Growing up, nerd culture wasn't cool. Hollywood wasn't producing comic book movies, wearing glasses wasn't stylish, and not caring too much was cool. It's only recently these things have changed. Seeing Nerdom being embraced by Hollywood and the masses originally gave me great hope and joy. Finally, people saw what I saw in my favorite franchises! Gone are the days of hiding the action figure collection, or pretending to not know what a 20 sided die was for. Instead of embracing the new fans, however, nerds have largely tried to shun and shame those who are new to the party. I feel we're squandering this opportunity to freely express who we are.

I grew up in the typical nerd fashion. I was blind as a bat and had to wear glasses from the time I was four. My favorite things growing up were comic books, sci-fi, and fantasy. In 6th grade I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in a month. I asked for a microscope for my 10th birthday. Today nobody would bat an eye to this, and I wouldn't be considered weird. Back then is a different story. I remember trying to read Dune (A great sci-fi book everyone should read)at recess when a guy named Ian grabbed my book and started ripping pages out of it. I tried to fight him and ended up getting my glasses broken. Most nerds have had a similar experience. It's what the norm was for the time, and the reason nerds held so tightly onto what they loved. For many people like myself, places such as Middle-Earth, Hogwarts, and Arrakis were where we took refuge from the outside world. The reason I mention all of this is to explain why nerds tend to be so defensive.

After I graduated, nerd culture really began to pick up. Marvel was creating a multiverse, new comic book stores were sprouting up everywhere, and people were starting to love characters like the Doctor, Iron-Man, and Thor. It was just all too exciting! I could buy a Green Lantern t-shirt at Target. I was able to wait in line with friends for the Hobbit midnight premiere dressed as hobbits ourselves. What was great is we weren't the only ones, practically everyone was wearing some sort of Tolkien clothing on. I was optimistic about the future, thinking how nerds won't be mistreated anymore, how we'd finally be accepted. I never imagined nerds would end up being the ones shaming people for what they enjoyed.

What I see happening today more than ever is the "Nerdier than Though" attitude. For example, recently Pokemon GO became all the rage. It quickly became the number one app in the app store. I loved it, because I had always dreamed of going on a Pokemon adventure as a kid. Never in my life would I have expected to be out at 2am hunting a Snorlax with 30 other strangers, but it happened and it was great (although we never caught that fat son of a bitch). One night though while out adventuring, I met some fellow trainers. They were going on about how mad they were that everyone was playing it, how none of them were "real" fans. This was echoed online, where I saw people trashing those who didn't grow up playing Pokemon. Instead of being excited to find more people with similar interests, you saw people giving Pokemon litmus tests, shaming people for not having extensive knowledge of the universe. You'll see the same thing happen to girls wearing a Captain America shirt, where guys will call her a fake-nerd because she hasn't read the comics for the last 12 years. The nerds are no longer outcasts and have unfortunately started doing what was done to us: bullying. If it continues, nerd culture will end up falling back into the background, leaving future nerds to be outcasts again.

There is hope still. Simon Pegg described it best when he said, "Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play cool about how much you like something. It's basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is absolutely liberating". It's true, having unabashed love for something and being able to express it is a fantastic feeling. We should try to grow other people's passion for things like this, even if they are new to it. The best way I've seen this done is at Metropolis Comix in Sacramento, CA (seriously if you're ever there just go in and ask for Chris). It wasn't uncommon for a person new to comics to come into the store. It can be overwhelming and strange for someone who has never been in one before. One day a new customer was in there with a Deadpool T-shirt on. Chris ,the owner, complimented his shirt and came over to talk with him. He asked what his favorite Deadpool story arc was. The new guy said he had only seen the movie and hadn't read any of the comics. Instead of laughing at the guy or calling him a fake or phony, Chris got excited and said, "We need to have a come to Jesus talk", and started walking the new guy all around the store telling him about the different story arcs and putting his personal favorite issues in the new guy's hands. The guy ended up leaving with 4 or 5 Deadpool trade paperbacks. Chris embraced a new fan the way everyone should. He shared his excitement for the character and was doing his best to pass it on to someone who wanted more out of Deadpool than just a movie.

It's a great time to be a nerd right now, and we should cherish it. No it won't last forever, nothing does in pop culture, but maybe we can make some new fans and friends along the way.