So it seems a few people have rage issues over this whole “internet” thing. (Side note: check out all the #phantomzone pieces on the article. Joel Johnson does not like people disagreeing with him.)

Rage, in the case of fandom, blogs and online communities, is really getting to be a bit too much. A friend of mine, Matt Cashman, linked me to this essay in the New York Times about hipster culture. I am not particularly fond of hipster culture because I generally find them to be shallow in their interests and ultimately, fake.

What I mean by “fake” is that these people accumulate interests as though they were items pulled from the rack at H&M: cool and hip, but as soon as more and more people start noticing it, wearing it and making it look less original or indie, they toss it aside, ready to move on to something new, hip and ironic.

Ultimately, these people are not in control of their own interests, and that is what I dislike. Now, this does not solely apply to the hipster culture. Within anime and gaming fandom, there is a lot of focus on similar themes: knowing about the most obscure and rare classic titles, lamenting how nothing modern can live up to it nowadays, or finding the next big indie title and hyping the hell out of it. Even irony exists, as people continue to watch shows because they’re so bad or play the hell out of shitty games because it’s about as ironic as drinking PBR. Once someone puts those interests and hobbies under a microscope, they don’t hold up.

So instead, the hipsters (now a catch-all term) spend their energy debunking other peoples’ likes rather than focus too much energy on their own. The culture and communities they have formed become incredibly vitriolic and hazardous to one’s health and emotional well-being. You have to defend your interests, sure, but it’s more effective to just deflect and accuse.

This is all too common in the world of anime and manga, too. “How can you like K-ON!!? It’s the anti-christ.” “Wow, are you five years old and still watching this shit?” Stuff like that. Or anything that comes out of Tim Sheehy’s mouth. In larger communities, this is pretty much all that exists. While I haven’t been there myself, I hear Colony Drop is like that. /a/ is certainly like that. I’m sure ANN’s forums are like that, but thankfully the moderators curb that stuff.

Japanator has yet to reach that stage, which I am eternally thankful for. But I know it’ll get there eventually. The asshats like that have appeared at Destructoid already, but the community does a pretty good job of moderating.

What I really wish to see, and I encourage people to do – is to challenge their beliefs about themselves. Ask yourself, “why do I like this?” Seriously ask it, not just a quick dismissal of the question. Sit and think about what in Gurren Lagann inspires you, and what does it mean about yourself? Why is it that you keep coming back for more with tsundere characters? Or why do you keep lusting after the injured kuudere? It might tell you a bit more than you’re willing to admit.

But knowing yourself is a great tool. And it allows you to more greatly – and honestly – appreciate the works that you enjoy. What’s so wrong about building up with good emotions as opposed to tearing down others’ opinions?