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Another reason why nerd groups are ostracized is envy. In the ocean of boredom that is high school, one group manages to create an island of fantasy and compute

by sasaf5 6y ago

Another reason why nerd groups are ostracized is envy. In the ocean of boredom that is high school, one group manages to create an island of fantasy and computer programming. While everyone is marred by memorization and popularity contests, one group is having a blast killing imaginary monsters with throws of D20s. That is certainly to be treated with envy.

krapp 6y ago
I hate to break it to you, but no one envied the nerds and D&D kids in high school. No one wanted to be one of the deviant outcasts who spent their time in the basement rather than having a normal social life with status and friends and sex. It's only been relatively recently, with the popularity of the web, that many aspects of former "nerd" culture such as anime and D&D (and of course, using a computer to begin with) haven't been viewed with contempt by the mainstream.
- sasaf5 6y ago
  I know where this frustration comes from, so in one hand I empathize with your rebuttal. In another hand, we did have our own social life and status based on having fun with knowledge (sex though, not so easy). We also exchanged activities with nerd groups of other grades whereas socializing with other grades was anathema for popular people (shame on them). I say envy because there was always one or two popular ones that would circle around us just a bit closer, curious about what could be so fun about those maps and dices and lines of code. A few came close enough to fall in our gravity well. This was all at a time when computers were solely used to type your assignments on.
  - krapp 6y ago
    >I say envy because there was always one or two popular ones that would circle around us just a bit closer, curious about what could be so fun about those maps and dices and lines of code. A few came close enough to fall in our gravity well. Sure, but let's be fair - that was the exception, not the rule. It just means it was possible, albeit not as socially acceptable, for popular people to have nerdy interests. But that doesn't mean they felt envy for nerd' lives and social circles when compared to their own.
    - sasaf5 6y ago
      Yes, it was definitely an exception. I dare to disagree again with you regarding envy. Mostly because (and I am being biased here) I felt that I had more fun than the other groups. I was building a radio with my friends, they were pecking at each other at basketball, forever busy at keeping their ranks.
      - krapp 6y ago
        >I was building a radio with my friends, they were pecking at each other at basketball, forever busy at keeping their ranks. It seems as though you're assuming they didn't enjoy basketball as much as you enjoyed building radios, or that their friendships weren't as fulfilling as yours. There's no need to diminish other people to validate yourself.
        sasaf5 6y ago
        I do assume that their friendships weren't as fulfilling as mine, considering the high rates of violence among them, and the speed with which they broke their friendships. I don't criticize them for validation though, as my group and activities provided me with plenty.
        deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
- watwut 6y ago
  I played D&D with friends and had non-D&D playing friends in high school. Literally no one treated me as deviant outcast and no one except players cared that I play D&D. There is not dichotomy between D&D vs friends, just like there is no dichotomy between playing music instrument vs friends. It is just that thing, most kids who don't share your favorite activity just don't care about that activity. If they are nice, they will listen a bit about it.

by sasaf5 6y ago

krapp 6y ago

I hate to break it to you, but no one envied the nerds and D&D kids in high school. No one wanted to be one of the deviant outcasts who spent their time in the basement rather than having a normal social life with status and friends and sex. It's only been relatively recently, with the popularity of the web, that many aspects of former "nerd" culture such as anime and D&D (and of course, using a computer to begin with) haven't been viewed with contempt by the mainstream.

sasaf5 6y ago
I know where this frustration comes from, so in one hand I empathize with your rebuttal. In another hand, we did have our own social life and status based on having fun with knowledge (sex though, not so easy). We also exchanged activities with nerd groups of other grades whereas socializing with other grades was anathema for popular people (shame on them). I say envy because there was always one or two popular ones that would circle around us just a bit closer, curious about what could be so fun about those maps and dices and lines of code. A few came close enough to fall in our gravity well. This was all at a time when computers were solely used to type your assignments on.
- krapp 6y ago
  >I say envy because there was always one or two popular ones that would circle around us just a bit closer, curious about what could be so fun about those maps and dices and lines of code. A few came close enough to fall in our gravity well. Sure, but let's be fair - that was the exception, not the rule. It just means it was possible, albeit not as socially acceptable, for popular people to have nerdy interests. But that doesn't mean they felt envy for nerd' lives and social circles when compared to their own.
  - sasaf5 6y ago
    Yes, it was definitely an exception. I dare to disagree again with you regarding envy. Mostly because (and I am being biased here) I felt that I had more fun than the other groups. I was building a radio with my friends, they were pecking at each other at basketball, forever busy at keeping their ranks.
    - krapp 6y ago
      >I was building a radio with my friends, they were pecking at each other at basketball, forever busy at keeping their ranks. It seems as though you're assuming they didn't enjoy basketball as much as you enjoyed building radios, or that their friendships weren't as fulfilling as yours. There's no need to diminish other people to validate yourself.
      - sasaf5 6y ago
        I do assume that their friendships weren't as fulfilling as mine, considering the high rates of violence among them, and the speed with which they broke their friendships. I don't criticize them for validation though, as my group and activities provided me with plenty.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
watwut 6y ago
I played D&D with friends and had non-D&D playing friends in high school. Literally no one treated me as deviant outcast and no one except players cared that I play D&D. There is not dichotomy between D&D vs friends, just like there is no dichotomy between playing music instrument vs friends. It is just that thing, most kids who don't share your favorite activity just don't care about that activity. If they are nice, they will listen a bit about it.