'Long time no see, naked monkeys!' by Kara
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 at 7:31 AM

I can't remember how tired I was when I drew this page, but clearly very tired. That is one warpy sword.

One new -- well, new to my readers -- peeve of mine is people who insist on believing they're put-upon or hated by the world for their beliefs, interests, etc. Me, personally? By way of religious beliefs, I mostly just get annoyed at widespread groundless assumptions, but I find it hard to believe that the philosophy by which I live my life makes me hated by anyone who truly matters ... and thus makes me 'special.' I don't believe that about anything. Your beliefs and philosophies shape you as a person, but the fact that you are the umbrella of a certain title for said beliefs doesn't make you a long-suffering martyr if people badmouth you. If you're letting the words roll off and not letting them wind you up, then yes, that's an awesome job.

But if you say things like, 'I know this is an unpopular opinion and people are going to hate me for it, but ...' you're not being a martyr. You're being arrogant. Someone out there agrees with you. It's a big world. And people who talk that way suddenly stop caring about what it is they're so passionate about, and instead focus all their energy on the fact that they're disliked as far as they're concerned and revel in it.

(Granted, getting a rise out of people once in a while is kinda fun ...)

What does this have to do with anything? Otaku. (A word I'm still iffy about, because it's actually rather derogatory, even though anime fans have been making it theirs over the years. I just wonder how many weak American otaku know the original meaning of the word. Possibly more than I think.) I've heard, in just about any setting you can imagine, people talking about how liking anime makes them unpopular and lesser in other people's eyes.

Granted. Yes. There are proper otaku out there. People who discover anime, manga, what have you, and cloister themselves. That's a personality type, not an effect of the art form. The anime fans I hang out with outside cons have jobs, other hobbies, proper lives, are willing to watch movies and TV shows from places other than Japan, etc. (If we were all actual otaku, we wouldn't be hanging out much, really.)

Okay okay okay. What does that have to do with anything? Well, in just about any setting you can imagine, I've heard someone bitch about how they are hated for being an otaku.

Please. Shut the fsck up.

I'll believe they get picked on. My own family does it, but a lot of my own family can see that I'm a) getting something out of it, b) still living a life out from in front of my TV, and c) watching some stuff that actually interests them. Fans pick on other fans for liking specific shows. In high school, everyone picks on everyone for anything. This is also possible in the 'real world.'

But when I go to 7-11 and see Pocky and Shonen Jump, I lose any sympathy I have for people whining about it. When the Co-Writer with the Longest Hair and I see Narutard headbands at Busch fscking Gardens, I die a little inside I have a hard time believing that they feel there's anything to be ashamed of. (True story. This weekend. Right outside the Globe.)

And yet I hear stories about how people's parents are ashamed of them, how they get picked on, how they're not respected at work, etc. I need to take a picture of my desk at work someday. I've got Dendoh and Oger punching each other in the face with Getter 1 going after Dendoh's leg, and Cyborg Guy and Cure White not far away. The most anyone's done is leave them in compromising positions. Maybe it's because I'm in such a laid-back working environment, but look ... if your coworkers are going to pick on you for having robots on your desk, they'll pick on you for putting just about anything there that isn't a plant or a Far Side calendar. The web guy with six rubber duckies on his desk gets made fun of more than I do.

The thing is ... a person can be hated, picked on, made fun of, or ridiculed for anything. It doesn't matter whether you like anime, Star Trek, Thucydides, Andrew Lloyd Webber, or 80s sci-fi porn. I know wonderful, well-adjusted people who enjoy any or all of those. If it seems everyone in the world is picking on you over your fandom ... well, either you run with the wrong crowd, you're seeking the hate actively ... or maybe you're just a dick.

... don't do drugs.

If you have been, take it.