What this sentiment points to, for me, is the destabilization of certain social hierarchies. And now *without* those hierarchy structures, it's clear they were creating stability.
While I get the joke...it was inevitable as we moved from the Industrial to Information Age. Just as Henry Ford, Philip E. Thomas, and other "titans" of the Industrial Age pretty much ran the government back then, we are seeing a repeat with the current "titans." Should come as surprise to no-one. 🤷♂️
There’s a big difference between nerd culture and incel or man-o-sphere culture. One of the big themes across nerd culture is resistance against bullies.
I hate to tell you this, but when I look at who's fighting against this awfulness the hardest, it is also nerds. Maybe non-nerds need to step it up a bit more.
I dont believe the rise of nerd culture is really a problem im a nerd i love nerd culter im also left as fuck and so are all my friends.
Dont let the loudest assholes ruin shit for everybody. Nobody talks about the non controversial nerds because well wheres the story?
Anyway my point is i don't think the percentile of people who enjoy nerd culter that are shitbags or not is any different than normal society. Just remember the shitbags are so fucking loud.
And get shared around the left and right circles like a joint at camp.
Who's sharing positive stories?
Leon isn't a nerd. Neither are his followers. They're all dorks that became jerks, but settled on troll.
Troll cuts across all white male demographics. Blame 65 years of illegal Republican action to maintain disproportionate false majorities. Blame taking the high ground. Blame fighting fair.
Im gonna go with the DNC subverting Bernie in 2016. Occasionally I let myself fantasize about a world where Bernie won the nom and beat trump (would've been 2 populists and Bernie is the smarter, stronger one) ... What would that world like? Ugh...
Back to reality.
Agreed-2016 was an anti-establishment year -people were fed up with it. Not the year for the DNC to back the most establishment of establishment politicians.
the internet was best when it was just nerds and outcasts sharing cringe bc they thought it was fun.
that's why bluesky is good(-ish, for now). we're back to the based cringe era. a true retvrn.
No, it was the identification of fandom spaces as culturally diverse that got millionaires to focus tactics on them to push against whatever they don't like
I feel like there's a flow chart beginning with jocks infiltrating nerd culture via Halo=> growth of the incels/pick up artists=>popularity of hackers alongside other con artists/social engineering=>red pilling=>formation of QAnon=>crypto=>tech bro culture.
These replies feature a real lack of understanding that a famous comedian/comedic writer might be joking, and also a real lack of any introspection whatsoever lol
The moment where people started wearing “nerds are the new sexy” T-shirts in roughly 2011 was the beginning of the end. That lead directly to this particular, technocrat driven apocalypse. I think the Big Bang Theory deserves a non-zero amount of blame for the fall of the constitutional order.
Some nerds look at Star Wars and say, that is a world we should copy. Then become Palpatine.
Other nerds think, wow, their society really sucks, and we should do better.
My pet theory is the anti-bullying efforts of that era really focused on empowering and protecting needy white boys, and just resulted in many of that specific demo growing up consuming media that asserted they were underdogs while never experiencing such, and thus: a shoulder chip but no empathy.
I completely agree. You see a similar mechanism with evangelical christians, so much yelling about "persecution" that doesn't actually happen. With nerds you can see how neatly they pivoted - first they were oppressed because nobody liked comic book movies, then because everybody did
I’d rather have the old school tech geeks than the tech bros. Old ones who played D&D, loved tech because they just loved tech, were into sci fi, read actual books, grew up in the 60’s and 70’s. Techbros are the doofus frat bros who used to go to Wall St but now go into tech. They’re not geeks.
This is painfully true… Grew up with D&D in the house and we were regulars at the local game stores. I was too young to notice the neon red flags in some corners, but they were definitely there. My dad was a part of the toxic nerd subculture of god complexes. He’s a diehard Trusk supporter now. 😑
In what way is the elevation of Nerd Culture a bigger mistake than snubbing Al Gore of his election win in 2000, snubbing Bernie of the nomination in 2016, or all of Desert Storm?
