Letters of Mass Construction

What’s With The Geek Hate?

It has been an interesting week in the geekosphere. First, the New York Times slams women geeks and the Game of Thrones. Then, Slate follows it up with a slam on fantasy literature in general. Apparently, fantasy is unsophisticated, juvenile crap. This review was written in some sort of mocking fantasy language only used by people who don’t read fantasy.

As I said in my NY Times blog a couple of days ago I don’t care if you didn’t like Game Of Thrones but both of these reviews were shots at fantasy and the people who love it. They didn’t review the show but the genre. Both reviews went after the people who read fantasy showing a huge amount of disrespect and flat-out hatred towards them. Seriously people, what’s with all the geek hatred?

I can tell you it wasn’t always easy being a fantasy, science fiction, comic book reader when I was a kid. It left me as an outsider around many of the kids of my school. It wasn’t unusual to get teased. Interestingly for me the older I got the more I got teased. By high school I had very few friends who shared my interests in all things geek.

Luckily, by my senior year I had the perfect job. I worked at a bookstore and suddenly found myself surrounded by people who shared my love. Truthfully, I don’t understand the snobbery. It isn’t like I go around talking shit about straight fiction. A book, is a book, is a book. All reading is good. I don’t just read in the realm of geek. I read a lot of non-fiction. I love classics and will even read straight fiction if it is something I am interested in.

There are lots of books out there that I don’t understand why people like but I could give a shit that they are successful, are thought of as literature, or Oprah thinks they are the best thing since sliced bread. I don’t really care what floats people’s boats. I am also not going to go out of my way to heap big piles of crap on the people who like those books.

I know not everything published in science fiction and fantasy can be considered high art or well written. This is not exclusive to those fields. However, I can put a long list of incredible books out there which will trade blows with any Pulitzer prize winner. So lay off the geek hate people.

Know that when you mock people for what they love you are not just mocking adults. You are also mocking kids. You are just a bully and you are acting ignorant. You want to be an asshole that’s fine. Try to do it in the confines of an actual review instead of perpetuating stereotypes. I honor your right to not love all things geek but remember there is some kid out there right now getting teased over their Star Wars lunch box. Try not to make it worse.

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5 Responses to “What’s With The Geek Hate?”

  1. Carl says:

    Nicely said, Mr.Daley. Science Fiction and Fantasy have some great opus (opi?). Dune, LOTR, or any work by HG Wells hold their own with any other “literature”.

  2. They are soooo going to be sorry when we are 100% in charge.

    • csdaley says:

      I don’t want to be in charge. I just want people to try and play nice. I get to be principal about 4 times a month at my school. I hate it every time. Being in charge is all it is cracked up to be.

  3. Siobhan says:

    I’m a fan of sci-fi, fantasy and horror movies, only got into reading fantasy fiction reacently, but love it now. I’m a geek girl and *proud* XD

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