A problem with elitist nerds

[VanityGirl]

Now, what's an elitist nerd?
An elitist nerd is one who has a "holier than thou" attitude towards almost everything. This nerd is the one you can't take to the movies because "mainstream stuff is shit", this is the person who thinks they're unpopular because they were "too busy studying/working" to care about that stuff, this is the person who hates any game that becomes popular because it's "not hardcore enough anymore".
In short, the elitist nerd is one who hates anything popular and most likely not popular in school because they didn't try to assert themselves

I fully agree.

I'm tired of listening to people complain about something mainstream, as if they don't have a choice what they watch, listen to, or take part in. I'm even more tired of people saying something isn't good or talented enough simply because it's mainstream.

I can understand that a lot of people dislike certain things that happen to be mainstream, but I think some people are getting confused between something they dislike, and something that simply has no talent behind it. What's worse is when they have to stand by that opinion as if it's fact, and they'll completely dismiss anything else.

I don't even want to get started on this thought of "I like it, and if you don't, you're a lesser person."

Granted, this isn't the case for everyone, but there are a growing number of people who think and voice these thoughts.

Thank you. People think I'm talking about hipsters, but this thread was made more so for the gaming aspect.

For instance, if someone were to say they liked Alan Wake, you would get the fanboys of a game like Silent Hill saying how much it sucks. Now, these fanboys turn into elitist when someone just discovers Silent Hill and begins to gush about it saying "Wow it's so good". The elitists will look down on this person and say how noobish they are.

I've met many of these people in my journey of online gaming.

I hate to be buzzkillington, but [HEADING=2]hating everything doesn't make you cool[/HEADING], it kind of makes you a douche. I've been running into these people more and more and I want to punch them in the face. Especially when they ruin movies for me because they keep huffing and puffing during the whole damn thing. >_>

[HEADING=1]AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...[/HEADING]

Now that I've composed myself:
[HEADING=1]AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA![/HEADING]

So what? Why does this deserve to be a thread? This is pretty much just you whining about people not being the way you want them to be. I'm a nerd. I'm probably elitist. I think its important to hate all elitists rather than just the nerd ones, I don;t see why they deserve special treatment. I dislike people who use tired insults such as 'nerd' especially in order to disrespect their father. You don't see me making a thread about it.

Thank you for adding a good amount of discussion value to my thread by first debasing me before you make your point.
I can make a thread over applesauce if I want to and say "HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE APPLESAUCE?!" and rant about how stupid people are for not liking applesauce.

However, this thread was important to me and it is something that has irked me. I dare you to shrug off someone who comes off as more of an elitist than you.
Also, you realize that 'nerd' is no longer an insult right? The I <3 Nerd t-shirts are hot sellers in stores all over the place. I addressed the nerd term at the beginning of this thread.

 

[Therumancer]

I'd rather sit in a room with a Justin Beiber fan who looks like Miley Cirus holding a hand bag with Lady GaGa's face on it than listen to an elitist nerd.

Now that I have you hooked, let me continue.

What is a nerd? By definition, a nerd is one who avidly pursues intellectual activities.

Now obviously the definition of nerd has changed over the years. Today, anyone and everyone can be a nerd. My dad stayed up all night playing Wii bowling just so he could score 300 points. What did I say to him when I heard him brag about his bowling score? "Dad, you're such a nerd!"

You can easily say anyone is a nerd nowadays.
What about the popular pretty boy in your school? Well most likely he does something you'd consider nerdy. Maybe he can work photoshop in ways you can't imagine, maybe he stays up all night doing speed runs on Mario Bros. Unless you get to know these people, you'll never know if they're a closet nerd or an open nerd.

Now, what's an elitist nerd?
An elitist nerd is one who has a "holier than thou" attitude towards almost everything. This nerd is the one you can't take to the movies because "mainstream stuff is shit", this is the person who thinks they're unpopular because they were "too busy studying/working" to care about that stuff, this is the person who hates any game that becomes popular because it's "not hardcore enough anymore".
In short, the elitist nerd is one who hates anything popular and most likely not popular in school because they didn't try to assert themselves

I hate to be buzzkillington, but hating everything doesn't make you cool, it kind of makes you a douche. I've been running into these people more and more and I want to punch them in the face. Especially when they ruin movies for me because they keep huffing and puffing during the whole damn thing. >_>

(I'm talking to you dickhole in Harry Potter who said the movie wasn't smart enough and you kept sighing loudly in my ear. If you didn't want to see the movie, DON'T go see it.

