Monica Valentinelli, author, game designer, and manager for DriveThruFiction, was inspired by Alyssa Bereznak's castigation of Magic: The Gathering champion Jon Finkel to launch the Speak Out With Your Geek Out movement.
"Sadly, this is not the first time geeks have been used as the butt of all jokes. From cyber-bullying to inducing nerd rage, it sometimes feel like we can do nothing to combat the stereotypes. Well, I’d rather fight acid with rainbows and cute kittens. I tapped into the power of social media to propose an entire week where we post about the hobbies we love. Instead of negativity and rants, we spread joy, positivity and happiness. The response has been overwhelming."
Speak Out With Your Geek Out takes place from Monday, September 12 through Friday, September 16. Valentinelli invites all geeks to post about the hobby they love in a positive way.
"Let us invite those who would stereotype us to sit at our table and share our interests. Let us combat being used as pawns for internet gaffes with the reasons why we’re awesome, why we love what we love, and why it’s good to be a geek."
Want to participate? See the web site, join the Facebook event, follow the Tumblr account and the Twitter hashtag: #speakgeek. For information see the Frequently Asked Questions page.
Valentinelli ultimately hopes the movement makes a positive statement about geeks in general.
"There is so much negativity online, that I’d love to see one entire happy week of the shiny, meeting new friends, and really tapping into that well of positivity and exuberance I know is out there."
Valentinelli's bold plan – and the thousands of proud geeks who support it – is a fitting end to the sad tale of a date gone horribly awry.
Comments