So it was the last day of fall semester. I was walking back down from the radio station, having just turned in my final project for the semester (I swear there’s a point here). As I’m walking down, a school bus drives by. This is a perfectly normal occurrence, seeing as our campus is essentially the entire town. As the bus goes by, a little middle school aged girl sticks her head out of the bus window and screams, “NERD!” I looked around. I was the only person around. I looked after the bus and said, “Thanks?” before laughing and continuing the walk back down. But this got me to thinking.
Why is “nerd” considered a bad thing? To quote the great John Green, “Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it.” Why is it bad to love stuff so much? Hell, this entire website is dedicated to loving stuff uncontrollably. So why is it bad?
I’m sure a lot of the people who call others “nerds” get excited about stuff, too. Who’s to say there isn’t a football nerd? Or a Nascar nerd? I know some! They exist! they can tell you exactly what kind of motor is in what kind of car just by listening. If that isn’t nerdy, I don’t know what is. So why is there a stigma against it? Is it because we gather in large groups and dress up? Hm. I’ve seen sports fans do the exact same thing. Is it because we’re intellectuals about certain things? I’m pretty sure that makes my mother a business nerd then. So what is it then?
Dear readers, please. Help shed some light on this for me. Because I honestly don’t know why it’s bad.
—Ley
The Nerdicon 