Subject:
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Re: what is ALE?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Fri, 3 Jun 2005 14:18:33 GMT
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In lugnet.general, Joe Strout wrote:
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Dave Schuler wrote:
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To be honest, I’ve never heard anyone describe himself as an enthusiast of
any hobby. Even if he did, he wouldn’t say “I’m an adult train enthusiast,”
because that sounds like he’s only into burlesque trains (which he may be,
but that’s beside the point...)
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Heh, true in that case, but that’s because trains have become widely accepted
as an adult hobby. LEGO has not.
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That’s a good point. If I were to hear a child described as “into trains,” I
would just assume that it meant Thomas, or maybe that he liked to watch his
parents’ train sets. More than being “accepted” as an adult hobby, I’d guess
that it’s a primarily adult hobby.
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if the context is such that it’s clear I’m a member of some sort of
group of LEGO hobbyists, they’ll be thinking: “This guy hangs out with kids
that are into LEGO? What is he, some sort of pedophile?” These images all
come from the commonly-held assumption that LEGO is a kids’ toy, and a group
of LEGO enthusiasts is therefore a group of kids -- apart from the speaker,
who must therefore be some sort of freak.
That’s why “adult” needs to be in the group term -- it makes it clear that
the group you’re a part of is not a bunch of kids, but fully grown men and
women like yourself (er, the speaker that is).
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Not a bad argument. I have to admit that I’ve felt the discomfort of suspicious
stares while browsing the shelves in a particular store (in which any guy who
wasn’t clearly tethered to a responsible-seeming woman was, I felt, assumed to
be some kind of deviant). I guess that this same discomfort may arise in other
settings. too.
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Hmm, very interesting -- my experience with the language is quite different.
People describe themselves as enthusiasts of this or that all the time.
Perhaps it’s a regional thing? (FWIW, I grew up in the midwest and also
lived for a number of years in San Diego.)
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I’ve lived in eastern, central, and western Pennsylvania for just about all of
my life, and I’ve never really come across “enthusiast” except to describe a
“gun enthusiast” or a “wine enthusiast,” and each term is laden with the
sterotypical political baggage that one can probably infer. Maybe that’s why
“enthusiast” as a self-descriptor leaves me cold?
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Jeez, is it as serious as all that? I couldn’t care less if society accepts
or understand my involvement in the hobby.
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Well, suit yourself then, but I do care. Perfectly normal, grown men can
play with little toy trains all day long and nobody thinks them eccentric,
but tell somebody you collect and build with LEGO, and they look at you like
you’re trying to recapture your youth or some such nonsense. This annoys me.
No, it’s not important in the grand scheme of things, but I’ll do my bit to
change it as I can.
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This part of your post (and Gerhard’s reply) opened my eyes a bit. Honestly, I
don’t care what the outside world thinks of my hobby, but it’s wrong of me to
think that other LEGO hobbyists/enthusiasts don’t or shouldn’t care. I’m
content to share my involvement in the hobby online (and in this forum in
particular), but for those with a greater desire for outreach, a wider stage may
be desirable.
Maybe part of my attitude stems from my fondness for clone brands, which sort of
isolates me even here on LUGNET. Not that I’m complaining--the
.off-topic.clone-brands group is fine with me, but I think it’s helped me to
develop an attitude of “if anyone else does or doesn’t like it, that’s fine.”
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We’ll knock those “World’s Greatest Hobby” train guys
off their pedestal yet!
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And let’s start with John “I love 8-wide” Neal. He’s nothing but trouble.
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And, judging from the huge
response that LEGO train shows seem to garner, society welcomes “us” as well
as it welcomes any subculture of hobbyists. Even the aforementioned SCA,
haven for ubergeeks of all stripes, attracts a huge crowd whenever it puts
on a public demonstration.
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So do bearded ladies and snake charmers -- people love a spectacle. It
hardly indicates acceptance (of the sort I’m after, anyway).
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Hee-hee! That wasn’t quite how I intended it. I meant that the “spectacle” of
a LEGO train show seems (IMO) sufficiently cool--even for the uninitiated--to
engage their interest without inviting derision. Sure, you’ll get detractors,
but there are jerks in every group (like that 8-wide-loving so-and-so... (just
kidding)), but that’s how it goes.
For comparison, I’ve built a bunch of shirts and/or coats of chain mail. When
they’re displayed, someone will invariably say “you need to get a life,” rather
than “you connected 70,000 links by hand? That’s cool.” Oh, well. I can let
it bother me, or I can dismiss the detractor as a knucklehead(1).
Dave!
(1) That same knucklehead will, approximately 87.46% of the time, observe that
“this won’t stop a bullet.” Thanks for the ballistics lesson, you knob. And I
note that your ceramic/composite flak jacket won’t stop a weapon from 800 years
in the future, either.
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Message has 2 Replies:
Message is in Reply To:
 | | Re: what is ALE?
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| (...) OK, that was a low blow, I apologize! (...) Heh, true in that case, but that's because trains have become widely accepted as an adult hobby. LEGO has not. (...) Yes, and they'll be thinking: "This guy plays with LEGOs? Does he still live with (...) (19 years ago, 3-Jun-05, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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