOP. BEING. WEIRD. DAMMIT.
iTunes
Sounds to me like you need to grow some balls yourself and not care about what these idiots think about you.
It’s like trying to tell someone that likes a different genre of music to “fix their image”. Video games are pretty huge now, so saying that there’s only one type of gamer or group of them is pretty inaccurate.
If you want to hang out with normal people, stop hanging out with awkward people. You shouldn’t even want both.
People who can only talk about their hobby are useless, regardless what that hobby is.
You just can’t tell outspoken geeks anything.
so, at a guess, i’m going to say you’re a flynn’s man, not a chase man? i’ve just joined newcastle etc etc generic banter
Complaining about nerds and using terms like “weeaboo” don’t do as much for the cause as you might expect.
P.S. Some people do have actual social disorders.
Haha, this is fantastic, and I absolutely can’t disagree. Keep on keepin’ on!
Hey FUCK YOU. Not every nerd is an socially awkward fanboi virgin. Jocks like you that need every person to fit into some behavioral social contract are what makes this planet so miserable.
signed, a typical science Nerd.
GAWD:
The point.
Your heads.
See how it has gone over it?
“People like us know not to talk about videogames in common parlance. Not to use internet colloquialisms when talking to people. And, not to look like we are 40 years old and living in our mothers’ basements.”
I know someone that has these flaws :( While the article is humourous, there is sad truth behind it.
Well, then explain it to us stupid unworthy people you arrogant twat.
Just because YOU need validation per proxy because your social circles are too stupid to accept different mindsets (read gamers) does not obligate a whole group to change behavioral aspects that they are perfectly fine with just so you can fit in whatever peer group besides gamers more easily.
That may not be the “point” you are forming in your little head, but thats the message that piece conveys. Just shitting on the floor and pronouncing “i meant strawberries” doesnt make it stink less.
“I’m quite prepared to conform to socially acceptable norms if it’s the easy option.” People have been doing that for hundreds of years. It’s called being in the Closet, and I’m pretty sure it’s a bad thing.
Just because you feel uncomfortable with a social group does not mean that they should all try and hide, or that they all are the ones that need to change.
“Let uncle Halfie give you a short life lesson that will guide you through many situations with a positive outcome: What other people think of you is the MOST IMPORTANT THING.”
That only applies to people that have nothing to show.
Lol NoZart is a virgin!
lol@Pew
I get what your saying Halfie but people like that exist in other forms of interest and are generally known as the “Boring Hobbyist”. See Jeremy Clarksons relentless piss taking of the members of the Ferrari owners club for example.
@Pew: @Pew: I wish i was. :D
I think he’s just attacking the stereotype and the people that fit it cause he doesn’t feel it’s right that all gamers/geeks/nerds (himself included) get judged/treated based on the stereotypical nerd figure. Those that don’t like the article should write what they considered a “stereotypical nerd” appearance/attitude and why it should be defended and not criticized.
While I can get behind the idea that stereotypical nerd types don’t do much to help those of us who want to avoid that sort of image, I’d also argue that it’s not their responsibility to help us feel better about ourselves.
“I’m quite prepared to conform to socially acceptable norms if it’s the easy option and I don’t feel the alternative is worth the hassle,” must be a nice, cozy position to be in, but it’s also intellectual cowardice. I’d rather spend 5 minutes explaining exactly why I think/believe/like what I do and risk people not ‘getting’ it, than just pretend that side of me doesn’t exist just to avoid some ‘hassle.’
It’s true that it’s unhelpful to seperate yourself from society. Far better in order to *engage* with it in issues where you and society have a disagreement. But that involves a bit of honesty, just quietly conforming doesn’t help anyone.
“I’d rather spend 5 minutes explaining exactly why I think/believe/like what I do and risk people not ‘getting’ it, than just pretend that side of me doesn’t exist just to avoid some ‘hassle.’”
Tried it. Got picked on. Gave up. Got accepted.
@Knivy:
typical nerd around here in austria:
people with highly specialized knowledge/interest in an non-mainstream field. Also considered as highly individual, nonconformist and introvert (“socially awkward”). The stereotype also says that nerds are losers when young, but excel at life later (while maintaining introversion).
Why i defend this position? Because whenever i gather round with Nerds, even smalltalk is interesting and has substance. This stems mostly from the fact that there is a common interest that provides an easy conversation topic. Personal quirks and the high individuality make for a varied and intellectually stimulating experience. And thats totally worth a little bit of awkwardness.
Whenever i gather round with “normal people”, i get bored within minutes because of the shallow, predictable bullshit that gets thrown around. Since there is no common interest besides the weather, the conversations revolve only around shallow stuff. Repeatedly and without real variation.
So this awkward clique works in itself. Why should they give a shit if a bunch of conformist Jocks thinks lowly of them? Or why should they change whats working for them? If you want to be part of two circles with different mindsets, YOU need to manage that. Either you hide in the closet like the writer does, or go the (more fun) way of confronting people. You even might enlighten somebody in the process.
