The Big Picture: Magneto Was Right

[ProjectTrinity]

Same side as I'm on now: My own side.

The whole "Hero" or "Villain" side both have several points that annoy me. Like the jocks and nerds side thing. Both sides have so many things that annoy me that simply sticking with the best of both worlds has been how I got around.

I never really was targeted in high school due to the fact I was voted for most likely to get angry and kill people. All while looking like your average jock. So yeah, you can call my case a weird one. ' -' Though I suppose my story isn't the same as everyone else's. As much as I'd wish it were. =(

 

[Nick Angelici]

I have to agree with your team choice bob, I really dont have tolerance for many people, and I can usually guess how someone act by watching them. its rare I meet anyone worth chatting with

 

[Verlander]

Intellectuals are demonised as adults? Really? I mean, hate to say it, but in the UK Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Fry and Dr Who seem to be just about the most popular people in the world right now, even amongst the "ignorant people".

I hate to say it, but this is probably an America-specific situation. All of the media and reports I get from those who live there make it seem like a really backwards place, almost like a wealthy country with a third world mentality and mindset, which seems pretty dangerous to me.

As for school bullying, it's not because you're different. People hate what they don't understand. Maybe that makes them ignorant, but if you appear to be outside of their general area of knowledge, they aren't going to understand, and will lash out at it, especially when they are as mentally undeveloped as schoolchildren are. I found bullying reduced to almost a complete stop in my school year at around the ages of 15 for boys, and 17 for girls (I think this is due to natural female competition more than brain development, before anyone flames me). In a full circle, it works out that geeky, intelligent men are more attractive, sexually, and emotionally, as they represent stability, comfort and safety. Go figure

 

[ManInRed]

Superiority is an illusion. Talent is skill developed by experience you unconsciously focus on, but time and memory are finite things, what makes us different is not the amount of talent any of us have, but what we choose to spend our time doing, thinking, and dreaming about. Even if we lived in a universe with mutant powers, I assume developing a mutant power and gaining the skill to wield it would be a trade off for time spent gaining other abilities. Which might explain why badass-normals in comic books are so ridiculously skillful.

The strong gain their power by training, the smart gain their intellect by studying. Perhaps some of these traits are preordain, but each are merely attributes; as much an asset as a detriment. We wouldn't be the people we are today without both the qualities we think of as advantages and disadvantages. The same is true for the elites, who are equally motivated to run to great achievements as they are motivated at running away from their great flaws.

Even if I am completely wrong in believing that "everyone is equal" it's still a better axiom then the alternative, as it keeps me from being overconfident or overwhelm. What one man can do another man can do, but I must never underestimate my opponents.

Besides, if you had Xavier's mind control powers wouldn't you try convincing the world you are on everyone's side? Come on, let's all work together, human and mutant, to defeat the true foe: those immune to my mind control powers! Muhahaha!

 

[gphjr14]

You seem to exaggerate a bit Bob. Keep in mind the foundation of Magneto's anger for humanity isn't just he's treated differently but he's a Jew who survived the Holocaust and knows the extent of human hatred. I was bullied all the way up till high school but honestly those who spend their time belittling and bullying others usually don't amount to much.

And I really can't recall a time when Bill Gates was demonized over MJ. Both had/have talents they use to be successful. Bill utilized his mind while MJ kept his body in a physical condition that allowed him to be successful. Not everyone's meant to be a scientist and not everyones meant to be an all star athlete.

You make it seem as if the world holds a disdain for Gates who's worked hard, and cherishes Jordan with little or no effort on his part.

 

[RTR]

If science does prove you're superior to the rest of the world, you have every right to let it show. And teach those bastards who they were messing with.

 

[guntotingtomcat]

I don't know...
Magneto's still a bit of a murderer and what not, as are most of his followers. I reckon I'd lone wolf it, occasionally helping Picard, though never outright joining him.

Any human that abused me would pretty much get it, though.

 

[moosek]

The end question only gives two options of which team to join. Should the mutant join the X-Men/debate team or the Brotherhood/goth scene (those are the high school metaphor parallels that I saw, anyway).

I wouldn't want to join a team. If I had powers, I would keep that shit to myself.

