Are people who look down on geeks "jealous?"

The worst class and aspects of geekdom are the parts that are looked down on by the public at large - internet junkies, the whiny entitlement and persecution complexes, the open perversion (Troper Tales, ftf), people with poor social skills and problems with the opposite sex, poor hygiene and care for self-image, people who like things out of their perceived age category to a creepy or immature extent, ect...

Nobody's going to look down on you if you're a well-groomed, sociable individual with a few geeky hobbies.

^ That's true, but by association, those hobbies may be considered slightly shameful or weird in a way that more mainstream hobbies wouldn't be. Nothing you'll get beaten up or ostracised over, just an odd trait that doesn't really detract from how cool you are, but is probably something to joke about.

@Kitsune: That was terrible.

"They're just jealous" strikes me as one of the worst explanations for pretty much anything.

edited 7th Jul '11 5:39:07 PM by Tongpu

@Matthew the Raven Nobody is kind of a stretch there; after all, the problem with geeky hobbies is that they carry those stereotypes with them, thus leading allowing many to fall into the guilt by association trap.

EDIT: Here at TV Tropes on a nostalgia trip, and looking at the JROTC thread made me think of other threads where athleticism was being discussed. One particular post in the other one was somewhat reasonable but inarticulate... but my posts in this thread had projection at their core. Nerds are not just nerds, and though I've had moments of being a bit jealous of those who were nerdy in more practical ways than I was, that had no bearing on what jealousy has to do with anything on the part of others. Not sure whether I may have realized that more than I let on or not.

edited 11th Apr '15 10:16:27 AM by neoYTPism

Because every geek hobby comes with a side order of those people. Every group of nerds has that one tangentially-associated nerd that they fucking hate but put up with anyway because geeks have internalized the idea that excluding people for being weird is inherently wrong.

Yes, there are stereotypes that go for geek-hobbies, but there are negative stereotypes that come with any other hobby, reinforced both by the behavior of those within and by grotesque caricatures created by those outside the hobby - MMA fighters are violent skinheads with repressed homosexual urges, people who play fantasy football are middle-aged men with failed dreams and poor home lives, NASCAR fans are rednecks, hockey fanatics are hosers, and people who knit are boring. Geeks talk about sports-fans as though they're neanderthal date-rapists and talk about people who are interested in fashion as though they're airheaded bimbos (with the insidious misogyny and homophobia that cuts through a lot of geek culture) ALL THE TIME and don't get called out on it.

That's just the nature of the game. There are negative stereotypes for every kind of hobby, but nerds get upset about the negative stereotypes of their group because it's their group and nerds enjoy thinking that they're both persecuted by society and oh-so-special because of it, despite much of pop-culture catering to our needs and shrill, fickle, entitled demands.

No, but ostracisation is itself highly unpleasant, and leaves you vulnerable to worse.

This is what put me off the idea of nerds as a subculture; seeing this kind of behaviour from people who then went on to pat themselves on the backs for being so much more tolerant than the mainstream.

I'm still a nerd, because my interests are nerdy, but I no longer take any pride in it.

edited 7th Jul '11 6:31:38 PM by BobbyG

Geeks: u jelly?

Mostly everyone else: no.

edited 7th Jul '11 6:36:47 PM by mailedbypostman

Bobby calls it, right here. Nerds and geeks are no more or less tolerant of that which is different than any other social clique, mostly less so; the difference is, they seem to think they are in my experience.

Like Bobby, I used to be a big-time nerd. Mainly I remember being jealous of the guys with the cute girls, the nice cars, the bulging muscles, etc. If anything, all the haterade that geek culture pours over "jocks" and "bimbos" is indicative of a certain jealousy quotient present among nerds.

Also...if my experiences here are any judge, geeks are just as intolerant of differing outlooks as the groups they claim to despise.

So, being judgmental isn't an inherent quality of one single subculture? Surely you jest.

@KCK: Only a little. The only difference I've noticed with geeks as a whole is they seem to think they're above such things, because intelligence.

In fact, one of the most amusing aspects of nerd-dom is its unwavering equation of nerdiness with intelligence,

Throw in my 2 cents. I agree with the notion that it's really the other way around. All of us want to be liked, but it can be difficult when you don't have the charisma, the looks, nor the social skills that being liked requires. So it's not hard to be a little envious. It doesn't help that we all know at least one person who was popular for no reason we can ascertain.

edited 7th Jul '11 10:35:30 PM by Alichains

But nerds spend so much time in front of the computer or reading books; they've got to be learning something!

EDIT: Here at TV Tropes on a nostalgia trip, and looking at the JROTC thread made me think of other threads where athleticism was being discussed. One particular post in the other one was somewhat reasonable but inarticulate... but my posts in this thread had projection at their core. Nerds are not just nerds, and though I've had moments of being a bit jealous of those who were nerdy in more practical ways than I was, that had no bearing on what jealousy has to do with anything on the part of others. Not sure whether I may have realized that more than I let on or not.

edited 11th Apr '15 10:17:11 AM by neoYTPism

I actually look up to geeks. When I'm working on my story, I often ask my nerd friends, especially military, biology, history, and psychology geeks. I mean hell, my ALL MY FAMILY MEMBERS EXCEPT ME (dad Christianity, mom pollitics, my lil bro...insects) are geeks so I don't see geeks as negative as most people do. In fact, I want to be a geek, especially a physics or math geek. Then again, that's just because I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY suck at math...

I think the "other way round" theory may explain mild, aspirational envy on the part of the "geeks"; but the hatred "geeks" can feel toward "jock" types most likely comes from negative experiences with the latter.

edited 8th Jul '11 6:29:59 AM by MRDA1981

No, I am just Anne Beeche.

All this "geek" "nerd" thing is bullshit. Call my interests nerdy if you'd like, but I don't think it really means anything.

@neo YT Pism: Actually it's the other way around.

You might learn more about fiction reading TV Tropes, but it won't teach you to be a good footballer.

Nor can TV Tropes really serve as a lesson in sportsmanship, athleticism, being part of a team, or any of the other things you can learn playing football.

Quick, someone link us to that post about the Geek Social Fallacies!

Okay, it can be me.

Is that the one with "my friends must always like me as I am"?

EDIT: Here at TV Tropes on a nostalgia trip, and looking at the JROTC thread made me think of other threads where athleticism was being discussed. One particular post in the other one was somewhat reasonable but inarticulate... but my posts in this thread had projection at their core. Nerds are not just nerds, and though I've had moments of being a bit jealous of those who were nerdy in more practical ways than I was, that had no bearing on what jealousy has to do with anything on the part of others. Not sure whether I may have realized that more than I let on or not.

edited 11th Apr '15 10:17:52 AM by neoYTPism

Yes but you don't really learn anything about teamship on Tvtropes/