4 ms·

Welcome to the world of being an ethnic/racial/religious minority.

• nitrogen 14y ago
  Geeks are one of those minorities that isn't even really recognized as a definite group, so while the persecution is usually much milder than ethnic/religious/orientation-driven persecution, the isolation can be worse. I grew up knowing exactly what it's like to be bullied and severely beaten for being different, and the only thing different about me was that I was modestly intelligent and interested in computers. I'd be surprised if I was alone in my experiences among the HN crowd, but I was definitely alone in my small town. [I feel like even mentioning this is some kind of egregious faux pas.] Thank goodness for BBSes and IRC. Not to diminish the suffering and needs of more visible and more historically persecuted minorities, but you'd think all the attention given to the "accepted" minorities would get people to generalize to accepting differences of any kind.