 

[SanguineSymphony]

I probably wouldn't be strictly good or evil... That's over-simplifying.

I've seen enough of the bad to know I want to shield others from it. I'd be curious to know just how terrible your upbringing was. There's nothing wrong with self defense but projecting your childhood bullies on the faces of everyone you meet (who may hold superficial similarities) can't be healthy.

 

[Amund]

I'm seriously considering that I'll stop watching this piss. I've disagreed with Bob on numerous occasions before, but The Big Picture is like a newly-grown tumor on his brain. I can understand the bitterness and overall disinclination from society, but the sheer egotism in this episode was unparalleled to anything I've ever seen in regards to nerd culture.

Bob, you and I and most other people weren't bullied in school because we're different/special/"superior" - it's often part of the reason, but what makes others bully you is the social factor. It's also the reason for why they CAN bully you in the first place - you're not a part of any real social circle, or the one or two friends you do have are shite. And hand in hand together with that goes the fact that you're psychologically weak. You may lull yourself with the comforting thought of your superior intellect if you want to, Bob, but answer me this: does he who is really so goddamn smart allow himself to be continually bullied? Of course not! Again, it's comforting to think that the world is divided into the big bad jocks and the oppressed but good nerds, but back then at least it was the other way around - you were the idiot, and they were smart. Smart and consciously evil to some extent. They started bullying you because they identified the psychological weakness and thus an opportunity for entertainment, and kept going at it because they knew you wouldn't fight back.
I'd be willing to bet my life that this is how it was with at least 95% of us.

AND WE ALL FUCKING DESERVED IT.

Bob didn't say he was superior, he just said that most nerds have a fantasy of being superior. To very different concepts. Also, no one deserves to be bullied.

 

[Cavouku]

Were I bullied, I admit, I may choose the Magneto side. But I don't know the discomfort, I actually play both sides of the Geek/Nerd/Dork Vs. "Normals", as a crosslink. I'm perfectly able to operate on both sides, and even invite things from both to the other. You'd be surprised how many "normals" know at least a bit about nerd culture, and aren't apposed to it.

I can be your bridge, children. But you must tear down the walls, first.

(But if I were to have a superpower, I'd have to go with... aw, I don't wanna do something too big, so... Ooh! How about reduced gravity? So I can jump like ten feet, and climb fast, and won't die from falling? Oh, and extended lifespan, just because that first one is a bit tame. 900, tops. Methuselah lived longer.)

 

[knight56]

I can't choose between Patrick Stewart or Ian McKlellan so I'll mercenary for both sides.

 

[ryukage_sama]

Damn it, Bob!
Get out of my head!!!

I now have a better understanding of why Bob's tastes and my own coincide so much: We share a relatively high number of experiences growing up.

 

[spacecowboy86]

that last question really struck me...
congratulations, sir bob... you have blown my mind.

 

[SanguineSymphony]

Nerds are picked on because they are often socially awakrd and unware of social norms, as well the fact they seem an easy target. SOmetimes the intelect inspires jealously, but the smart kids who are also skilled socially and know when to fight back avoid 90% of this, and are able to handle the rest. I envied that kid who was as smart as me, good at pe AND skilled socially. And was a kickass artist. Maybe envy played a small roll in it, but fittin in mattered more. If you stuck out you could be a target. It sickens me those teachers or parents who tell you to enver fight back, though, being defneseless makes it much worse. I have so much resenetment towards my mom cause of this.... I dont know wha tot tell her. Though I should probably leave it in the past.

Hatred and evil only creates more of the same. Its how many bullies learnt their ways in the first place.

My wife is just now getting the hang of fighting back when confronted with aggression due to her parents pacifistic upbringing. My mom tried that with me but it just never took. I got picked on a lot in Elementary and a little in Junior HS by the time I learned how to take care of myself I never heard another word or had unwarranted aggression in my direction. It never hurt that I have a very aggressive Personality myself and don't wilt under pressure.

I really agree with that last line. Its an idea that's repeated so often that's it almost cliche but no less poignant.

 

[Tinybear]

Being born with a onesided cleft lip and palate (or harelip as it's called), I looked WEIRD as a kid. And other kids, complete strangers could come up to me and start picking on me for just looking weird. Imagine playing soccer as a 10 year old, and someone you have never ever met before just comes up to you and starts picking on you. That's my childhood.

