Star Wars Fans, Why Do People Hate Us? A Discussion on The Nature Of Hate

Recognize this quote:

"YOU KNOW WHAT I HATE!!!? STAR WARS FANS!!! GET A FaaaaaaRIGIN LIFE YOU BORING GEEEEEKS!"

It is from Eric Harris, one of the killers at Columbine. Lots of news stories on this tragic event that happened five years ago in the news today.

Why do people hate us? I get tremendous hatred when it is revealed I am a big Star Wars fan. This even comes from people who supposedly love me. My cousin's daughter on an Easter visit, my hairdresser's kid. Any wonder why I keep it a big secret? I have trouble comprehending why someone would hate Star Wars, it is so very cool and all, but I can accept it. What I can't accept is why hate me for it? Can't you just accept that I am and move on? Do you have to harras me for it? Why?

The same it true with people who hate gay people. So they are gay. You don't believe in it. Don't be gay. Don't harass or worse kill or hurt someone physically or with words because they are gay or try to make them not gay. Just accept them for who they are. If it is a religious thing, and you disagree, just pray for them. But why hate?

People do things and make me angry, but I feel incapable of hating anybody or anything so much that I would want to cause them harm.

Your thoughts on the matter?

 

"YOU KNOW WHAT I HATE!!!? STAR WARS FANS!!! GET A FaaaaaaRIGIN LIFE YOU BORING GEEEEEKS!"

Hmmm, maybe if he'd have had a more open mind and had a little imagination he'd have spent more time doing constructive things instead of doing what he did.

Quite frankly I feel that that particular person is a bad representation to people who 'hate' us as most probably he would say he 'hated' pretty much everything outside of his enjoyment be it Star Wars or taking a walk in the park.

Let's face it I think hate is a particularly strong emotion to use when you're talking about other peoples interests. I don't feel these people actually HATE us I think they just have narrow minds and no imagination and therefore don't understand the concept of enjoying things such as Star Wars. These people (and in particular the one person you picked out as an example) use the word 'hate' because they maybe have low social skills and therefore where we would just dismiss something and pay no real attention these people have to formulate some kind of defense against it so they 'hate' it. In actuality, if they thought about it, it in no way affects their lives and hatred is a word all to easily used to describe their dislike for something.

There again... I find most people who 'hate' such irrelevant (and by that I mean it doesn't affect their lives) things such as Star Wars and Star Wars fans are usually quite juvenile and aren't really worth spending time worrying about.

 

Many times the initial reaction against something people know nothing about is negative.

In this case you have Star Wars fans which could easily be replaced with Star Trek fans or comic book fans or sci fi fans or simply everything that has to do with the word "Nerd" in the minds of those who do not want to be known as a nerd or have the wrong idea about people who like sci fi/fantasy.

The word "Ew" gets used by alot of these people.

 

I honestly didn't know that my Star Wars fandom made me the focus of anyone's hatred.... Way to shatter my naiveté, Isbeth!

 

why someone would hate Star Wars?

People hate things that are not accesible to them.

To understand strange things, one needs an inner change, needs to adapt to the new. People who do not like inner changes prefer to call an unknown thing bad and to hate it.

Star Wars is a myth. It is one the few last myths people still believe in. A myth about Freedom, nobility of character and Good fighting Evil.

For some people, Freedom, nobility of character and Good fighting Evil is too much. They can see only what eyes can see and cannot see with the eyes of their soul. Such people still dwell at a low level because they despise the things that would lift them up.

 

Lucky you, Space_Man, never experiencing it. It could be that I am an unconventional Star Wars fan. I am female and quite a bit older than most on the boards. (For the record, I am not as old as jasman). People probably would find it more acceptable had I kids or a spouse into it as well.

But yeah, the hostility I receive in just saying simply that I am a huge SW fan is tremendous.

 

If I mention to anyone outside my family or very close friends that I enjoy any Sci-Fi, comics or Horror, the reaction ranges from 'Oh.' to 'Grow Up'. Both extremes are usually accompanied by a flat look as if I just pooted in the communal tub.

The reaction I get for writing fanfic...well, let's just say it's not what's safe for posting here.

I look at it as you have to feel sorry for those who don't get it. We're still able to find the enjoyment, the magic of the films or genres we love, while they've become so hardened or jaded that it's something they've lost forever.

 

Isbeth: I am female and quite a bit older than most on the boards.

Not fair -- your profile does not say how old you are!

Honestly, I have experienced little if any of the "hostility" of which you speak. Actually, I think I have a bit of a reputation around work: twice, I've had co-workers come to me with obscure Star Wars-related questions (one, to settle a dispute between his kid and another kid, and the other, to provide the answer to a Star Wars trivia question for a radio program -- she won a prize thanks to my Star Wars geekiness!! ).

Well, I guess now I'll learn to keep a lower profile (and to think that I used to drive around with a large, custom-made Darth Maul sticker on my last car -- all the while, thinking that it was quite: ). Oh well...told you I was naive!

 

It's pretty obvious from the examples given in that delightfully sensationalistic article that the stuff the guy posted on his site was just anger being randomly vented at whatever appropriate target comes along. That target could be Star Wars fans, or Britney Spears fans, or moped riders or just about anything, so I don't really buy the idea that this one occurrence is evidence of a wider epidemic of Star Wars related hatred.

And I don't buy the idea that there's some kind of Star Wars-specific hate epidemic in the first place. If you openly express a passion for something generally dismissed or disliked by your peers then there's inevitably going to be the threat of a hostile reaction, whatever the subject is. It's depressing, but that's life for you.

That said, I don't know if the people making these casual suggestions that people who don't 'get' Star Wars are most likely jaded, joyless or generally inferior are really showing much more tolerance and open-mindedness then the people they're criticizing.

