Posted by
Hemos
on from the knowing-your-terms dept.
Rolan writes "An article I found today on ABC News Online actually defends hackers and puts into the media the difference. Take a look, it's short, but better than nothing! " It's a good thing to see that the media can actually get things right sometimes. Although I'm sure katz would disagree.
The news media image of geeks - a response
by
JSC
·
· Score: 5
Here's a copy of a letter that I sent to CBS Morning News. Hope you don't mind but I included a link to the HellMouth thread on Slashdot. I don't really expect it to do any good, but I couldn't let it go without at least an attempt.
--BEGIN--
The news seems to be focusing on the fact that the two Littleton, Colorado killers were "geeks". That they were outsiders. That they were different.
As a teenager, I attended both a junior high and a high school that were very clique-ish. If you weren't a jock or socially active (or a wannabe), you were subject to ostracism and abuse. Jocks felt free to heap ridicule on the geeks and the geeks were powerless to stop it. School administrators chose not to see the problem. Coaches actually encouraged the behavior.
Please understand that, in no way, am I condoning the murders in Littleton. Nor do I consider violence an acceptable response unless you are acting in defense of yourself or your loved ones. What I am trying to point out is that the stereotypical image of geeks was, in a way, the seminal cause of this tragedy. That image is promoted by Hollywood and is currently being reinforced by the news media. That image and the baggage that accompanies it can be the cause for a great deal of pain when you are young and trying to grow and find out who you are.
No, I'm not placing blame for the murders on the media. That responsibility lies solely on the two murderers and their parents. I faced similar problems growing up and, I'm proud to say, overcame them and feel that I am stronger for it. What I am saying is that being labeled a geek or a nerd gives society free reign to shower you with ridicule and abuse. And now, with the Littleton tragedy so fresh in everyone's minds and with the Media reinforcing the image of geeks as "different" or "outsiders" and therefore not to be trusted, the abuse and ostracism can only increase.
I am a geek. I have grown up with that stereotype and the abuse, both physical and emotional, which accompany it. But I am also a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a boss, an employee, thirty-something, brown haired, average build, ticklish, a romantic and many other labels. No single one of these labels defines who I am. Even looking at me through the combined filter of all of these labels won't show you who I am because you are still filtering me through your labels. You're not seeing me as I actually am.
Calling someone a 'Geek' or a 'Nerd' is prejudice. It differs from racial or sexual prejudice only in kind. Anytime you choose to place a label on a person to the exclusion of everything else that person is, it's prejudice. And that is something that we've had far too much of in this country.
With that in mind, I'm asking you to put aside your prejudices. Look at people and try to see who they really are. Don't filter your perception through the labels that society puts on them. As members of the Media, I challenge you to brush off your reputations as unbiased observers and reporters. Look at all sides of this issue...and all the others...and report facts. Report the truth. Ungarnished, unbiased and unfiltered.
Take a look at and report on the Web Site that I've included a link to and report on the other side of the story. Look at your handiwork and see if it's good. Help educate and inform the public. People don't need any help holding on to our personal prejudices and biases. What we need from the Media and from the entertainment industry, is help opening our minds to the wonders and truths that surround us in everyday life. We need help seeing that every person is special and that we should like or dislike them based on their individual merits, not on the labels that they wear, regardless of whether that label reads black, white, rich, poor, Catholic, Protestant, jock or even geek.
Slashdot Mirror
Here's a copy of a letter that I sent to CBS Morning News. Hope you don't mind but I included a link to the HellMouth thread on Slashdot. I don't really expect it to do any good, but I couldn't let it go without at least an attempt.
8 249&mode=nocomment&threshold=0
--BEGIN--
The news seems to be focusing on the fact that the two Littleton, Colorado killers were "geeks". That they were outsiders. That they were different.
As a teenager, I attended both a junior high and a high school that were very clique-ish. If you weren't a jock or socially active (or a wannabe), you were subject to ostracism and abuse. Jocks felt free to heap ridicule on the geeks and the geeks were powerless to stop it. School administrators chose not to see the problem. Coaches actually encouraged the behavior.
Please understand that, in no way, am I condoning the murders in Littleton. Nor do I consider violence an acceptable response unless you are acting in defense of yourself or your loved ones. What I am trying to point out is that the stereotypical image of geeks was, in a way, the seminal cause of this tragedy. That image is promoted by Hollywood and is currently being reinforced by the news media. That image and the baggage that accompanies it can be the cause for a great deal of pain when you are young and trying to grow and find out who you are.
No, I'm not placing blame for the murders on the media. That responsibility lies solely on the two murderers and their parents. I faced similar problems growing up and, I'm proud to say, overcame them and feel that I am stronger for it. What I am saying is that being labeled a geek or a nerd gives society free reign to shower you with ridicule and abuse. And now, with the Littleton tragedy so fresh in everyone's minds and with the Media reinforcing the image of geeks as "different" or "outsiders" and therefore not to be trusted, the abuse and ostracism can only increase.
I am a geek. I have grown up with that stereotype and the abuse, both physical and emotional, which accompany it. But I am also a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a boss, an employee, thirty-something, brown haired, average build, ticklish, a romantic and many other labels. No single one of these labels defines who I am. Even looking at me through the combined filter of all of these labels won't show you who I am because you are still filtering me through your labels. You're not seeing me as I actually am.
Calling someone a 'Geek' or a 'Nerd' is prejudice. It differs from racial or sexual prejudice only in kind. Anytime you choose to place a label on a person to the exclusion of everything else that person is, it's prejudice. And that is something that we've had far too much of in this country.
With that in mind, I'm asking you to put aside your prejudices. Look at people and try to see who they really are. Don't filter your perception through the labels that society puts on them. As members of the Media, I challenge you to brush off your reputations as unbiased observers and reporters. Look at all sides of this issue...and all the others...and report facts. Report the truth. Ungarnished, unbiased and unfiltered.
Take a look at and report on the Web Site that I've included a link to and report on the other side of the story. Look at your handiwork and see if it's good. Help educate and inform the public. People don't need any help holding on to our personal prejudices and biases. What we need from the Media and from the entertainment industry, is help opening our minds to the wonders and truths that surround us in everyday life. We need help seeing that every person is special and that we should like or dislike them based on their individual merits, not on the labels that they wear, regardless of whether that label reads black, white, rich, poor, Catholic, Protestant, jock or even geek.
Sincerely,
John S. Coxen
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=99/04/25/143
--END--
Time's fun when you're having flies. - Kermit the Frog