From Geeks are Sexy comes an interesting little video about how even geeks, commonly viewed as the “little guy” from a physical standpoint (sometimes literally so) will fight back if provoked:
Now that you’ve watched that little gem, I do have to say that while this is technically a “humor” story, it is a positive one when it comes to fighting stereotypical geekery. Thing is, I fit the type. I am blind without my glasses, have average looks, thin as a rail, spend most of the time at the computer…I’m at least social and assertive, but other than that, you’re looking at someone who’s definitively geeky.
Others may fit other stereotypes – too fat, too thin, too angry, too outcast. All of this stuff makes for an assumed reaction to a variety of situations when it comes to geeks. You might expect that we’re the ones looking into our drink cups in the corner of the room while everyone is dancing. You might think that we would rather deal with pixels than people. And in the case of these hapless robbers, you just might think that when we’re bullied, we won’t fight back as you stuff us into a locker.
Funny thing is, like every segment of culture or people, there are things that even geeks will fight for. I mean, sure, in this case, it’s the fact that someone’s DS was about to be taken (“Take my cash, but not my Pokemon!!111 RARRR!”), but that’s not the only thing that geekery would feel like pulling a Popeye the Sailor over. Causes such as Net Neutrality, Open Source, and other such concepts are important enough to fight over. A lot of these criss-cross normal concerns about freedom of expression, thought, and ideas, too.
Like many people fighting for a cause, geeks can get just as passionate and headstrong as anyone else. The really neat thing is that we just have more toys to wage the war, so when it comes time to take off our glasses and flex out puny little muscles and refuse to give up things like DS’ers, we’re prepared. I’m proud of that.