Fuck normal people, they suck.

 

[Escapefromwhatever]

Or could bullying result from, not the nerd's superiority, but the belief that he or she is superior? Children are judged through the age of eighteen largely on intellect, and so if one exceeds in that, it may bloat his or her ego. Given that the child's social order is rarely so intelligence-based, the kid may grab onto his or her mental prowess as the one thing that defines him or her. When confronted about a lack of physical aptitude, the child will bring up his or her brainpower, effectively bragging about being smarter than the bullies. This, in turn, will earn ire by bullies who see a person who thinks that he or she is better than them. At least, that was my case. Then I realized that while, yes, I was quite skilled in critical thinking, that did not mean that I was at the top of my game, nor that being adept in other areas, such as physical capability, was necessarily worse than being smart. I learned that someone can be a good, kind, contributing member of society without being a brainiac. And I stopped waving my ego around like some insecure asshole. I relaxed. I almost immediately stopped being bullied. So, yeah, to each his own. "Better" is objective, Bob.

First off, Bob didn't say the nerds were ACTUALLY better, in fact he says largely the opposite, that we need to stop thinking that.

But in the scenario you brought up, aren't they picking on the kid for being physically inept BEFORE he defends himself by bringing up his intellect? How can something that happens AFTER be the cause?

First off, I don't dislike Bob. I just disagree with him at points (like his viewpoints on Other M). And while he acknowledged that the nerd superiority complex may largely be mental, he did opt for supporting a separatist, superiority based group in the end. Magneto and the Brotherhood are largely mutant supremacists after all. This would seem to indicate that Bob wants nerds to follow through on their feelings of being better, even if they are unfounded. While understanding that it was likely a hyperbolic example, I can't fully condone that.

Second, can the nerd not be picked on for multiple reasons? Can it not start out as bullying because of being weak and then intensify because the kid defended himself by claiming to be better than his or her assailants? Additionally, the sense of superiority may be self-garnered. Tell me, when a child does not exceed at the typical play activities of children but rather at school and video games, might he or she not grab onto that skill as a defense mechanism, lording it above everyone else in an "Oh yeah? Well, I'm smarter than you!" fashion? It could happen- it did to me. I'm not saying that the bullies don't have their own problems, but egging them on is probably not the best idea.

 

[R4GNOR0K]

Mutants of the X-men are more evolved than normal humans. According to Darwin's theory of natural selection, and even the modern theory of evolution, organisms that have traits that are beneficial to survival will survive and reproduce. These superior being will take charge. From a purely scientific, objective standpoint, the mutants should rule; this does not account for the human factor and morality. Is it morally right for more advanced beings to make other beings submit to them and even kill them? Is it even done to a certain degree in our society? To be honest, I would probably side with the X-Men. Even though I am picked on as much as the next outcast, I don't hold to much resentment towards those who harass me. I might be angry for a short period of time, but I'll get over. Maybe it is just my massive inferiority complex convincing myself that it is somehow my fault. Maybe its because I am a big believer in freewill and all should share that gift. I can say that I would most likely side with the X-Men. However, if I was presented with the opportunity to be a more advanced being, I don't know what I would actually do.

 

[Redd the Sock]

Are those my only choices?

Like you I never really bought into the idea that bullying's all persecution due beat down the superior. If anything, the last few years have made me think about how lame persecution pcomplexes can be as blacks couldn't take a criticism of Obama as anything but racism and Sarah Pailin started going off like all her bad press was aliberal conspiracy. It's just stupid to think that people are targeting you specifically. Rather bullies (actually most people) have the need to be superior and take the laziest way to get there. For some that involves beating down things that can't or won't fight back. It their minds they're tough. In mind, they're cowards (with a joke about what exactly they're overcompensating for with all the violence or ranting).

That last bit said, if I had to chose I'd go X-Men, because I have this thing about behaving like the jerks I hate (and frankly think Magneto did more overall damage to his position with the whole terrorist thing) but would rather just be. Sadly, civilian in Genoshia isn't an option in the comics right now.