Do I look like a geek to you?

Geek:

Etymology: probably from English dialect geek, geck fool, from Low German geck, from Middle Low German
1 : a carnival performer often billed as a wild man whose act usually includes biting the head off a live chicken or snake
2 : a person often of an intellectual bent who is disapproved of

As for the first definition of geek, I think that only applies to people who work at White Wolf Publishing(reference: Chinese snake liquor). While the second definition applies to a wider range of people and is more accurate. Geeks, know they are geeks, in fact most of them are proud of it. Most geeks are well aware of the stereotypes that have dogged them since high school. The thing is most geeks will play off of this stereotype. The other things is they really don’t give a flying fuck what people think of them. “Oh, the Heathers don’t like me. Hey, Winona steal any good clothes lately?” For the most part geeks relish living on the fringe of society. We like it out here. It’s quite a view. The other thing is we’re going to be who we are. And if that means wearing capes and spending night sitting around a table with a couple of friends, well that is what we are going to do. We maybe the kids that didn’t quite fit in during high school, but wait, haven’t you ever felt like you didn’t quite fit in? Hasn’t everyone? So why are some people geeks, and others not?

What makes a geek, a geek? What defines being a geek? Is it a love of D&D? Is it laughing at Penny Arcade? Is it watching the Matrix? Is it reading Batman? Am I a geek? Well, yeah. I’m not an uber-geek, I’ll be honest. I’m a hobby gamer(although I haven‘t gamed in ages), but I know about leveling up, I even played a mefit once, and Degenesis is one of the prettiest RPG’s I’ve ever seen. I can talk of hours about “The Lord of the Rings.” I’m a comic book junkie, who’s jonesing for ol’ Chicago Comics. I laugh my ass off at Penny Arcade. The thing about being a geek is it isn’t just about what you like. A lot of people like things like “The Lord of the Rings” or read comics; but would I call them a geek? Not really. Here’s a secret. Geeks are elitist. Not everyone can be a geek.

Geeks “a person often of an intellectual bent who is disapproved of”. By being disapproved of by mainstream culture frees geeks from societal norms. Because well, we’re not normal, we’re geeks and damn proud of it. But, we’re funny, anti-social, miscreants. Comedy is saying the wrong things that no one want to admit are perfectly true, and perfectly horrible. And how could you go wronger or blunter than a geek? Thus, most geeks have perfected sarcasm, razor wit, innuendo, self-deprecation, and one liners into an art form. The intellectual bent on a geek is killer, especially when combined with passion. Geeks are passionate people(never would have guessed it, would you?). Geeks passions are as varied as there are different types of geeks. With in the geek kingdom there are gamer geeks, comic geeks, sci-fi geeks, computer geeks, Tolkien geeks, Trekkies, Star Wars geeks, music geeks, movie geeks, ect. I’m not even going to touch the sub-categories of geeks. For me geeks are interesting people, who are intelligent, passionate individuals with great senses of humor who care more about what they believe in that what society tells them think and be. So hopefully you’re a geek. Yes, you. You just didn’t know it. But, it’s okay you can admit. Say, “I am a geek“. Doesn’t that feel better.

Let’s be honest it’s the nerds you have to watch out for.
Nerd: an unstylish, unattractive, or socially inept person; especially : one slavishly devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits.

I love being a geek. In fact, I love geeks. There is something beguiling about geeks. Let’s be honest, they’re like crack(as in both the hard drug and the Irish meaning of to have a good time). Once you get your first taste of geek you never go back(Sorry kids). And yes that does mean I have a love/hate relationship with myself. But, that’s okay, cause we kick ass.

Click on the title to see what started the rant. Thank goodness for people with a sense of humor.

*I’ll probably re-edit this later, when it isn’t midnight and I actually put some thought into it.

* This a picture from GenCon. so, yes, I am a geek.

*Definitions are from Webster’s On-line Dictionary.