The Big Bang Theory fucked us all, with its casual misogyny, nonchalante racism, characters that were given too much sympathy for how terrible of people they were, and adding a laugh track that tricked the nation into laughing at lines of dialogue that weren't even jokes.
I wouldn't put the blame on the big bang theory. The real problem are the ultra wealthy coming out of silicone valley who didn't get the swirlys they deserved.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen stated that the reason he ran roughshod all over Seattle and beyond was specifically because he was bullied. The nerds sought and got revenge on the society that gave them swirlies. So no. More swirlies is not the answer.
there was no elevation of nerd culture, there was a mainstreaming of "geek" culture, very deliberately excising the intellectualism of nerds. the mainstream appropriated everything, started wearing glasses to look smart, and drove actual nerds out of their spaces.
Geeks tend to be much dumber even if they code and are into power fantasies from comic book movies and "science" fiction (which is mostly just spaceships and pew-pew lasers instead of castles and magic spells, no real science needed)
Yeah, this. "Nerd culture" is very much scientists who are intelligent and interested in real technology and who in my experience mostly have very non-geeky hobbies (crafts, outdoors stuff, etc.)
The trick is determining which people from this famously bullied group were the ones that turned twisted. If you were bullied and then grew up to BE a bully, you're steven crowder and you need a therapist. If you were bullied and instead grew closer and kinder to others, you're a human being
Giving major priority to STEM in schools while simultaneously tossing aside civics & humanities programs hasn’t really made us a well-rounded society 🤷🏻♀️
Real ones should get ready for the return of what our generation thinks of as grandpa hobbies like model trains, woodworking, and fishing stuff, after gaming is filled to the brim with gambling bros, oligarchy fans, and neo nazis.
The worst mistake America has made so far was not completing reconstruction and putting down the resistance on the South. It directly links to now. If not nerd culture it would have been something else.
Pretty sure you released a video saying 'nothing is going to change no matter what happens this election', heavily implying that folks should just not vote.
While I completely understand this thought, I also really hope that the cause of all of our current issues isn’t “As a country, we never should have stopped beating the shit out of people who like elves and math.”
white nerds whining about school bullying like it's on par with the brutalization of actual minorities is absolutely a big part of how we got here. you can stop buying funkos if you have to. I can't take off my skin.
I would never compare my personal issues to hundreds of years of violence due to systemic racism.
But, if I thought changing my hobbies would have ended the bullshit and beatings I took when I was younger, I would have burned every comic book in the world.
those of us who use the computer correctly (porn, minecraft, socialism) should be allowed to bully people who use it incorrectly (harassing women, grifting, being a nazi)
Comments
I think there’s a LOT of overlap where the nerds ARE the bullies.
I had nothing to do with any of this.
Dont let the loudest assholes ruin shit for everybody. Nobody talks about the non controversial nerds because well wheres the story?
And get shared around the left and right circles like a joint at camp.
Who's sharing positive stories?
Troll cuts across all white male demographics. Blame 65 years of illegal Republican action to maintain disproportionate false majorities. Blame taking the high ground. Blame fighting fair.
Back to reality.
that's why bluesky is good(-ish, for now). we're back to the based cringe era. a true retvrn.
Other nerds think, wow, their society really sucks, and we should do better.
This is the Generation of "There is no such thing as enough"
DAMN YOU, CHUCK LORRE!! 🫵
Also something to be said for self testing social rubrics; was easier to suss out true blue homies when our hobbies were unpopular...
Don't think that take aged well at all.
But, if I thought changing my hobbies would have ended the bullshit and beatings I took when I was younger, I would have burned every comic book in the world.
At the time, I thought it was just a joke.
Now that nerd culture has been normalized, I'm seeing a lot of people who literally can't differentiate science fiction from reality.