A Geek Manifesto.
The other day, I saw some postings ragging on people who dressed up to see the new Star Trek movie. Now, I don’t have a great level of sympathy for Trekkies or LARPers (even mild ones), but for some reason, these posts pissed my shit right off.
They weren’t much, off-hand dismissive comments that just rubbed me wrong; but I think what got me the most was that they were from people outside of the culture.
Yup, I called being Geek a culture. Can you deny it anymore? We don’t have an official language, but neither does the USA, technically, and if you go by dialect (textbook English, Spanish, Creole, Pidgin, etc), I think we can go toe-to-toe in numbers (Klingon, 1337 sp34k, Tolkien Elvish, Simpson’s Quotes, etc).
So, bearing all this in mind, I’ve decided to write a Geek Manifesto!
This Geek Manifesto reads essentially thus: There are a lot of us, quite possibly more of us than you. The difference being that we understand one key detail: we’re all wearing uniforms.
I’m not defending all geeks, some are socially inept, rude, or downright mean, but how is that any different from any other social type?
The geek’s uniform is usually just easier to spot. It’s a Star Trek officer’s shirt, it’s a Jedi’s robe, it’s a pocket protector. Laugh if you like, but don’t be surprised when we laugh back.
Seriously, the next time you’re at a hip hop show wearing baggy pants and a sports team’s cap perched on your head at a slight angle complete with sizing sticker still attached and enough jewelry to make Mr. T laugh, remember you’re in a fucking uniform. The next time you’re at a reggae show in jeans and slippahs with a shirt touting your philosophy/ethnicity/politics in a red/green/yellow design and desperately trying to copy the dreadlocks of the lead singer, you’re conforming. The next time you throw on that extra layer of black clothing to hide your other layer of black clothing that’s snapped to the decorative layer of black clothing that’s got the zippers open so as to show off the spikes and/or band name, realize that there’s nothing unique about you, snowflake. And when you’re throwing a fist in the mosh pit of the latest skate punk band who’s original drummer used to be your cousin’s friend and that’s how you got in, hoping to scuff your Etnies/Vans/Chucks for the first time, you are creating a new machine that will one day overcome the one you’re raging against and the next wave can accuse of selling out.
Etc, etc, etc.
I have nothing against any of these groups until they act like they’re so much better. So I like superheroes and spaceships, fuck you.
Wow, looking back at that, it all sounds so serious.
My point is simply to not be a dick and let the people have their moment. In the case of Star Trek, this movie was made to celebrate these geeks! Why take that away from them, too?
I’ll expound more as I see more deplorable geek abuse.
That is all.
Matt