 

I've never had any problems either, if I mention I like Star Wars or whatever. Sometimes people laugh and make a joke, but not in a mean way, it's all in good fun. I know people who don't like Star Wars, but not anyone who doesn't like me or other people who like it. And I don't have a problem with people who hate Star Wars, if everyone liked it, well, that would just be freaky! ^.^

The people you are talking about just sound really intolerant and rude! They probably have a problem with anyone who isn't just like them or something.

 

It's because we are so scary. Geeks in general are scary. There are geeks who defend their geekdom violently. There are geeks who get defensively pissed when their geekdom is misunderstood or mistaken.

When Episode 3 comes out, and people are waiting in line for hours and days, drive by and shout: "Captain Kirk Sucks!" and see the reaction you get. Think about it. Geeks are scary.

Natually, there are severe differences between cities, states, cultures, etc. But I live in a place where if you're a geek, you only have geek friends. Anyone else who suddenly finds out you're a fan, whether fanatic or not, will leave you with no questions asked.

 

They don't hate us, they hate the Star Trek fans. But we get flack because of the name similarity.

 

Its premptive hatred and class warfare. Star Wars makes us all try the force sooner or later. Eventually our genes will adapt and mutate to our will, making us telekinetic, telepathic, telewhateverwewant. Then we will rule the earth. Have faith fellow geeks, our day will come.

 

People do things and make me angry, but I feel incapable of hating anybody or anything so much that I would want to cause them harm.

I feel the same as you, Isbeth. I can't fathom why people invest so much in hatred, when there's a whole lot of other emotions that are far more worthy of our time.

 

I think if someone makes fun of you because you're a Star Wars fan, they're not necessarily doing that because of Star Wars, they're doing that because of YOU. If you fit the part, if you look like a "geek" and you talk and act like a "geek" I think that's when people will give you a hard time. Obviously they shouldn't care and just accept you for who you are, but I think the issue is deeper than just Star Wars. (I'm only referring when someone actually gives you a hard time about it, not when someone is just joking)

 

If people hate you, who cares? their problem, not yours...

 

I don't understand why someone would laugh at you for being a SW/ST/LOTR fan.

I don't make fun of those who are obsessed with sports
Or those obsessed with a particular type of music
Or a group of people obsessed with clothing and what is "in".

I'm in High School and I think every kid has something which they obsess over. It could be sports, movies, music, etc.. And yet everyone identifies a certain group of kids as the "LOTR Freaks" Now I'm friends with many of these "freaks" and I tell people that the majority of this group do not even like LOTR.

Oh well, people always make fun of things they cannot understand.

-Seldon

 

Dear Isbeth,

There are two good news in my answer for you:

1. Why Do People Hate Star Wars Fans?

The good news is that not all the people hate SW fans. Eric Harris did so, but he was a psychopath.

2. The second good news is that SW fans' hating psychopaths like Eric Harris usually die before reaching the age of 19.

STAR WARS FANS, I LOVE YOU !!!

 

Well, HATE is a strong word. I have never come across anybody who hated me for being a Star Wars fan. I have come across many who thought I was sad, a geek, etc.... But I have never found anybody who hates me.

However, I'm sure there are some people who do hate Star Wars fans. there are some people that hate everything outside their own spiteful existence. Some people hate homosexuals, some hate immigrants and ethnic minority's, some hate dogs and cats, some hate kids, some hate adults, and yes, I'm quite sure some people hate Star Wars fans. Why is this the case? I guess it's human nature that you will always find crazy, intolerant people, who can't stand other's getting joy out of things they themselve's don't understand.

That little git who decided to murder people at Columbine may have told us to get a life, but the irony is, of course, HE ended up being so consumed by hatred and bitterness and evil, that not only did he take several people's lives, he also took his own.... So, in the end, HE was the one that gave up his life-And he was telling US to get a life. What a complete idiot.

 

I've never felt hatred from people due to my being a Star Wars fan. Not that I'd care anyway.

There are people that do look down on Star Wars/Sci-Fi fans but that's not really surprising to me. People tend to judge or look down at people for one reason or another. Star Wars is just a convenient reason.

 

Just for the record I disagree that people express hatred to me because I am a "so-called geek". I am not a geek, but I could be a nerd. However, people only get hostile with me when I say I am a SW fan, they don't bother otherwise.

 

Why do they hate us? Because the Force is a Tool of Satan.

 

yea, Isbeth, that quote freaked me out 2. but a lot of people don't like "geeks" and/or have irrational hatred for things not worth hating. as much as i love sw, i don't think it's worth having a burning hate against .. just as i don't actively annihilate trekkies or participate in destroying trekkie websites. get a life!

 

I only had problems in younger years with people liking SW. The people I hang with now are fairly accepting about it, and a lot of them do like it. The ones that aren't, I avoid. They're usually stupid morons anyway if they go out of their way to pick on SW fans, and they're the ones who need lives.

And if they push the issue, I can push back harder. I guarantee it. I can have them punished by the administration for disrupting the educational process, I can have them sued for discrimination, and if necessary, I can (and have) beat them to a bloody freaking pulp. As a general rule for people who know me:

If you want to give me crap, be prepared to get it shoved down your throat. I have ZERO TOLERANCE for any stupidity, physical or verbal.

As for people like the guys in the site you linked to above, they're headed to the same place Eric Harris is. I don't see where these guys get their rationale -- the Bible verses they cited were quoted so far out of context even I couldn't believe it. There is no Biblical, moral, or logical reason for what they're doing. I don't really WANT to understand those people.

 

Uh, you do realize that site was a joke, right?