Figured You Out (479 hits)
Category: GeneralRating: 0.46 on 16 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by NintendoCzar (View user info) at 2008-01-04 03:37:45 EST
What are we? More specifically, who are you? This question has haunted me my whole life. I've never been able to quite figure out what I am, or who I am, but it seems everyone has me pegged as something different, even when they are similar; they are the slightest bit different. For example, we can all agree I am nerdy, correct? But, what else, beyond that surface, am I to you? To some, I am simply another friend filler- simply there to...well, BE there I suppose. To others I am a close friend that gets away from a good path from time to time. You understand where I am going. Now, I don't mind being "stereotyped" one way or another, that's what we as humans have to do: Categorize something so we know exactly what to expect from it and how to deal with it. It's just our nature to have likes and dislikes, and putting labels on things helps with this. Sure, some will argue that they don't "label" people, but we all do it. It's not a bad thing, because at its most basic understanding a "label" can be "boy" or "girl".
The problem I run into is when people argue with me because I don't embrace the label they have given me. I have been told "you aren't a real nerd, you only like Nintendo", "you aren't hispanic, you don't speak a lick of spanish", "you aren't a real man, you don't drink beer".
Now, before you people get all jumpy and angry at me, just know that I do not take any personal offense to any of these. That's truly how you feel, kidding or not, then who am I to try to argue against it? I am not mentioning these instances so you can feel fingered out, it's more so people that haven't told me these things can see where I am coming from.
Anyway, the reason those type of statements frustrate me is because I have never outright told people to accept the label that they themselves put on me. If my definition of what being "Hispanic" is different from yours, then why try to place that label on me when it doesn't fit for me? I am called out for not embracing the culture the way another person does. Sorry that I don't know how to speak full sentences in Spanish, when I was born to Hispanic parents I didn't see the rule that said I have to know Spanish perfectly. Sorry that I don't want to listen to "Tejano" or give two shits as to what Selena did for whatever. That's the type of crap I can get from people who are, according to themselves, "more Hispanic" than I am (whatever that means). On the outside, the people looking in at me like to try to use the race card against me. Whenever I get into an argument, it seems like it's going to be played. "Stupid Mexican why don't you go back to Mexico?" Uh, because if I did I wouldn't even know how to ask where the bathroom was. Another great one I recently heard is that I cannot be trust because I am Mexican...Oh yes, because we're the ones fucking up America right? I think Hollywood and Washington DC are doing a good job of that, don't you?
Oh, and don't think that this is all about race. When it comes to gaming, same situations can be applied. If my definition of what being a "gamer" is different from yours, then why try to place that label on me when it doesn't fit for me? I am called out for not embracing the community the way another person does. Sorry that I know how to configure an Xbox 360, when I was Super Mario Galaxy I didn't see the requirement that said I have to know Xbox's perfectly. Sorry that I don't want to play "Final Fantasy" or give two shits about what the next PS3 game is going to be like. That's the type of crap that I get from people who are, according to themselves, "better gamers" than I am (whatever that means). On the outside, the people looking in at me like to try to use the nerd card against me. Whenever I get into an argument, it seems like it's going to be played. "Stupid nerd why don't you go play your PlayStation?" Uh, because if I did I wouldn't even know what game to play. Another great one I recently heard is that I cannot be a true gamer because I only play Nintendo games...Oh yes, because people that play Nintendo are the ones fucking up the gaming scene right? I think shit developers and publishers are doing a good job of that, don't you?
See, it's the same thing, no matter how you slice it. Now, we can take this one-step further and try to find out why I am the way I am. I don't mean me personally, but why a person would not fit your idea of a type. A man that I see as a modern philosopher once explained to me his opinion on "individuality". From what I gathered, his idea was that we are just products of the society we are placed in- environment determines how we think, how we react, and how we carry ourselves. No choice is truly a free choice- it's based off how we were raised and what type of background we had growing up. When he told me that I idea, I scoffed at the notion that no person has free will to choose what they like, because that is what it felt like he was saying to me. I took it as "oh you don't have a choice in life, so why choose?" However, looking back and thinking about those words, I think I see it a bit differently (although I am sure he will still tell me I don't get what he is saying). Seems to me that we DO have control over the choices we make, because we indeed make them, but we cannot control why we think that choice is the right one. It will be the right one to us not because we were 100 percent sure it was the RIGHT choice, rather it's what our environment said was the RIGHT choice, and what we were spoon fed to believe.
