That's usually the case with most groups. A small number of nuts in the group makes the vast majority of norman people look like kooks. It's human nature to assume that because part of a group acts one way that everyone involved in it are like that.
Star Trek stigmatised
- Thread starter gazomg
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So, it wasn't just one quip--she kept at it for the rest of the evening? My question to her would be "Um, why are you so hung up on it?"After I told my best friend that I wanted to go to the London convention thingie yesterday, she spent the rest of the evening making fun of me. She was curious if I was going to dress up as that “girl with the buns”.
It does come down to group dynamics, where some are ignorant about sci-fi, some neutral, and others passionate. But when you get down to it, there's this group psychology thing where people need to double-check periodically with other members of the group that they are what they expect them to be and what they can relate to. If you differ, then there's "concern."
Ultimately, I think it comes down to having the quality of open mindedness. People should be comfortable enough with themselves to appreciate how others may choose to be different, even if it's not even aligned with the likes of others in the group.
I come from a family where there was often a lot of pressure to be of "like minds" with my parents. There wasn't question that you should either appreciate or like what they like. And if you were into something different that they didn't like or not understand, it was called into question. My parents thought sci-fi novels were akin to comic books. I should have been reading Tolstoy, not Asimov. And even as an adult, if I was visiting them and there was a stretch of time where my parents were preoccupied and I got caught watching Star Trek in my alone time, it was smug exasperation to see "he's watching Star Trek again!"
I brought this up, because I've found myself faced with this in other groups at later times in my life. Thankfully, with maturity one can respond to it with a far more confident position and brush off the criticism and mockery as ineffective. "Hey, we all have our own particular interests. Why should you bother to care if I like something you don't understand?"
Norman People? You mean like Norman Bates?
After I told my best friend that I wanted to go to the London convention thingie yesterday, she spent the rest of the evening making fun of me. She was curious if I was going to dress up as that “girl with the buns”.
It’s typical really. Hardly anyone I know watches Sci-Fi and -nobody- knows the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek. They do know that Trekkies are nerds though.
The funny thing is that everybody loves the Big Bang Theory. I’ve always wondered how you can appreciate that show when you have no idea what Klingon Boggle refers to.
Personally, I can't say I've every gotten much shit (teasing, jibes, whatever) for mentioning I like Trek. So my first reaction to your post was, 'boo, lose that friend.'
But when I think about it, I've run into a lot of friends who will, at the casual mention of Trek, make a snide remark and pretend to never have seen it, or make some jibe such as your friend like 'the girl with the buns.' But when I actually go on to calmly say, no I think it's a really well written show and it's good sci-fi, I start to get the whole, 'Oh yeah, well I mean, my dad watched it so I've seen a few.' And all of a sudden they are talking about episodes and characters. Until finally they realize that they aren't going to be teased for admitting it and they come out of the Trek closet as fans.
I look at it like homophobia. The more homophobic you are, the more of you is uncomfortable with your own sexuality.
Just to be clear, my friend teased me quite a bit but it was all in good fun. In my social group making fun of each other is actually considered to be normal behaviour and we can be quite unrelenting at times.
My post was actually meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but I neglected to use the appropriate smiley. My bad.
Now, you're just backing down because you don't want us to beat up your friend for abusing you
Just to be clear, my friend teased me quite a bit but it was all in good fun. In my social group making fun of each other is actually considered to be normal behaviour and we can be quite unrelenting at times.
My post was actually meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but I neglected to use the appropriate smiley. My bad.
Heh, I'm very pale skinned, don't sun tan, only sunburn, and my childhood friends were Italian, hispanic and other darker complected ethnicities who tanned very dark and very quickly, so, I always got teased with things like "Hey Casper, walked through good walls lately", but, of, course, I found stuff to get them back with
Just to be clear, my friend teased me quite a bit but it was all in good fun. In my social group making fun of each other is actually considered to be normal behaviour and we can be quite unrelenting at times.
My post was actually meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but I neglected to use the appropriate smiley. My bad.
Ah, I got you. Glad to hear it's all in good fun, and that you're not getting rubbed the wrong way.
I have a couple of friends who like to conjure up sarcastic barbs and lob them whenever the opportunity presents itself. It can be a lot of fun. You just can't take any of it seriously. Over time, one can hone the skill quite well and take pleasure in lobbing a few well placed zingers. I once got a bit carried away with a friend who wasn't used to that kind of ribbing... I had to apologize. But eventually, I got some payback.
It's very refreshing for it to be on this kind of level, when coming from a background where I knew kids who were relentless and unforgiving at punching holes in one's self-esteem. Some people can be terribly brutal and cruel, when it really delivers such fleeting feelings of superiority to the deliverer, but lasting hurt to the receiver.
