"You're sad, you are!"

[Morthoron]

Being a geek implies something unnatural or unhealthy. I don't believe myself to be a geek, aberrant or doing something unhealthy. So what if I type this missive from a lead-lined bunker in my back yard? The end of the world is coming in 2012, so is there anything wrong with being prepared for the apocalypse? I don't think so. Does it matter that I've collected hair samples from each of the principal stars of the Lord of the Rings movies and had each encased in clear resin? People collect all kinds of things. It's not like I buy potato chips burnt in the likeness of Jesus off of e-bay (although I did manage to get the clavicle of John the Baptist rather inexpensively from a flea-market in Toledo, Ohio).

It's all a matter of perspective, really. If someone claims they don't have an eccentricity of some sort, they are either a liar or in need of a cathartic (perhaps soapy water or green tea). It seems those that cast aspersions on one group (say, against Tolkienistas) have an equally perverted sense of ownership over some other sordid pasttime (be it sports, movies, pets, collectibles, music, shopping or staring blankly at a TV ad infintum). I have acquaintances who dislike the Lord of the Rings, but can give you the batting averages of every starting player from the 1984 World Series; but they can't comprehend how that is just as odd as if I quoted a line from the Silmarillion (or Shakespeare, for that matter), particularly since they haven't played baseball beyond grade school. I do relish claiming they have man-crushes on their favorite sports stars.

Oh, it seems I'm rambling without a point. Perhaps there is no point.

[radagastly]

Originally posted by Morthoron:

I have acquaintances who dislike the Lord of the Rings, but can give you the batting averages of every starting player from the 1984 World Series;

In all fairness, my friend that know's baseball was drafted as a pro, but lost his chance due to an abusive father (ruptured kidneys from his father weilding my friend's favorite bat in a drunken rage.) Let's not get too serious in a literary discussion, however.

But your point about perspective is well taken. What is the difference, really, between putting on a Hobbit outfit for a convention of some kind, or a movie premier, and donning a Cheese-head at Lambeau Field. Both are costumes that invoke enthusiasm for that particular passion.

I should mention here that as a Wisconsinite, I have done both, and frozen my butt off at the second.

My point was that, following Tolkien, or J. K. Rowling, or Literature in general or sports or extreme sports or anything else, ties us to a group that has a common interest in that particular passion. As much as we would like it to be otherwise, politics and religion, for the most part, don't give us that sense of community that we would probably prefer to find in patriotism, or faith. As much as I respect these feelings, I would prefer to spend more time arguing Balrog wings than arguing about whether Obama or McCain should be the next President. Whether that's right or wrong is simply not an issue for me on this particular website. I'm here (on the Barrow Downs) to talk about Tolkien, because I love (yes, LOVE) his skill with language, his mastery of mythic sensibility, his grasp of simple human emotion in clearly impossible circumstances (how would YOU feel, if you held in your hand the power to shape the world?)

Hello. My name is Craig and I'm a Tolkein geek. My best friend is a baseball geek. My next-best friend is a Madonna geek. I've never met anyone who wasn't a geek of some kind. It's not an insult. It's just a fact.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by radagastly

But your point about perspective is well taken. What is the difference, really, between putting on a Hobbit outfit for a convention of some kind, or a movie premier, and donning a Cheese-head at Lambeau Field. Both are costumes that invoke enthusiasm for that particular passion.

I should mention here that as a Wisconsinite, I have done both, and frozen my butt off at the second.

If its a hobby or a 'passion', and said passion does not harm others or oneself, then it is a natural part of humanity; however, when passion descends into obsession then the are dangers present. For instance, gambling can prove horrible if a vice becomes an addiction, or something as innocuous as an online RP game (like WoW or EverQuest) can present real-life problems for those who become obsessed (I know cases where people have become so addicted to the games they've lost their jobs and gotten divorces -- they didn't call EverQuest EverCrack for nothing). Then there's the irrational folks who stalk stars in order to live out some deluded fantasy.