(no subject)
"fan," n. (făn)
"An ardent devotee; an enthusiast"
The dictionary then directs me to the word "fanatic."
"fanatic," n. (fə-năt’ĭk)
"A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause."
Now, when we all think of a fan, images of crazed sports fans, celebrity "stalkers" or obsessive collectors of comic books, video games, toys, colletibles, or . More importantly, however, these images tend to have a negative connotation to them. Why? Do we find them creepy? Do we think they're overly obsessed? Why would I waste my time doing what they do?
All of these questions I'm sure have run through your head at one point but why? Why do we look down upon and belittle those with such a passion? Yes, we may not enjoy comic books and yes, we may not like the team a particular fan is rooting for but why take it to such an extreme. The dictionary, as aforementioned, defines a fanatic as "extreme" and "unreasoning" and in our attempts to distances ourselves from fanatics we seem to deride and criticize them but isn't the very criticism we use to escape the world of the "fanatic" by trying to say "I'm not like them," "extreme" and "unreasoning" in and of itself?
In order to answer the above question, we must first address what the purpose of the fanatic is. According to the dictionary, a fanatic is motivated to an extreme extent for a certain cause. The question to be answered, however, is "what is the cause?" Some people might say the cause is a win in the big basketball game. Others might say gettting the perfect complement to a collector's set. Even another might say to get a photo-op with one's favorite celebrity and while these are certainly subsets of or means of expressing their motivation, the greater meaning being overlooked is that fanatics all search for a sense of belonging. While we may disagree with their means to achieve this sense of belonging such as rooting for a team or going to video game conventions, can we really disagree that belonging is bad? Human beings by their very nature are social creatures and in being such shouldn't we take every step possible to ensure a future sense of collective humanity by whatever means (to a certain extent) necessary? Who are we to judge others and label them? Aren't we, in doing so, excluding them from our very own community? The United Nations General Assembly, in their report on Human Rights and Cultural Diversity, notes that "forms of universalism [i.e. a uniform sense of belonging] must be reconciled with respect for a wide diversity of languages, cultures, ethnic groups, nations and ways of thinking that allow individuals, communities and nations to have a sense of belonging and identity" (my emphasis). In other words, at the point where we all agree that belonging is good, then we, furthermore, need to respect the means by which others reach this end, be it a comic book convention, a skatepark, a football game, a dance, a class, a picnic, an office or place of employment, a theatre, a house, a neighboorhood, a suburb, a city, a county, a state, a province, a nation, a world.
Looking back, then, is it, after all, "extreme" and "unreasoning" to be a fanatic? Is it "extreme" and "unreasoning" to search for a place of belonging? Yes, others may be more enthused and ardent (as the first definition indicates) but what is wrong about being enthused and ardent, or even "extreme" and "unreasoning" about human belonging, a sense of local, national, or even global community? I contend nothing.
"An ardent devotee; an enthusiast"
The dictionary then directs me to the word "fanatic."
"fanatic," n. (fə-năt’ĭk)
"A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause."
Now, when we all think of a fan, images of crazed sports fans, celebrity "stalkers" or obsessive collectors of comic books, video games, toys, colletibles, or . More importantly, however, these images tend to have a negative connotation to them. Why? Do we find them creepy? Do we think they're overly obsessed? Why would I waste my time doing what they do?
All of these questions I'm sure have run through your head at one point but why? Why do we look down upon and belittle those with such a passion? Yes, we may not enjoy comic books and yes, we may not like the team a particular fan is rooting for but why take it to such an extreme. The dictionary, as aforementioned, defines a fanatic as "extreme" and "unreasoning" and in our attempts to distances ourselves from fanatics we seem to deride and criticize them but isn't the very criticism we use to escape the world of the "fanatic" by trying to say "I'm not like them," "extreme" and "unreasoning" in and of itself?
In order to answer the above question, we must first address what the purpose of the fanatic is. According to the dictionary, a fanatic is motivated to an extreme extent for a certain cause. The question to be answered, however, is "what is the cause?" Some people might say the cause is a win in the big basketball game. Others might say gettting the perfect complement to a collector's set. Even another might say to get a photo-op with one's favorite celebrity and while these are certainly subsets of or means of expressing their motivation, the greater meaning being overlooked is that fanatics all search for a sense of belonging. While we may disagree with their means to achieve this sense of belonging such as rooting for a team or going to video game conventions, can we really disagree that belonging is bad? Human beings by their very nature are social creatures and in being such shouldn't we take every step possible to ensure a future sense of collective humanity by whatever means (to a certain extent) necessary? Who are we to judge others and label them? Aren't we, in doing so, excluding them from our very own community? The United Nations General Assembly, in their report on Human Rights and Cultural Diversity, notes that "forms of universalism [i.e. a uniform sense of belonging] must be reconciled with respect for a wide diversity of languages, cultures, ethnic groups, nations and ways of thinking that allow individuals, communities and nations to have a sense of belonging and identity" (my emphasis). In other words, at the point where we all agree that belonging is good, then we, furthermore, need to respect the means by which others reach this end, be it a comic book convention, a skatepark, a football game, a dance, a class, a picnic, an office or place of employment, a theatre, a house, a neighboorhood, a suburb, a city, a county, a state, a province, a nation, a world.
Looking back, then, is it, after all, "extreme" and "unreasoning" to be a fanatic? Is it "extreme" and "unreasoning" to search for a place of belonging? Yes, others may be more enthused and ardent (as the first definition indicates) but what is wrong about being enthused and ardent, or even "extreme" and "unreasoning" about human belonging, a sense of local, national, or even global community? I contend nothing.