Help: Get Parents to Accept the Fact that I am a Gamer/Otaku

[Dead_Man]

time to pull down my philosophical hat and put it on. *ZIP* there we go.

dude, its more than likely that your parents, friends, random strangers, etc. wont stop making fun of the things you like, what any of us like. its the whole reason the word "nerd" was developed in the first place. a nerd, in essence, is a person who may be ridiculed about his interests, looks, or smarts. hell, i make fun of the stuff i like on many occasions. its all part of the mantle we put on as a nerd. a nerd maybe a guy who likes wierd things (i.e. dungeons & dragons, video games, etc.), but a TRUE nerd doesnt give 2 shits about what other people think about his interests. so you may as well take the ribbing with a good heart. hell, you may as well rib on your fathers interests if you feel the need to get back at him, but as long as theyre not spraying you with holy water and shouting "BE GONE, SATAN!!!" i think your good.

my work here is done. good day citizens!
PHILOSOPHICAL MAN AWAY! *WHOOSH*

 

[ThatOtakuGuy]

time to pull down my philosophical hat and put it on. *ZIP* there we go.

dude, its more than likely that your parents, friends, random strangers, etc. wont stop making fun of the things you like, what any of us like. its the whole reason the word "nerd" was developed in the first place. a nerd, in essence, is a person who may be ridiculed about his interests, looks, or smarts. hell, i make fun of the stuff i like on many occasions. its all part of the mantle we put on as a nerd. a nerd maybe a guy who likes wierd things (i.e. dungeons & dragons, video games, etc.), but a TRUE nerd doesnt give 2 shits about what other people think about his interests. so you may as well take the ribbing with a good heart. hell, you may as well rib on your fathers interests if you feel the need to get back at him, but as long as theyre not spraying you with holy water and shouting "BE GONE, SATAN!!!" i think your good.

my work here is done. good day citizens!
PHILOSOPHICAL MAN AWAY! *WHOOSH*

.....Nice job, P-Man! O.e

 

[War Pony]

Your problem sounds something like my own parents' point of view. They think ALL cartoons are for small kids. There was a time when they saw me watching the likes of South Park and Drawn Together and had the hell offended out of them when they heard swearing.

But hey! At least they aren't questioning your sexual orientation when you play video games.

 

[ThatOtakuGuy]

Thanks. They actually mentioned that gaming was a "teenage thing" When I told them that at least 5 out of the 40 kids in my grade were gamer girls (small grade due to private school), and that the average gamer's age was around 30, they said, I shit you not, "Its said that so many people just stare at a screen and don't interact with anybody". Not only have they apperantly never heard of multiplayer, but they don't seem to realize that all those years ago, when they went on dates to the movies, THEY WERE DOING THE EXACT SAME THING.

 

[ThatOtakuGuy]

After what happened just now, thats the best thing i could do.

 

[MrHero17]

Start working out in your spare time...I'm serious you'd probably get less shit from your dad about girls if you got yourself in good shape. Also in the interest of getting girls being an in shape or, dare I suggest it, buff otaku will get you much farther than being an overweight one.

 

[Aidinthel]

Thanks. They actually mentioned that gaming was a "teenage thing" When I told them that at least 5 out of the 40 kids in my grade were gamer girls (small grade due to private school), and that the average gamer's age was around 30, they said, I shit you not, "Its said that so many people just stare at a screen and don't interact with anybody".

Ouch, that sucks. I am suddenly grateful for my parents. (Direct quote of my mom: "I like nerds.") In retrospect, they made a considerable effort to understand me.

At least you have the Escapist to vent to. *chanting of "One of us! One of us!" in the background*

 

[ohgodalex]

Maybe you could stop being such a nerd.

 

[Harrowdown]

Having a giggle at your hobby isn't a lack of acceptance. Grow up.

 

[ThatOtakuGuy]

Thanks. They actually mentioned that gaming was a "teenage thing" When I told them that at least 5 out of the 40 kids in my grade were gamer girls (small grade due to private school), and that the average gamer's age was around 30, they said, I shit you not, "Its said that so many people just stare at a screen and don't interact with anybody".

Ouch, that sucks. I am suddenly grateful for my parents. (Direct quote of my mom: "I like nerds.") In retrospect, they made a considerable effort to understand me.

Start working out in your spare time...I'm serious you'd probably get less shit from your dad about girls if you got yourself in good shape. Also in the interest of getting girls being an in shape or, dare I suggest it, buff otaku will get you much farther than being an overweight one.

Thanks for all of the advice. I guess I was probably over-reacting (or maybe under-reacting). In other words, I still have no idea what I myself feel, so I'm gonna get some beauty sleep, wake up tomorrow, go to my local anime store's halloween sale (Tate's Comcis FTW), then run a 5k, since I'm a member of my school's cross-country team (on a side note, my best 5k ever was about 25:52). Good night to everyone and thanks to all the people who contributed, except for ohgodalex, who needs to start pissing the heck off. I hope to speak with some of you again on many other topics of the forum, and thanks again (deja vu) to everyone else who commented.


That Otaku Guy....

PS: Can someone explain Huxely's Law to me?

 

[Mcface]

I can see why people don't like anime (me being one of them) i at least understand it, and have my own reasons for not liking it. I honestly just consider them to be cartoons. They look the same to me.

Also, people don't like the same thing as you do. There is nothing to do with being "accepted" it's pretty common for the Jap-culture lovers in America to constantly get all pissy and defensive whenever someone makes fun of, or outright dislikes your stuff.

 

[Aidinthel]

PS: Can someone explain Huxely's Law to me?

"Sooner or later false thinking brings wrong conduct."

 

[Tartarga]

My mom once compared Jungle Wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu to Dora the Explorer. I have no idea why, but she thought it was funny. God that pissed me off.
OT: What I did was I showed them the anime that got me interested in anime/manga in the first place which was of course the original Pokemon. My dad quickly ruled it off as stupid since it didn't involve sports or Andy Griffith. My mom thought it was good and encouraged my watching of anime, she even read and enjoyed Deathnote.

 

[Legion IV]

I gotta say this. Your not an Otaku. lol i know an otaku (man ther elitests lol) just your not thats all no big. Lol as for you parents i dunno man. My parents respect my intrests. They dont like my FFXIII Action figures or my Armored core models but they accept them lol. They accept that i'll buy two copies of my favorite games one sealed one not. I guess your parents jus gotta respect you and that takes a long time.

 

[Czargent Sane]

If all they do is laugh, I don't think you've got much of a problem. Yeah, it isn't ideal, but at least they don't think you're going to hell for it like some horror stories I've heard.

whoever says that needs to get a great big bitchslap from whoever founded or head's their faith.

 

[cystemic]

My parents have seen me watch hellsing with the nazi zombie vampires and the gore and violence so they know its not kiddy to watch anime. I suppose it depends who your parents are, whether they are as open-minded as you would like them to be. I took my mum to Japan and even she had to admit that they are an ingenious people with a great culture, past and present.