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A lot of people collect comic books or Star Wars/Trek items and they are called "losers."
But it's "cool" when that person collects vinyl records or anything to do with the latest music.
It's also "cool" if that person collects sports-related items for teams they never played on and will never play for, but if that person likes fantasy items such as elves, fairies, trolls, ogres, wizards, knights, etc., that person is a "loser."
Why is that?
People need to mind their own business. I remember this kind of behavior when I was a child or in high school, not too much any more. Maybe a better selection of friends might be a better choice.
I’m reformed & back to being a Bookworm ... decided I actually was NOT “too cool for school”.
But speaking of partiers:
I once stayed at a hotel that had been booked for a Star Trek convention & I was there for the duration... I had to have been the only non-Trekkie guest there & I've heard all the stereotypes & jokes but I can tell you; that these people knew how to party!
All day & all night but not one drunken fight or incident with cops being called. Just good fun & they had a blast.
Now, if I hear someone saying snarky things about Trekkies, I’m the first one to tell them “Hey; don’t knock it until you try it!”
I never understand anyone who has a "Collection" of their favorite item. Is collecting a hobby?
I don't consider anyone a loser if they have a "Collection" of a certain item. I just don't understand the "clutter" aspect of it. The "Why" of it?
I collect alligators, and penguins. My friends and family know this about me. I think, part of the draw is...finding treasure. I find it much more satisfying to add to the collection, when I'M the one who found the treasure. As opposed to; people know I collect these things, so they buy them for me. (I mean, come on, penguins at Christmas time are a dime a dozen...I don't need one of those. LOL)
A long long time ago, I was in an antique store, and came across 3 or 4 baby taxidermied little alligators dressed like mariachi players in a band, with little instruments. It was odd, and funny looking and funky to me, and kind of loved it. But for some reason, I didn't buy it. I think I couldn't afford it. And THAT got me (kind of) on the alligator kick.
My penguin thing has to do with a dream I had as a teenager. One of those life changing kind of dreams.
I think people who enjoy themselves and share that with other people are way cool.
I think other people who criticize others simple enjoyment of life are losers and not cool at all.
Who cares what anyone else thinks of your hobbies or interests? Enjoy the company of other like-minded hobbyists and ignore the others.
I was a band nerd in school. Many talented kids dropped out in high school because band and orchestra were considered uncool. Their loss. I continued to study while in college and have gotten a lot of enjoyment from playing in groups as an adult.
I also do a variety of needlework. There are national and international embroidery and needlepoint guilds with local chapters, and many Facebook and other groups devoted to the different types. We understand each other's mutual obsession, but don't expect others to "get it." My sister-in-law, after scrutinizing a particularly involved piece of embroidery hanging on my wall, commented, "That looks like it would be really tedious to do," which made me laugh. She hunts down and re-sells vintage tablecloths and linens, which to me is a snore. To each her own.
Having just downsized, I will say I'm glad that neither of us were into collecting, though.
The biggest factor that makes hobby uncool , is when grown adults start to role play, in costume.
????Re enacting medieval war scenes. Acting out some witch craft, or civil war battles.
Ah, but there's a sliding scale here. The further back in time, the great care taken with historical accuracy and the less "elite" the unit, the cooler. So, on a scale from more to less cool:
Being a helbardier in a medieval setting with hand-forged weapons
Re-enacting a battle from the English Civil War as a New Model Army pikeman
Re-enacting a Civil War battle as an army regular
Re-enacting the Battle of the Bulge as a member of the 82nd Airborne with army surplus store kit
Roleplaying as a Green Beret in Vietnam
Pretending to be a SEAL in Afghanistan with Airsoft guns
- with the uber-eager Waffen-SS (always the Waffen-SS) roleplayers breaking the scale for being both lame and offensive.
Some of the UK World War I groups have amassed an amazing body of knowledge and gear, and are routinely brought in for movie/TV productions for the simple reason that they know the drill, literally.
I never understand anyone who has a "Collection" of their favorite item. Is collecting a hobby?
I don't consider anyone a loser if they have a "Collection" of a certain item. I just don't understand the "clutter" aspect of it. The "Why" of it?
It is. I'm one of those collectors. Started with Sadler English tea pots. It does get overwhelming and cluttery which led to reselling. Current obssesions wearable womens vintage clothing. The hunt for new pieces are part of the thrill.
In remember in the very early days of public Internet, I came across a discussion group of people who were collecting, restoring, and discussing the 19th century design Mosin-Nagant rifle variants and history. These people had a hobby dedicated to one rifle, and it's one that is generally acknowledged not to be an excellent rifle.
Later, around 1995, I was fixing a computer at work in the accounting department and stumbled across some files that were carefully constructed and detailed drawings of men's underwear with discussions of things like seam width, placement of the elastic band, and so on. I laughed out loud at first, and then later I realized that this was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. This person had an unusual hobby (almost incomprehensible to me), and I am very sure that no one else in that 500-person office shared his interest in hypothetical design of men's underwear. But thanks to the Internet, he connected to the few people in the world who shared that interest.
Are these hobbyists losers? To my eye, the rifle collectors are indistinguishable from University professors who dedicate themselves to the study of some author, some period of history, an obscure problem in mathematics, or finding out what dark matter is.
What the underwear designers were doing sure looks like what engineers do, or perhaps someone designing a new engine in the garage at home, or the people that created the personal computer revolution.
What is it about people that drives them to study, to design, to build, to organize, and collect?
Most of us have to spend our days working to get food and shelter, but that drive is still there in so many of us.
I think that hobbies are a result of that same drive.
Sometimes it comes out in people like the Wright brothers, Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, James Watt and so many others, So I'm not calling anyone a loser just because I don't understand what drives them.
A lot of people collect comic books or Star Wars/Trek items and they are called "losers."
But it's "cool" when that person collects vinyl records or anything to do with the latest music.
It's also "cool" if that person collects sports-related items for teams they never played on and will never play for, but if that person likes fantasy items such as elves, fairies, trolls, ogres, wizards, knights, etc., that person is a "loser."
Why is that?
I don't think this is true among younger people although I think it varies by area/group.
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