Ok, this can get a bit confusing, so let's go to an example. Killing is wrong, right? To most, yes, killing is wrong. But, let's say that we lived in a world where food was scarce, and survival meant that we had to eventually kill one another, where only the strongest survive. In that sense, in that environment, could you still believe killing is wrong when from birth you were surrounded by people telling you that killing meant you lived. Now, as always, the only absolute situation is that there is no absolute situation, so there will be a few people that will think "oh killing is wrong", but they were still influenced by their environment, except in this term they went to the other extreme. There in lies my point: We can control the choices we make, but we will always be influenced by our own personal environment, meaning that we can never truly make a "free will" choice. The only way I could decide if killing is wrong or not for me is if I could somehow see what making that choice would lead me to, and there is no way, as of now, for people to travel into the future (I say as of now for all those who...well, never mind).
Personally, I am dealing with a situation where a person, raised in a different environment than me, has taken offense to things I have said. I said these things in a harsh manner, yes, but that does not change the opinion I carry about that person (which is what I told them that pissed them off). To retaliate, they decided to call me racial slurs and make fun of my appearance. Now, I have been called any name you can think of in my 21 years here on earth. I was never the pretty boy- I still ain't- so nowadays I just laugh when people try to hurt me with those type of physical appearance attacks. The racial slur? That makes me giggle too, because I am probably the least Mexican "Mexican" you will ever meet, even those I do enjoy some aspects of the culture I am not going to full embrace the parts I personally don't like- be it because I was exposed to them, met someone who was and gauge their results, or never even knew that those aspects existed. Because of this, I ultimately decided to not respond with any type of attack, or any response at all. I just let it roll off my back. What bothers me, though, is that this person will never change their ways, because according to what I've been told, they are "just like that". At first, this response angered me. I mean, how can someone just be like that with no help from any outside influences? How can a person just say, "Oh I will react to situations like this"? But it seems that being "just like that" is the same thing I stated above, but in three simple words.
If that response is given when someone is asked, "why is this person reacting like this?" it means that no one can understand the reaction because they haven't been in the environment that the person was in, or because they were in that environment but when to the other side of the spectrum. Even if I asked the person, "why did you do this?" They will not be able to give a satisfactory answer. People always ask me "why do you let your anger get to you?" or "why do you like Nintendo?" and I can't exactly answer the question. All I can say is that "I just do" and move on. However, it seems that both can be easily explained with my environment. My dad and mom always fought, so early on I was exposed to anger. I saw what it did to my life, and I will do anything to not let it do the same to my life, but I am trying so hard to stop that from happening that it happened anyway. See, because I was exposed to it, even if I tried to get away from it still played a role in how my life turned out. I based decisions on whether or not they would anger me. For the Nintendo question, the first system I played was the original Nintendo, and because my dad never really bought anything but the Mario games for me, I became inclined to like those games. I was exposed to them first, so from then on if a game did not look like fun it meant that it didn't make me feel the same way playing the Mario games did.
In the end, I cannot hold it against the person for being they way they are, because they really can't control why they feel like that. Thinking like this makes it easier for me to cope with people who are stubborn, ignorant, or just plain stupid. I can't really judge them for being that way, because even though they did choose to be like that, they only made that choice because of the situation they were raised in. I can attempt to persuade a person to think more like me, or at the very least introduce a new idea to them, but whether they let it take or not is still determined by their past, by what they were brought into. It's a vicious chain that we cannot break, unless every human on earth dies and we start new. If creationism is to be believed, this chain started with Sin, and like a virus, it spread to a point that we don't see it as harmful any longer, even though it rather is harmful. It's harmful because if our true reason for being here is to explore what the world is about, we will never reach that goal because we will only see the world based on how we were brought up- never for what it truly is.
