In the past, I have written how great it is to interact with
people in hobbies. This includes
strangers met at shows or conventions, or in hobby shops. This also includes meeting people at events
where you do your hobbies. I didn't lie
to you. There are many great people in
the aforementioned places. I just wasn't
entirely honest either. Amongst the
great and cool, there are a bunch of complete...hmmm, what is the right word....douche
bags.
Sorry if I offend, but someone has to candidly set the
record straight. Additionally, there are
quite a few other words I contemplated using, but chose not to. I guess I should stick with my original title
and call them killjoys.
My most recent encounter with a killjoy comes from my latest
obsession-darts. This person criticized
my behaviour. While they had some valid
points, they overlooked several things.
First, I am new, and don't know all the etiquette of the darting
world. Two, rather than instruct, they
chose to criticize. Third, they chose to
take their darting seriously despite being a spare player and holding me to a
level of etiquette they did not afford me when I was throwing. I followed their example. I guess what was good enough for me, was not
good enough for them.
I am not the most confrontational of people, but I am no
doormat either. I can give as good (or
better) than I get. I have lots of
weapons in my arsenal, and very little restraint. Regardless of that, basically this person
ruined a good night at the oche. I left
feeling rather upset. In conversation
with other darters, they all said the same thing. There's always one, or rather, two. One on your team, and one on the other
team. I guess.
Basically there are some great people out there who will
share their love of hobbies with you, but just like real life, there are going
to be jerks out there who ruin things for you.
While this particular jerk ruined my night, they won't ruin my season. I will continue, and if necessary stand my
ground against people like that.
Maybe in future blogs I will talk more about the
archetypical jerks you can find in hobbies.
Feel free to add your own stories.
Indeed, i know exactly what your talking about. In model railroading theres "rivet counters" although in of itself not a bad thing, if thats what they find fun, but there are some that redicule those of us that dont count rivets.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind someone who is really into a hobby. However, I don't want to be remonstrated for my lack of knowledge either. Someday, I might get to that level of commitment, but it won't be because someone yelled at me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments.