Violence Both Real And Imagined Surrounds "The Dark Knight Rises" (Plus Commentary)

Okay, here’s part one:

Violence Both Real And Imagined Surrounds "The Dark Knight Rises" - Orlando Comic Book Examiner

And that leads right into part two: nerd community, you’ve really started to disappoint me and piss me off here lately.

This is probably a somewhat overstated, but by far the most blunt example why. I can remember when being a “nerd” was akin to being an outcast. The reason this community started building a following was due to outcasts discovering each other through the internet and bonding over the likes that separated us from the rest of them.

The problem is now that, we’ve won. The kids that picked on us in high school now get what we were trying to say. Our mark is all over the culture. The comics we were made fun of for liking in middle and high school are now the subjects of billion-dollar franchise films and top-rated television shows.

That’s apparently given some of you some sense of entitlement to be able to dictate taste. Some of the outcasts have become the hipsters. That? By itself? Is bad enough. But the ones that paint themselves as some bastion of moral upstanding and tolerance and then went on to perpetrate a stunt like this?

To adapt and paraphrase Jesse Custer in Preacher, “Why is it that the biggest champions of the nerd cause are often the worst example of it?”

Yeah, I get it. “Batman” is the be-all and end-all. The last two movies took a character that looked outright stupid (no, Joel Schumacher, we haven’t forgotten) to an icon now and forever more. But people are allowed to have a differing opinion. it’s one of the things that makes us human. Probably one of the values some of these clowns held high around their buddies, but then go and betray with an anonymous screen name and license to be dick. Typical two-faced cowards. The bane of the existence of this community. And yes, I am aware there are unintentional puns all over that last paragraph.

But the point is, if you’re a “paragon of virtue”, then be what you claim you are. Being faithful to a character is fine, but losing your mind and behaving in a manner that said character would kick your ass for is idiocy. And it’s a problem we’re seeing too much of lately. Whether it’s something like this or people getting up in arms over a drawing, people are so eager to complain, whine, and puff out their chest for a ridiculous reason or cause, and it’s making the rest of us look bad.

There are certainly people that represent us well, and they’re all over the place. This is, in no way, an indictment of the whole community. But those of you that are losing your minds and letting the new vogue of geek culture influence you into thinking you’re now the tastemakers and that you can behave like jackasses? Knock it off. For all of our sakes, stop misrepresenting us and learn some modicum of human behavior.

And the ones that threatened Marshall Fine and Eric Snider online hiding behind a keyboard? I hope authorities can trace an IP address and lock your dumb asses up. That’d be a good start.


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The above was written at roughly 5:00am. After waking up four hours later and seeing the news of the shooting, I feel that this is almost silly.

Almost? Yes, almost. Because what was said above still needed to be said. Matter of fact, I feel like it really needs to be said now. All the bodily harm those idiot anonymous commenters were throwing at Marshall Fine and Eric Snider? Yeah. This shooting is what those morons were “joking” about. This violence and senseless tragedy we're watching unfold now? This is what they wished on someone else.

I figured the Rotten Tomatoes bit would give the community a black eye, but this is so much worse. Take the two together and this is what people think. Strung-up nerds who can’t handle when a grown-up talks bad about their favorite comic book. Thanks a lot, you guys.

I feel really bad about what this could potentially do to the community. But I feel much worse about those no longer with us or badly hurt because of it.