Sure, but was that her secret intent?
It seemed to me like she'd chosen that moment to be in-your-face attention-seeking. She didn't wear that outfit every day of her life. It would have also been inappropriate to wear a football jersey, a boiler suit or a tutu to court.
Here in Oz, our court documents actually talk about the styles of outfit that are appropriate for jurors attending court. And any weaponry, plastic or otherwise, is banned for jurors.
Bullying is universal. It even exists in the animal kingdom. Survival of the fittest. Putting others down - for whatever reason - as a way of making you feel better about yourself, is bullying.
If Bronies can be cool, then Trekkies have nothing to worry about.
Actually, if Trekkies is to be believed, she did routinely wear that uniform to her job down at the copy shop.
Hmm, when I was on jury duty, the notifcation said basically "show up at this time/date." No dress code was involved. One of my fellow juriers arrived every day in full biker "costume." Another wore a sweat-shirt with a sports teams emblem on the front.
I wore very nice tea length dresses with shorty boots (but that's just me).
And now that I think of it, my keyring at the time had a mini TNG tricorder on it, opened up it was two by five centimeters, and lit up and made sounds.
I've been a geek for almost 50 years now (my birthday was last week) and let me share something I've learned along the way.
People make fun of Star Trek fans because they don't understand us...and you know what? That's okay. Because you are a ST fan means you are more perceptive, open-minded, compassionate and yes, more intelligent than the others.
I learned to embrace my inner geek and you can too. I'd rather be made fun of than be stupid.
People make fun of Star Trek fans because they don't understand us...and you know what? That's okay. Because you are a ST fan means you are more perceptive, open-minded, compassionate and yes, more intelligent than the others.
I learned to embrace my inner geek and you can too. I'd rather be made fun of than be stupid.
No, it doesn't. Some fans may be one, some or all of those things, but not all fans. I wouldn't say Star Trek was the sole reason some fans are any of those things either.
Ah, I have to admit that happens to me too. I sometimes forget that not everybody expresses their appreciation for another person this way.I have a couple of friends who like to conjure up sarcastic barbs and lob them whenever the opportunity presents itself. It can be a lot of fun. You just can't take any of it seriously. Over time, one can hone the skill quite well and take pleasure in lobbing a few well placed zingers. I once got a bit carried away with a friend who wasn't used to that kind of ribbing... I had to apologize. But eventually, I got some payback.
It has been a while since you visited the NuTrek Forum, no?
Just today I ran into someone who showed me a photo on her phone of the tattoo her brother had just gotten. It was about 6 inches long of Starsong on his chest above one nipple. I then had to explain to her and her friend what bronies were. Which no doubt adds to their "teacake is full of retarded factlets about not-real-life" meme. And yet obviously being a bronie IS real life for people.
Anyway I've learned to be out and proud about Trek but keep some stuff to myself, such as most of my fandom activities. My friend's husband cannot stop talking about 7 of 9's boobs, in fact he talks about her boobs any time Star Trek, Star Wars or any show set in space comes up so I will not be mentioning that I'm going to see Jeri Ryan in a couple months.
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It so happens I'm wearing my MLP t-shirt to day.
However, people with tattoos from the older MLP shows existed before there were any Bronies (who are fans of the new show first and foremost and often exclusively), weirdly enough.However, I highly doubt Bronies are considered cool by anyone. I'm happy when we're not being suspected of being pedophiles. Talk about stigma.
Though, to me, the stigmatisation is purely an online thing. My real life friends just thought it was a little weird at most.
Bronies aren't cool.... They are just 4chan nerds. though "cool" and "nerdy", which used to literally mean opposite things, somehow now mean the same thing...
The internet has sure done some strange things to us as a culture....
On another note, I find Trek fans to be very frustrating... and I'm one myself! But somehow I'm just not nerdy enough? or cool enough? I'm confused... Because I watch star trek every night and like to discuss it with people I can't sit with the "cool kids" but since i don't know exactly how many removable panels Data has I can't sit with the "Nerdy kids"....
Its like I'm in social limbo.
The internet has sure done some strange things to us as a culture....
On another note, I find Trek fans to be very frustrating... and I'm one myself! But somehow I'm just not nerdy enough? or cool enough? I'm confused... Because I watch star trek every night and like to discuss it with people I can't sit with the "cool kids" but since i don't know exactly how many removable panels Data has I can't sit with the "Nerdy kids"....
Its like I'm in social limbo.
Welcome to club of Trek Fans who haven't memorized every schematic out there, you can sit with me, and I consider myself to be cool enough
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