I guess the same can be said for me. People will never see me for who I truly am. Sure, people LOVE me, people HATE me, but they will never truly see me for who I am. I won't be able to see me for what I truly am either, because I would still based my opinion of myself on things that were fed into my society. So the next time someone asks you "Who are you?" or "What type of person are you?" I think I got an answer for you:
"You'll figure it out"
It seems as if we always do. Or believe we do, at least ;-)
User Reviews
Submitted by NintendoCzar (user info) at 2008-01-13 19:40:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Wow these weren't as bad as I originally thought (most reviews consisted of "wtf i dont wanna read that" which leads me to wonder why you would bother rating, but alright). few good insights (ilikesteak's sticks out as the best in imo), and I am glad some took the time to read this.
Now I'll GTFO and save you more of my opinion. BTW it's not so much I "only" play Nintendo games (I know I said that in the post, or alluded to) rather I don't get much enjoyment out of any other current video game releases. I'll honor Gears of War and Drake's Fortune as prime examples of great works of gaming art, but at the same time I couldn't see myself investing time into either of those like I would Super Mario Galaxy or Tetris DS.
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2008-01-06 20:16:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by pandora (user info) at 2008-01-05 16:48:23 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2008-01-04 14:19:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
...because we're the ones fucking up America right?
---
Yes.
ALL you americans are fucking up america. Blaming Hollywood is stupid... and YOU hired those idiot politicians to do the job and they continuously (monumentously) fuck it up every year.
--------------------------------------------
Thank you. While Hollywood reinforces a lot of bad and even harmful ideas (as well as a couple good ones), nobody forces people to watch TV or movies. As shitty as most of Hollywood's output is, it's a wonder people can muster up the drive to watch it at all. Hollywood is not to blame for parents who let small children watch anything they want without guidance, or for people whose minds are so weak that they thoughtlessly absorb every idiotic message they pick up from TV.
Submitted by 8track (user info) at 2008-01-04 17:50:46 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
DOODLES IS BACK??????
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2008-01-04 16:08:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
"Oh yes, because we're the ones fucking up America right?"
I stopped here. Who exactly are "we" in this sentence?
Also, this was way too long.
Also also: Iyam what Iyam.
Submitted by Doodles (user info) at 2008-01-04 16:05:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Question: Where do you stand on Wiis? I'm tihnking of buying one but there doesn't seem to be much that appeals to me except for boxing and cow jumping, and i haven't seen many good games for it.
Submitted by ilikesteak (user info) at 2008-01-04 14:38:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Now that I have once again been reunited with one of my favorite movies, I will now pass my judgement.
You clearly don't know much sociology, and that's ok. You've got to learn that society labels you so that you can fit within it's boundaries. They need at least some basis to judge you by, to know how to approach, react, interact, and form an opinion of you. The less a person knows about you, the more they judge you with these such labels.
I'll take you for example. Any given middle easterner thinks of you as "American male" and can only describe you by what they outwardly see, and by the preconcieved stereotypes they already have, despite the fact that they don't know you. Your mom, whom I've fucked, will say "he isn't just some guy, he's "my son."."
It's just how it happens. You can't change the culture, but you can change your outlook on it.
Submitted by rob_berg (user info) at 2008-01-04 14:19:24 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
...because we're the ones fucking up America right?
---
Yes.
ALL you americans are fucking up america. Blaming Hollywood is stupid... and YOU hired those idiot politicians to do the job and they continuously (monumentously) fuck it up every year.
YOU people are to blame for your own igrnorance, laziness and stupidity.
Oh, and >only< playing Nintendo Games is stupid.
PS- Your post was WAY too long. Nice one.
Submitted by Mekare (user info) at 2008-01-04 14:08:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by NintendoCzar (user info) at 2008-01-04 13:37:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
bwahaha I am not even going to read the reviews on this one. This site kicks ass.
Submitted by Ltap (user info) at 2008-01-04 07:43:17 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
No way am I reading all that.
Submitted by Grimm (user info) at 2008-01-04 06:47:57 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
waaaaaaaaay toooooooooooo loooooooooooong
Submitted by 8track (user info) at 2008-01-04 05:28:28 EST (#)
Ranking: -2
wtf i am not reading all of that
Submitted by rad1101 (user info) at 2008-01-04 05:18:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
somebody got cockblocked at a party tonight.
:(
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2008-01-04 04:51:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Well im certainly not reading tihs.
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2008-01-04 04:08:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Interesting.