Tea & Automatons

Diana Vick's corner of the interweb

Glass Houses

Tolerance.  Respect.  These are things I’d like to see from the people I interact with.  When I see knee jerk reactions, ridicule, judgment and prejudice, I feel ashamed for the perpetrators.   The world may not “get” us, but I guess I just expect more from people living in the neighboring glass houses.  I feel most ashamed for those in subcultures putting down their fellow subculturists.   We live on the fringes and do things that aren’t considered normal.  I certainly don’t expect you all to share the same interests, but can you really not see that they are the same as you?  I think that people who strip half naked, paint themselves green and sit on hard benches in the freezing cold all day to root for their favorite team, are quite crazy, but since they are doing something socially acceptable, and there are so many of them, we shrug and shake our heads.  We don’t have the luxury of majority.  We need each other.

Recently I came across a book called “Your Scene Sucks”.  The author is a decent artist and a not bad humorist.  His desire to make a buck off of deriding others is unfortunate, but the one thing that actually surprised me is that he took the time to get it right.  His portrayal of each “scene” is accurate, not just a snarky half assed caricature.  Maybe if we take the time to look at our fellow freaks, we might not be so fast to generalize.  I know a lot of Goths and they don’t worship Satan, in fact all most all of them are pacificists.  I know a lot of furries that aren’t perverts.  I even know gamers who bathe regularly.  Do you want to be represented by the most outré of your group?  That’s not who you believe you are, so why do you feel the need to make those assumptions of others?

The comic book nerd who sneers at the goth, the steampunk who laughs at the furry, and the sci-fi geek who belittles the cosplayer, all feel slightly superior for a moment, but they aren’t doing themselves any favors.  None of them appears any less ridiculous to the world at large.  For every fellow fan that you fail to empathize with, there are many people outside your subculture judging you and finding you wanting.  If we can’t treat each other with respect and dignity, then why would we expect anyone else to.   Think before you hurl that epithet.  Don’t you live in a glass house too?

About The Author

Diana Vick

I am an illustrator, writer, costumer and steampunk enthusiast.
I have done illustration for comic books, animation and collectible card games such as Magic the Gathering and Legend of the Five Rings. Currently, I do art for my own line of cards and gifts in my Zazzle shop.