So Let's Say You're a Self-Identified Nerd...

This is nerdy and I will be wearing it on a sweatshirt soon.

Here's the story.   I was at the state fair last weekend, got hit on by a very nice homosexual man, and attended the Weezer concert where I proceeded to have a great time.  In typical Eric Dietz fashion, I have gone on to listen to a lot of Weezer.  Particularly, the song "In the Garage."  Not to ruin a perfectly good song, but it's about a dude who likes nerdy stuff and the garage is a safe place for him because it's his space and nobody judges him there.  Pretty simple.

This song, in conjunction with my last post about the judgmental Gizmodo blogger has led me to this: should we have to be ashamed of our hobbies?  In my case, the more pointed inquiry is whether I should be ashamed of being a self-identified nerd.

Let's start with my own personal belief.  The answer, of course, is no.  I was ashamed of my "nerdy" lifestyle for quite some time.  No doubt, I spent more time playing Super Mario World than I did riding my bike around the neighborhood.  Some of my best memories involve Ocarina of Time.  And, I owned many, many Magic cards.

For the most part, I haven't really changed.  I still have magic cards.  I spend an exorbitant amount of time watching or playing Starcraft 2.  Finally, I check a comic called "dinosaur comics," everyday, which isn't necessarily nerdy, but just read it and your life will make sense.

So to reiterate, I have no problem with being a nerd.

However, society still has a strong say in this type of thing, right?  While I may not care that I love all the above mentioned items and activities, a lot of people make judgments about them.

I find this in my own life in a number of ways.  Sometimes it comes out as a reluctance to talk about video games at dinner.  Other times it manifests as an outright refusal to play Settlers of Catan at a bar.  I have no concrete evidence that social pressure plays into these situations, but for this post's sake, let's say it does.

Part of my issue with this is that I feel like we've created a hierarchy for hobbies with what my guess is sports at the top and with anime at the bottom (an observation from my own life experience).  My big problem with this is: who the fuck are you to judge the value of one hobby versus another?  In my hierarchy, somehow Transformers 3 slipped above anime, along with the OC, Jersey Shore, and Montel.  Now, the point isn't to insult those things.  And I'll be honest, even I am guilty of making these judgments.  We all are.  I'm just saying that it is unfair to do that.  We should all be able to enjoy our hobbies as we see fit without some kind of social judgment taking place.

So, my request is that when you think about judging a thing that someone else likes, maybe stop and think about the crap you like and how it feels to have some jerk criticize you for it.  It may not be "run to your room crying" hurtful, but it can chip away at you and cause you to write an elongated blog post about it a decade later.

With that in mind, I will still judge the Transformers 3 lover, but I will also understand that we are all free to have hobbies and not judge your character on that basis.  But really, Michael Bay?  Come on.