And this goes out to you too guy who laughed at me for purchasing Halo:Reach and saying "You need to learn how to play real games".)

Any questions, comments, concerns?

Actually by definition a nerd is someone who is a societal outcast, being smart or into intellectual pursuits do not nessicarly go along with it, although they can. A lot of nerds are justr pathetic and strange and have no real redeeming qualities by the standards of society.

Nerd elitism tends to come from the fact that the smart nerds (who still might not be smart in any PRACTICAL way) find a lot of their refuges being dumbed down to the point where nearly anyone an get involved. Like it or not nerds can be just as annoyed with other nerds as anyone else, and it breaks down into various groups. This is one of the big reasons why there are distinctions made in the nerd community between say Hardcore gamers, and people who simply spend a lot of time playing games.

Attitudes about works of fantasy, science fiction, movies, books, and similar things being dumbed down are because with attention being paid towards the lowest common denominator it reduces the number of things produced that the smarter nerds actually want.

Of course you see a lot of "elite" Nerds are those people who are proud of being what they are, and look down on a LOT of people for various reasons. Indeed it's that very attitude that contributes to keeping them on the outside even if they might have a lot of redeeming features overall.

Without seeing the behavior your talking about it's hard to say if your dealing with another uber-nerd, or a hipster douchebag. The latter tends to be a bit better accepted by society (if still annoying) and have a larger peer group. The differance in cases like this is that the Hipster Douchebag is concerned about how deep watching something makes them (or those they are with) look, where a Nerd is more concerned about the integrity of the work itself. A Nerd is more likely to talk about how they are ruining Harry Potter, and should have done things differantly yadda, yadda, with his complaints being well intentioned if annoying. A Hipster Douchebag is more likely to see something and then put on airs about how the whole thing is beneath them and their refinement.

Interestingly if your dealing with elitist nerds that you know, and they bother to insult your taste in games as opposed to dismissing you, that's sort of a compliment. It means that they think you could do what they consider "better" games as opposed to being one of the hopelessly mundane plebes that the industry is stopping over to cater to. Of course nerds being what they are, most normal people are hardly honored by this even if they pick up on it.

Such are my thoughts, as rambling and irrelevent as they are.

 

[UltraParanoia]

Since when were nerds intellectual anything? Nerds were always just those assholes who smelled funny and knew entirely too much about one particular subject and nothing about anything else.

 

[TheGreatCoolEnergy]

Yes, because nerds are the only people who get elitist. I deffinately don't get called gay because I don't give a fuck about sports, or a loser because I don't get shit faced on Saturday nights. Deffinately not. It's only douche-bag nerds causing a problem.

 

[spacecowboy86]

wow... I hope I don't fit your bill there. I don't just hate on all popular things, but I let hype change my opinion of a product. That being said, I don't hate all mainstream things, but there are alot of them that I don't totally get on the bandwagon with.
Examples: Halo and COD are okay, but I'm just not a fan, or very good at FPS's. Avatar: It was a good movie, but not good enough to make me want to see it more than once every 3 or 4 months (unfortunately i ended up seeing it 3 times in the second week it was out and was uber bored by the 3 time).

 

[spacecowboy86]

Since when were nerds intellectual anything? Nerds were always just those assholes who smelled funny and knew entirely too much about one particular subject and nothing about anything else.

You cut me deep man... You cut me real deep...

 

[SJXarg]

... or reading at least 2-3 books a week. I consider these things to be nerdy.

This has me curious, and I'd like for you to elaborate if possible. What kind of books do you find it nerdy if someone reads 2-3+ a week? Or is it a blanket nerd-labeling of anyone who reads books?

 

[Palademon]

Duh, if hating things made you cool, elitest nerds wouldn't be called nerds.
And I am somewhat like that, but I don't blame my lack of popularity on me not being bothered, but because most people are less nerdy or intellectual that I can't relate to and my life is uneventful so I often fail to find something to talk about. Also my natural expression is misunderstood for depression.

