I posted the following to my Facebook page at the conclusion of my first day at Nashville's Comicon.
Here’s something I love about fan cons: everyone smiles at you. I’m not just talking about vendors who are trying to sell you stuff, either. I mean EVERYONE. People seem genuinely happy that you’re sharing this space, this culture, this moment with them. (For example, there was a panel dedicated entirely to cosplay positivity and how to encourage your peers.)
It may seem like a distant memory now, but the celebration of modern geek culture is relatively new. Back in the ages of yore, when I was a wee whippersnapper, “being a geek” was equated with being neither “popular” nor “cool.” If you were a guy who was into Dungeons & Dragons instead of, say, sports (or anything else requiring lots of violence and grunting), you were often verbally harassed...or worse.
But the times, baby, they have been a-changin’! Thanks largely to social media and the open and free exchange of ideas, acceptance of our inner geek flags has been widely embraced—even celebrated.
Most of us are introverts. We suffer from imposter syndrome and low self-esteem. We've been bullied. We've been told we were somehow less than others because we dared to love a fictional universe and the characters within.
But now, most of us have grown into empathetic adults who celebrate and encourage one another, because we have that shared experience in common.
It is a culture that transcends race and gender and religion and sexual identify. You're a geek? Cool! I dig your tshirt!
So we smile at each other. Most of us have never met, and will likely never cross paths again, but in this shared moment, we are family.
#nashvillecomicon
