Is Bill Maher right about this?

[Jephael]

I was just watching Bill Maher go on this 8 minute rant about how he blames geek culture and the internet for society's downfall and while I don't care for the way he blasts super hero movies and comic book fans, he did make some valid points about how maybe we all need to take a step back from all the make-believe stuff a little and devote time to create some semblance of an actual life.

[Leo656]

Yes.
/10char

[CyberCubed]

I don't have time to watch a youtube video but I assume it's an old man yelling at clouds? Comics, cartoons, sci-fi existed in the 30's-80's before the internet became mainstream.

Reminds you when people used to make fun of Trekkies or Star Wars fans back in the day but they largely got replaced with people making fun of anime nerds or videogame players and youtubers in the modern day. Basically whatever people like.

People liking Batman, Superman, Spiderman now is no different than the people from the 30's-70's who grew up when those comics were coming out for the first time.

[Leo656]

You literally have nothing BUT time. You constantly brag about it in fact, Mr. "I do about 30 minutes of work every day and get paid six figures for it." I think you can pause your 45th FW TMNT marathon for five minutes* to watch a video.

EDIT: Okay, eight minutes. Point still stands.

[Jester]

He also talks about how he watches things at 1.5x speed....which makes the 8 minute video 5 minutes (like you said)

I agree that we need to get away from all the social media and virtual reality get back into actual reality. Some times the anonymity of the internet is a blessing, but also a curse, because it only inflames the blind hatred of the face-less OTHER on the end of the computer screen. Does Nerd Culture fuel it? That I may disagree with Maher on. Cubed's right that Batman and Superman have existed since the 30's. Sounds a lot like the Subduction of the Innocent hysteria to blame them for this. I think part of it is America's over indulgence culture. From drinking to drugs to the internet we just seem to over-do EVERYTHING.

[Leo656]

I like the way ya think. I too always try to finagle it so that I'm technically right on principle if not points.

My thing isn't that it's "bad" to like Nerd Sh*t. I'm surrounded by it myself, and at times have been probably a bit obsessive. My problems have to do with how now, ALL pop culture is "nerd culture" and therefore nothing else is allowed to breathe or succeed, which is bad for everyone. And also, now all the kids who got picked on in school have "won", they control the culture and the cultural narrative, and guess what? Turns out that most of them are terrible people, too, just from a different direction. So it sucks a lot of the enjoyment out of things.

Bottom line, like what you like, and don't be ashamed of it, but MOST of these people still need to make it a point to go outside and meet the f*cking sun once in a while. Even on this forum we have way too many people comfortable with or bragging about the fact that they're anti-social shut-ins who just play on their computer and watch TV all day.

This stuff is supposed to enhance the joy of life, not BE your life.

[Autbot_Benz]

Originally Posted by Jester

He also talks about how he watches things at 1.5x speed....which makes the 8 minute video 5 minutes (like you said)

Does Nerd Culture fuel it? That I may disagree with Maher on. Cubed's right that Batman and Superman have existed since the 30's. Sounds a lot like the Subduction of the Innocent hysteria to blame them for this. .

Its not the First time Maher attacked Comic Books/CBM's and their fans he did a rant last year or the year before that really annoyed a lot of people. That's when I stopped watching his stuff

[Leo656]

He wasn't even wrong about that, though. I guess I could technically be called a "nerd" but MOST nerds are f*cking insufferable.

It's obvious the guy never grew up with this stuff so of course he isn't going to "get it". But I empathize because from the outside looking in a lot of these people look like f*cking lunatics, caring so much about cartoon characters that they sleep outside movie theaters or send people death threats or spend $500 on a f*cking DOLL. THAT'S what he's reacting to, more so than "They're grown-ups and watch cartoons, can you believe it?"

Like YES, "None of that hurts anybody, people can like what they want", and I agree. BUT, to someone like Maher, he'd say "These people can't even pay their medical bills or earn enough to move into a better place to live, and they're buying DOLLS and f*cking comic books?" To an "outsider", these "harmless" entertainment choices very quickly start to look like Manchild Syndome, and just plain having the worst priorities in the world. And y'know... again, that is not incorrect, as bitter a pill as that may be to swallow.