 

[Zaik]

As for video game nerds, just tell them that halo was the first FPS game ever. You don't need anything else, but if you want to have them put down for rabies tell them FF7 and all the ones before it sucked and that X-2 was the best in the series. Point out that the larger numbers going on in the fights of the newer ones make them better than the older ones. Also stay away from FF13 because you only have a 50/50 chance of success with it and if they agree with you it'll calm them down some.

Yeah, the problem with that is that it ends up making me write things like this [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/op-ed/5266-Guest-Columnist-Spacewar-A-Journey-Into-Gaming-History]. I get praised for these things, and ultimately, your trolling attempt loses.

Having the knowledge easily accessible makes the act more outrageous, and therefore more rage inducing. You're actually helping, oddly.

 

[AnAngryMoose]

This elitist nerd sounds a lot like a hipster.
I hate hipsters.
Right there with you. The only thing that's worse is an elitist nerd that has no idea what he's talking about, but will spew nonsense until your ears can bear it no more. Sometimes it's okay to admit, "we'll I've never seen this, or played that, so I can't really pass judgment. Why don't you inform me about this subject so that I may become more knowledgeable about said subject."
People talk funny when I do voices for them in my head.

Quoted for truth.

 

[AnAngryMoose]

I was actually thinking of making this topic...

Elitist nerd rage always peaks in November, when a Call of Duty game is released. Then they can try to shove their opinion that the game sucks down people's throats. "OMG you like blops!?? YOU MUST BE A GIANT FAGHAT. Go pley ur mainstreem shat and listen to beeber. OMG you like lady gaga too!?!? WTFX man ur sooo stupid."

Ok, buddy. I'd reply to that but I'm too busy having fun in Blops. And, my other mainstream games like Minecraft, Mount and Blade, and Audiosurf. Oh wait...

Elitist nerds can't let people have fun if they are having fun with things the elitist nerd does not like. And the elitist nerd is very much a hipster. Having been bullied as a child for being unpopular, the elitist nerd feels the need to turn that around and try to bully people for liking things that are too popular. They'll like something at the start, then it will get popular and "mainstream", and then they will say how it used to be great before it all changed.


Strangely, one of the only notable exceptions to this rule is anything made by Valve. Elitist nerds are almost always also Valve fanboys. They will try to rip you apart for liking anything mainstream and then turn around and drop real money on party hats in Team Fortress 2. They will complain and wonder how anyone can enjoy a multiplayer game that isn't Team Fortress 2, all the while failing to realize that Valve is also a company, just like EA and Activision, and that they are Valve's little bitches.

You hit the nail right on the motherfucking head there. Especially the last bit about the Valve fanboys whom I hate with a burning passion. Wanna know how to really annoy a Valve fanboy? Make a Halo thread. Prior to the release of Reach every thread about the game was infested with Valve fanboys preaching about how "Halo isn't a real game. Go play TF2". Fuckin' idiots...

Don't get me wrong, I like Valve and all, just not those people.

 

[VanityGirl]

... or reading at least 2-3 books a week. I consider these things to be nerdy.

This has me curious, and I'd like for you to elaborate if possible. What kind of books do you find it nerdy if someone reads 2-3+ a week? Or is it a blanket nerd-labeling of anyone who reads books?

Actually I was saying that anyone now a days can be considered a nerd, I also used examples like collecting model planes. I myself read 2-3 books a week, so I'm not trying to offend anyone, but what I was saying is that anyone can be a nerd anyaways. Book nerd, model plane collectinig nerd, stamp collecting nerd, gaming nerd, ect.

The type of books you read doesn't matter really. I know "Romance Novel Nerds" who read like 3-4 trashy romances and week and you better believe I'll call those people a nerd.

The problem is that nerd is a generalized term now.

