Pet Peeve #71
Have you ever been in a situation where people are discussing something around you and they inadvertently offend you? Really offend you? Like basically, with a fairly innocuous comment, insult you and hundreds of other people? And if you were to dare comment on it, they would either snicker at you and turn away or not realize what the big deal was? Confused? Well, let me give an example.
On Friday I went on this fieldtrip to the Vale of the White Horse, which is this valley with a Neolithic chalk rendering (maybe not rendering, but I can't think of the word) of a horse up on the hillside. It was pretty cool, but we did a crapload of hiking, and I got sick again. But the part of the day that's relevant is something I overheard while walking.
We'd just finished looking at this pretty cool longbarrow (was either Bronze Age or Iron Age, can't remember which), and were making the trek back up the path to the direction we wanted to go in order to get up to the top of the ridge. At this point, my feet are killing me and there is a horrible pain in my lower back. Needless to say, I'm not much of a hiker.
Anyway, I'm in front of these three girls, and they are having this obnoxiously loud conversation that I can't help but overhear. Trust me, I'd have rather avoided this one. So, it goes a little something like this:
Girl #1: Blah, blah, blah...and everyone was watching Buffy the other day.
Girl #2: Hah.
Girl #1: It would've been ok if people were making fun of it, but [insert name of girl that I can't remember] is totally into it. I hear she has Buffy books and everything.
Girl #2: Eew, that's weird.
Girl #3: Yeah, and I even heard that her boyfriend got her a Buffy book for Valentine's Day.
Me (thinking): Aww, that's sweet.
Girl #2: That's a pretty creepy boyfriend.
Me: *glowers*
Girl #1: Yeah, I mean, I can't see how anyone can watch that show seriously.
She then goes on to bash the show for a few minutes, but at this point, I'm so pissed that I double my walking speed to get away. And I'm in major pain, here. The whole thing might not seem like a big deal, but Buffy is my favorite show, and she (unintentionally, I realize) just called me a moron.
I was thinking about this last night while I was trying to sleep, and I realized that it's not the Buffy-bashing that bothers me so much as the fact that the people doing the bashing have no idea what they are talking about. I have to say that I haven't encountered so many people that disliked BtVS before as I have here. And they're all American students, oddly enough.
I've never had a problem with people saying some bad things about an episode, or (with the way it had been going for the first half of the season, and possibly still--haven't seen it since January) the entirety of Angel. I guess that's since the people I come into contact with that do the bashing are all fans of Joss. Many, like myself, are what I like to call "Rabid Joss Fans (TM)". We will defend Joss and anything that he produces because we know he's a genius, and "Bad Eggs" does not accurately represent the entirety of season two.
So, I guess I get a little offended when the general masses insult something that's close to my heart. I don't mind it so much from other people who hold that thing close to their hearts, but the average person doing it pisses me off, especially when they just shrug when you call them out on it. Anyone else feel that way?
On Friday I went on this fieldtrip to the Vale of the White Horse, which is this valley with a Neolithic chalk rendering (maybe not rendering, but I can't think of the word) of a horse up on the hillside. It was pretty cool, but we did a crapload of hiking, and I got sick again. But the part of the day that's relevant is something I overheard while walking.
We'd just finished looking at this pretty cool longbarrow (was either Bronze Age or Iron Age, can't remember which), and were making the trek back up the path to the direction we wanted to go in order to get up to the top of the ridge. At this point, my feet are killing me and there is a horrible pain in my lower back. Needless to say, I'm not much of a hiker.
Anyway, I'm in front of these three girls, and they are having this obnoxiously loud conversation that I can't help but overhear. Trust me, I'd have rather avoided this one. So, it goes a little something like this:
Girl #1: Blah, blah, blah...and everyone was watching Buffy the other day.
Girl #2: Hah.
Girl #1: It would've been ok if people were making fun of it, but [insert name of girl that I can't remember] is totally into it. I hear she has Buffy books and everything.
Girl #2: Eew, that's weird.
Girl #3: Yeah, and I even heard that her boyfriend got her a Buffy book for Valentine's Day.
Me (thinking): Aww, that's sweet.
Girl #2: That's a pretty creepy boyfriend.
Me: *glowers*
Girl #1: Yeah, I mean, I can't see how anyone can watch that show seriously.
She then goes on to bash the show for a few minutes, but at this point, I'm so pissed that I double my walking speed to get away. And I'm in major pain, here. The whole thing might not seem like a big deal, but Buffy is my favorite show, and she (unintentionally, I realize) just called me a moron.
I was thinking about this last night while I was trying to sleep, and I realized that it's not the Buffy-bashing that bothers me so much as the fact that the people doing the bashing have no idea what they are talking about. I have to say that I haven't encountered so many people that disliked BtVS before as I have here. And they're all American students, oddly enough.
I've never had a problem with people saying some bad things about an episode, or (with the way it had been going for the first half of the season, and possibly still--haven't seen it since January) the entirety of Angel. I guess that's since the people I come into contact with that do the bashing are all fans of Joss. Many, like myself, are what I like to call "Rabid Joss Fans (TM)". We will defend Joss and anything that he produces because we know he's a genius, and "Bad Eggs" does not accurately represent the entirety of season two.
So, I guess I get a little offended when the general masses insult something that's close to my heart. I don't mind it so much from other people who hold that thing close to their hearts, but the average person doing it pisses me off, especially when they just shrug when you call them out on it. Anyone else feel that way?