Like he's blunt, but he's got a point. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of his. But he's occasionally insightful. The sun even shines on a dog's ass, some days.

[IndigoErth]

Is he right... I suppose both yes and no. A lot of things would contribute to a so-called downfall of a society. People who choose to step away from reality a bit too much in some way or another would only be one small portion. A lot of this really rancid attitude in general these days, both in and out of politics, and spread like a virus via the internet and social media itself certainly has a big hand. But that doesn't make social media and the internet to blame... People didn't have to turn them into that.

Where "geek culture," etc is concerned... If interests that fit into that category are an enjoyable addition to your life, but you aren't making it your life, then no, I don't agree. If it's something that makes you happy, but you aren't letting it be a detriment to your life, then what's the harm. Living a life focused 100% on reality 100% of the time and just the "important" things would be boring and depressing. Humans have always been storytellers. There's nothing wrong with some form of that as a bit of downtime now and then, be it as a book, a comic, a movie, a game, etc.

If a segment of society is making it their life too much and are prioritizing it over other important things, possibly spending beyond their means or in ways they really can't justify...then sure, that's obviously an issue, but that is also a problem for far more than just geek culture and those specific people since people can, and do, do that with nearly anything they could be into. The "geek" side of fandom is no more or less healthy than those who take sports fandom, or any other kind, to the same level.


I have my TMNT-related routine most days, seeing what's going on with them if anything, seeing what's going on here, etc. Is it my whole day? Of course not. Some days there's nothing happening... I may check back here off and on, see what people are up to, but if nothing is going on, I go find other entertainment or focus on things I need to give attention to.

Do a friend and I game a little? Sure, on Friday or Saturday evenings. Sometimes that might be for a number of hours. Occasionally I go to bed rather late. But it's just that one or two evenings. We did play a lot more a decade ago, but now it's down to a sane, casual level just to have some fun with a friend on the opposite side of the country.

[Leo656]

I think what's hypocritical about Maher's opinion is that if the same people spending all their time and money on comic books and toys were instead spending that same amount on cocaine and strip clubs, that would be considered "fine" because that is considered "normal and acceptable adult behavior." So on that, I do call bullsh*t.

Like when I was about 16 or 17, my cousin was teasing me about spending some money on Star Wars toys, like maybe $50 or so. "What a waste of money!" She and her husband had just gone to see the Rolling Stones a few weeks before; I asked her how much she spent on tickets and I think it was like $700 or something, this is 1999 or so. I'm like "Wow, what a waste of money" with a little smirk, and she's like "Hah, hah... that's different, though." And I'm like "HOW is that different? You think I'm a nut but from where I'm standing you look like the crazy one."

Or another time, I got tickets for me, my Dad, my wife and a few friends to go to Monday Night Raw at the Meadowlands, since they almost never come to NJ for TV anymore, AND it was the night after WrestleMania. A couple guys at work were razzing me about it, like "How much did you spend on that?" and I'm like "I'unno, couple hundred," and they're like "Pssssssh, what the f*ck?" One of them meanwhile spent a small fortune on tickets for whichever football team he was into whenever they came around; I'm like "Didn't you spend like a couple GRAND on football tickets last year?" And he's like "Yeah, but that's not for dumb little kid bullsh*t, that's for actual grown-up stuff. I guess you wouldn't understand." And I'm like "You're right, I don't. You think I'm an idiot for spending a couple hundred bucks on wrestling tickets, and I think you're an idiot for spending thousands to watch a bunch of grown men play grab-ass over a ball you can't even see. So let's both be idiots, huh?"