Now for the hipster comment >_> :

But the elitist nerds I'm taking aim at in this thread are the elitist gaming nerds. These are the gaming nerds who cross the line of normal fanboyism. I can't call them hipsters, because they do occasionally like a game that has a big fan base (like Left 4 Dead). Also most hipsters I know will not flame me or get overly angry at me for liking something if it is popular. My hipster friends will just tell me not to conform to the man but aren't going to keep egging me about it. And yes, I do have hipster friends.
Modern hipsters want to give you the vibe that they just don't care, and if they're being assholes to people for liking certain things, then they are not true hipsters.

Just had to clear that up, I know what a hipster is.

Was this topic supposed to be ironically elitist?

Ah I wondered when someone would say this. No, this is not elitist. I've never claimed to be better than anyone nor have I claimed to know more than the average person. I have, however, made this topic based on some of my own personal expeirence.
For a person to be an elitist, they should appear like an all knowing (jerky) person. I may have the jerk aspect of it, but I am far from being all knowing about anything.

 

[ComicsAreWeird]

I totally know people like that. These pseudo-alpha-nerds are giving the rest of us nerds a bad name. grrr...

 

[Peteron]

I'd rather sit in a room with a Justin Beiber fan who looks like Miley Cirus holding a hand bag with Lady GaGa's face on it than listen to an elitist nerd.

Now that I have you hooked, let me continue.

What is a nerd? By definition, a nerd is one who avidly pursues intellectual activities.

Now obviously the definition of nerd has changed over the years. Today, anyone and everyone can be a nerd. My dad stayed up all night playing Wii bowling just so he could score 300 points. What did I say to him when I heard him brag about his bowling score? "Dad, you're such a nerd!"

You can easily say anyone is a nerd nowadays.
What about the popular pretty boy in your school? Well most likely he does something you'd consider nerdy. Maybe he can work photoshop in ways you can't imagine, maybe he stays up all night doing speed runs on Mario Bros. Unless you get to know these people, you'll never know if they're a closet nerd or an open nerd.

Now, what's an elitist nerd?
An elitist nerd is one who has a "holier than thou" attitude towards almost everything. This nerd is the one you can't take to the movies because "mainstream stuff is shit", this is the person who thinks they're unpopular because they were "too busy studying/working" to care about that stuff, this is the person who hates any game that becomes popular because it's "not hardcore enough anymore".
In short, the elitist nerd is one who hates anything popular and most likely not popular in school because they didn't try to assert themselves

I hate to be buzzkillington, but hating everything doesn't make you cool, it kind of makes you a douche. I've been running into these people more and more and I want to punch them in the face. Especially when they ruin movies for me because they keep huffing and puffing during the whole damn thing. >_>

(I'm talking to you dickhole in Harry Potter who said the movie wasn't smart enough and you kept sighing loudly in my ear. If you didn't want to see the movie, DON'T go see it.

And this goes out to you too guy who laughed at me for purchasing Halo:Reach and saying "You need to learn how to play real games".)

Any questions, comments, concerns?

I agree with you, and honestly I know way to many. Its an incurable disease unfortunately.

 

[thedoclc]

This elitist nerd sounds a lot like a hipster.
I hate hipsters.
Right there with you. The only thing that's worse is an elitist nerd that has no idea what he's talking about, but will spew nonsense until your ears can bear it no more. Sometimes it's okay to admit, "we'll I've never seen this, or played that, so I can't really pass judgment. Why don't you inform me about this subject so that I may become more knowledgeable about said subject."
People talk funny when I do voices for them in my head.

Quoted for truth.

Agreed, but there's an equally annoying pair of other dips who need to stop.

In academia, among those nerds who actually do science or scholarship, there's a base disapproval for their colleagues and associates who also like other nerdy things, especially pulpier sci-fi or the like. This is just as silly as the know-nothing dip who plays fantasy football, but then screams at those who prefer a wargame or an RPG.

But the absolutely dipshittiest nerd is the one who reads sci-fi or new age or conspiracy theory and thinks this qualifies them to criticize science nerds as if they had a clue about real science.

Of course, I usually think of such people as those who troll reality.

Edit: Ooo, and let me add FPS players who think they actually know something about armed combat, warfare, and shooting technique because of the games, and rhythm game players who think they know real music. I -love- Rockband and Guitar Hero; this does not make me a guitarist, nor does it qualify me to talk about the actual act of playing guitar.