When I was growing up, I loved Star Wars. I loved anything science fiction, really, but Star Wars was the movie that made the genre my favorite. I never did particularly well academically, so I wasn’t technically a nerd. I wasn’t allowed to do any sort of sports growing up, so I never really cared about them. I was picked on for the things I loved and the fandoms I chose to become a part of. I was bullied by kids who admired professional athletes for loving professional imagination.
Yesterday The Mandalorian dropped on Disney+. It is, according to everything I’ve seen, more important to society than the impeachment hearings. Star Wars is the most talked about subject in my news feed. MY FANDOM has dominated the last 24 hours, right along side Gargoyles. People keep trying to edge in some shit about some flunky quarterback. No one really cares. If you aren’t an armor-clad space bounty hunter or a statue that turns into a magnificent mythological creature when the sun goes down, no one wants to hear about you.
We’ve won. The underdogs have taken over. Those of us who were once beaten down for loving an expression of imagination have overcome a great state of oppression. We no longer have to hide our love for our fandoms. Our bullies that made our lives miserable have become beer-bellied and weak as our fandom has superseded the “wide world of sports”. We have taken the crown, and we will not easily give it up.
But let’s learn from this and make the world a better place. Our fandom is not better. We are not above those who are a part of the sports fandoms. We accept them. We all have things we love, let’s not allow the sports fandoms to become the bullied while we reign. Let’s make this a step toward understanding one another better and maybe it can be our first step toward making the world a better place.
May the Force be with you.
Grey Matter Guano 