redefining weirdness

Exactly. Manga, Sci-Fi, comics...they're widely acknowledge as being slightly off the mainstream, so they've become the go-to things for folk who want to be 'weird' but can't be arsed to put in the effort, so they go for something they can get in a shop in the aisle marked 'weird'.

edited 15th Mar '13 4:45:43 AM by InverurieJones

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

Re Brilliant, but Lazy, I'm not sure everyone sees it as a positive thing or as an excuse. Some people see it as a genuine character-flaw in themselves. Because it really is, and it can do quite some damage to your life.

Yep, I listed it on my page.

Well, it's much easier to consider yourself 'weird' and leave it at that, rather than be really weird and deal with the real social consequences. Teens grow up watching media that promotes Hollywood Weirdness and what do they see? All the 'weird' kids have True Companions, a great social life, they're witty and they excel at something...

Who wouldn't want to emulate that?

edited 15th Mar '13 5:08:05 AM by montmorencey

Complicated - because simple is simply too simple.

It's a phase for most people, I think. They usually get over it.

I think being unique or weird is just a side effect of doing things I like.

Striving to be either of those things just defeats the purpose.

You need an adult.

Indeed. The irony, of course, being that those are healthy, normal people with unusual hobbies, jobs or skills, rather than 'weird' people.

I think the message is meant to be 'weird interests do not make a bad person' but many people seem to think the 'weird' bit is compulsory and thus the more unusual you are, the happier you'll be.

edited 15th Mar '13 5:29:06 AM by InverurieJones

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

It's straight sour gapes. Your present situation has to be the one you really 'wanted' or you have to face confronting the undesirably of your life.

Yes younger sister is getting married before me, but I don't want that. Nanoha is Mai Waifu :3

edited 15th Mar '13 5:53:13 AM by joeyjojo

hashtagsarestupid

There's nothing at all wrong with having weird interests. Hell, I could probably name a few that I have that might not be too hard to tell once you're in conversation with me. The problem lies in what Carcio was saying, though I'd expand it further into people thinking that any non-mainstream interest at all makes them weird and thus letting this interest define them. They don't let themselves become well-rounded, but instead just remain stuck in whatever, often by choice.

That could be true. I know that for a while I went through a regrettably long phase like this. (People of the internet, I apologize.)

Makes sense to me.

edited 15th Mar '13 7:49:54 AM by 0dd1

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.

I think a lot of self-described "weird" people are overlooked or ignored in their real lives, so they try to distinguish themselves as much as possible on the internet. A lot of people (including myself, I must admit) go through attention seeking phases in their teenage years, after all.

Yeah, that likely plays into it as well. Acknowledging that your life isn't going how you wanted is very hard.

edited 15th Mar '13 11:48:57 AM by PurpleDalek

Pretty much. If you can't get want you want you pretend you already want you have.

And on a related note we do tended to have a lot of people claiming to be asexual on this site. Just saying.

edited 16th Mar '13 4:06:10 AM by joeyjojo

hashtagsarestupid

Most teenagers with, um, certain interests tend to exist in a state of enforced and involuntery asexuality anyway.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

Are you talking about the gay kids or something else.

edited 16th Mar '13 5:19:48 AM by joeyjojo

hashtagsarestupid

Anime.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

Okay, even I found that funny.

YUUGI WANTS YOU FOR DRINKING BUDDY

@Inverurie: Asexuality and celibacy are not the same thing.

edited 16th Mar '13 5:36:01 AM by LoniJay

Be not afraid...

Except when asexuality is merely an excuse for an inability to get laid, of course.

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

You're wasted on us jones.

hashtagsarestupid

I don't think I've encountered anybody like that?

Be not afraid...

It ain't worth it, Loni.

The snark is too strong with this one.

YUUGI WANTS YOU FOR DRINKING BUDDY

Anywho... As embarrassing as amine fandom can be it's not like 'normal' people don't don't define themselves according to a narrow set of interests such as sports, politics and yes religion.

hashtagsarestupid

Reading the first page of this thread made me feel like I need to heavily edit my contributor page.

To pity someone is to tell them "I feel bad about being better than you."

I don't think that there is a definite standard for weirdness. It mostly depends on your surroundings. Also, whether we talk about the internet or real life. Anime is a good example. If a large part of the internet is to be believed, being a fan of it is shameful and must be hidden. In real life? Everybody knows that I like it. Nobody gives a shit.

But interests aren't all that suited to determine if someone is weird or not. In the internet it's just easier to do that, due to it's impersonal nature. That doesn't mean that interests don't factor in it all, though. The conspiracy theorist at my apprenticeship certainly was... odd. But even he was relatively "normal", when he wasn't insufferable. After all, there is a difference between merely believing in outlandish theories and being paranoid all the time.

At the dorm where I stayed during my apprenticeship, there were two people who had Aspergers. But if I didn't knew that, I'd have never guessed that. They weren't much different than other people. Sure, they had their quirks, but nothing that would look out of place with "normal" people. Certainly not worse than I and I'm not autistic at all (it's actually diagnosed). So, I wouldn't even say that "Aspies" are weird, even though many people would think that (although most of them probably never interacted with one).

People aren't as awful as the internet makes them out to be.

I think "weird" should mean people who are unable or have extreme difficulty holding a healthy social life.

edited 16th Mar '13 9:02:58 AM by Haldo

‽‽‽‽ ^These are interrobangs. Love them. Learn them. Use them.

RE: listing tropes to describe yourself

Why do people even do that?

RE: "weird" interests

To be honest, I've never really been picked on or whatever because of those. Nothing more than family members telling me I spend too much money. Except maybe that one time during my later school years but I can't remember the context.

edited 16th Mar '13 9:16:01 AM by SimplyWhatever

whatever

x5 I have to agree with you there, this is hardly some unique geek pathology.

Speaking for myself here, because it's fun.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Does it make it better if I felt awkward doing it when I first made my page?

To pity someone is to tell them "I feel bad about being better than you."