Raise your hand if you are a nerd or geek!
You can draw your own distinctions, but both Christian nerds and Christian geeks find ChurchMag a great place to be. We’ve covered the differences between the two several times:
- The Difference Between Geeks and Nerds, Based on Research?
- Are You A Geek Or Nerd? [Infographic]
- What’s The Difference Between Nerds & Geeks?
- #EPIC Rap Battle: Nerd vs. Geek [Video]
Despite these differences, I think we all share the common thread of being teased or given a hard time growing up. At last year’s Denver Comic Con, a little girl asked Wil Wheaton about how to deal with being called a nerd.
I am sure you’ll enjoy his response as much as I did.
Wil Wheatons Response
[tentblogger-youtube 04WJEEb33CY]
[YouTube]
^THIS^
[Image via Hooray I’m Helping via Compfight cc]
Andrew Fallows says
His response is excellent. There’s only one thing that stuck out as iffy, and I have a feeling that Wil would agree with what I’m about to say, so my concern is with his in-the-moment choice of words, which I don’t fault him for, rather than what I think he believes.
There’s a danger in suggesting that the kind thing to do is to pity them is that it still paints a picture of an “us vs. them” situation, with the change that now the person being bullied is now in a better place than the bully and runs the risk of looking down on the bully and feeling superior.
As Christians, we know that superiority between humans is a myth. There is none righteous, right? If we’re all sinners, all in desperate need of grace, then the particular things that I’m doing better than another person don’t make me, ultimately, a better person than them.
So while I think Wil is very, very right to recognize that the correct response to a bully is empathy, rather than anger or pain, but I’m worried about the idea of pity.
Maybe I’m just hanging too much on the connotations of the word, though. What do you think?
Eric Dye says
I wouldn’t say you’re hanging too much on the connotations, as I wouldn’t expect a Biblical worldview approach from someone like Wil. I think you’re analysis is correct. What capture my attention the most with Wil’s response, is the encouragement he gave to the little girl to continue on being who she is as a person — aka: who God created her to be. 🙂