Wow, looking at the responses I think you might have hit a little close to home with this one. I enjoyed reading it though and I’m pretty sure I agree.
I’m also pretty sure this article should be taken with a pinch of salt. Just saying…
Et tu, Halfleft.
You don’t have to be a special snowflake to everyone you meet. Most people don’t care that you have a pacman sweater. Besides, doing a little conforming may hurt your non-conformist ego, but you’ll be a more well-rounded person for it. You can’t talk to EVERYONE about video games and Pocky.
@NoZart:
I guess it’s different over there :P. I got the feeling he was referring to the “40 year old virgin” type, the sweaty greasy like on the south park WoW episode or those that just don’t know how to interact (different from “choose not to”) outside of geeky environments.
I guess I was lucky enough to never get picked on in school or in public either for being a gamer, despite doing so long before it was mainstream here in America, but that’s probably related to being big enough and relatively athletic enough to discourage such nonsense, on top of having other interests.
I guess when it comes to dealing with Norms, it never hurts to diversify your interests, or at least fake it. Take my wife’s main entertainment fetish: the television channel, Food Network. I don’t give a rat’s ass about it, but I can talk it up. Sports are easy if you have a team and you might be surprised who follows what. And while politics might be risky, it can make things lively. Current events too.
I mean, yes, further acceptance of our sub-culture would be nice, but I do agree with what I interpret is the spirit of Halfleft’s rant, ham fisted though it may be. I think there’s nothing wrong with being a nerd. But if you’re that one dimensional as a person, maybe a bit of self exploration and personal development is in order, because there is quite a lot to life that doesn’t occur on a screen.
If I was feeling nice, I’d say that he has a point, and that you should try and give half a rat’s ass about other people’s interests instead of asking them what their opinion on Bobby Kotick is.
At the same time, if there’s someone in your life who openly thinks that games are for idiots and nerds, they should be the one at fault, not you.
However, this post tickled me the wrong way and I’m going to take the majority opinion and take a metric fuc*ton of offense at it and say that you’re going to upset and anger a lot of people who had to deal with being called a nerd or a geek at school, and I’m sure that I’m not the only one here who had to deal with that.
“At the same time, if there’s someone in your life who openly thinks that games are for idiots and nerds, they should be the one at fault, not you.”
Haha, “one”. Clearly we live in different worlds.
This Man. Is Correct.
@Halfleft:
Fair enough, I’m (probably) younger than you, being still at 6th form, and gaming getting more and more socially acceptable by each generation.
Maybe if gaming was more of a taboo at my school I’d be agreeing with you, but I’ve never had any problems, so it’s kind of hard to see where you’re coming from.
My point still stands that you’ve pissed off quite a lot of people, though.
Nice piece Halfie. :)
This applies to most interests tbh, but like you said gaming isn’t as socially acceptable. Most people are willing to feign a little interest in sports, cars, or movies/television, but not very many will do the same for gaming.
I’m a Jock.
But then I’m Scottish.
I’m hearing a lot of people criticising Halfie saying things about taking the easy way out to be accepted. I probably would not have agreed with him until I went to school for four months in England.
While gaming is becoming more commonplace, it is not really seen as being an appropriate hobby; most people view it in the same way as movies. It’s something that is ok to do every once in a while, but you’d be considered weird if you told people it was your main form of entertainment. This is pretty different in America, where nerd culture is becoming somewhat celebrating with classic 80’s cartoons and comics becoming the center of cinema. I only really made good friends in the last month or so of my semester, because it was genuinely difficult to find people who were accepting of my nerdiness. And even these people weren’t gaming nerds; they were into comics and science fiction/fantasy.
As much as people might not want to admit it, you can’t live without friends. Not having social interactions with people who are physically in the same room as you can make you feel really depressed and just shitty about yourself. In the case of Halfie’s situation, I have to agree that quietly keeping your passions to yourself in order to make friends is better than being left alone or teased.
Late to the discussion but ho-hum:
I think what’s gotten a lot of people rilled up is the tone of Halfleft’s piece, rather than what it says. It’s in-your-face and frank, which I actually like, but could be what’s irritating people.
The sentiment though I think is spot on; videogames are not a socially acceptable form of entertainment.. yet. If I tried to explain to my class mates why Bioshock is better than any movie, they wouldn’t get it. Me and my friends could talk about that until the cows come home, but normal people don’t care. Heck, when I tell people I write for a videogame blog I get weird looks!
Basically, you don’t need to involve gaming in every part of your life, my girlfriend couldn’t give two shits about the intricate details of Max Payne (what a game btw), but that doesn’t make the game any less fantastic. You could even say that anything that you have a passion for to the nerdy level is the same. Talking about valve amplification, as interesting as you (I) may find it is pretty boring for normal people.