So yeah, the fact that people are judgmental about peoples' hobbies just because they're not "the RIGHT hobbies" is what I think is hypocritical bullsh*t. People get way too obsessive about ANYthing, but I think it's stupid as hell to be like "You're an idiot for spending money on toys and comics, you're supposed to spend your money on pussy and beer, LIKE A GROWN UP." Mind ya f*cking business.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Leo656

You literally have nothing BUT time. You constantly brag about it in fact, Mr. "I do about 30 minutes of work every day and get paid six figures for it." I think you can pause your 45th FW TMNT marathon for five minutes* to watch a video.

EDIT: Okay, eight minutes. Point still stands.

He doesn't have the time to interrupt his cartoons and video games to watch a YouTube video. Clearly that's the closest thing he does to working.

I'd really like to know what the hell kind of job is that where you only do like 30 minutes of work everyday and get paid decently for it. I have no problem with that if Cubed truly found such por of gold, but I wish he didn't ****ing rub it in our faces.

[Leo656]

I mean, is there a point to winning at life if you DON'T rub it in peoples' faces?

When money is involved, there's no such thing as a gracious winner.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I mean, is there a point to winning at life if you DON'T rub it in peoples' faces?

When money is involved, there's no such thing as a gracious winner.

I'm not sure CyberCubed is qualified or skilled enough to be making that much dough. What does he write on his CV? "Ninja Turtles connoisseur"?

[Leo656]

I don't think anyone who's that much of a Fred Wolf apologist could get away with claiming to be a "connoisseur" of anything at all.

I can't speak for the guy but based on clues I'd be willing to bet it's some type of specialized data entry job, probably one requiring some sort of security clearance. Maybe government work.

I had a friend who worked for the Dept. of Transportation making six figures, but he quit because they did like one hour of work every day (literally like "We need to go move some traffic cones" and stuff like that) and he just couldn't handle all the "sit around and do nothing", not even at the money he was making. He went back to being a tractor-trailer driver for a lot less money because he just "needed" to be out there busting ass. Go figure.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Leo656

I don't think anyone who's that much of a Fred Wolf apologist could get away with claiming to be a "connoisseur" of anything at all.

I can't speak for the guy but based on clues I'd be willing to bet it's some type of specialized data entry job, probably one requiring some sort of security clearance. Maybe government work.

I had a friend who worked for the Dept. of Transportation making six figures, but he quit because they did like one hour of work every day (literally like "We need to go move some traffic cones" and stuff like that) and he just couldn't handle all the "sit around and do nothing", not even at the money he was making. He went back to being a tractor-trailer driver for a lot less money because he just "needed" to be out there busting ass. Go figure.

That's crazy. I'd be fine with a job where I sit on my ass for an hour doing nothing and still make a ton of cash.

[Leo656]

Me too but this guy was a non-stop hustler. I never saw him get tired once. He always got sent on the biggest, hardest jobs because the boss (his stepdad, oddly enough) knew he could handle it and would never crack no matter how bad it got. Never blew up on a customer, never had a fight on-site with another worker, just did what needed to be done and that was it. 16-hour day in 100-degree heat, no problem, he'd laugh it off. Kinda don't think he's human.

Then he got the government job and was there for like six months, not even. He was on a waiting list for like a year to get that job, and then he quit. "I couldn't take it, sitting around for nine hours and doing an hour of work. Guys were all fat and lazy and bragging about being fat and lazy, I couldn't handle it. I felt like I was stealing money, because I wasn't earning it. I was literally doing nothing and getting paid a ton. It felt dirty."

Respect to him for his hustle and his work ethic. But you're right, I couldn't do it either. But in his case some people do strongly still believe in being rewarded on par with the work you put in (or don't). They're all but extinct now, but they're out there.

But yeah I've only ever done twice as much work for half as much pay as I'd say I deserve, so if anyone wanted to pay me to do nothing I'd gladly take it. But that's me.

[Prowler]

Hmm my brother knows a guy who needs to be constantly busy. Not only at work but also in his spare time. Otherwise he gets seriously depressed. I think my brother told me this guy suffers from some sort of bipolar disorder too, but I wonder if that's really related. Sounds like he could be hyperactive as well.