New Catholic Generation -- Dweebs

  • Thread starter Thread starter SacredHeartBassist
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
redbetta said:
I for one think we should embrace the geeky image of this new generation. It completely blows apart the stereotype of orthodox Christians as folks suspicious of everything secular and thinking stuff like anime or video games are somehow evil. That would be my answer to the OP.
Click to expand...
Red, I know you like this guy but that’s the exact opposite of what he suggested happen.
SacredHeartBassist said:
Maybe it might not be a good idea to show young Catholics as weird and geeky.
Click to expand...
 
I’m just telling him that it is a good idea.

Also, we’re not besties or anything. I just don’t think he should justifiably be pounced on like a single dude making a dating thread on here.
 
No one is “pouncing” on him. People are responding to what he said. That’s why we have a forum.
 
You can always just ask if that’s the way he intended to come across. I just see people making negative assumptions off the bat.
 
If they are “weird”, “geeky”, or “dweebs”, it speaks more of our efforts in catechesis than it does of the character of their spirit.

We are called to educate, catechize, evangelize, mentor, and lead subsequent generations to the Lord, so it is as much on us as it is on them.
 
I meant more asking if this is how he intended to come across. If not, make suggestions on how to rephrase that question.

I do question his judgment on starting a discussion thread and not sticking around to discuss. Oh well, life happens.
 
I will be honest, and this is my sin for which I will likely have to account to Jesus when I die. When I was young, I had some issues with Catholic youth stuff because it did seem like a large percentage of the people in it were “dweebs”. The remaining percentage were social justice activists who were always doing anti war or anti nuke protests (not so much anti abortion then) and they bugged me too, but that’s an issue for a different thread.

I would note that I have a high tolerance for dweebiness or nerdiness or what you call it as I was very bookish, was an engineering student, and spent all day around other bookish engineering students who resembled every nerd cliche from Weird Science to Devo, and eventually married a guy from that profession as well. The Catholic “dweebs” were often too much even for me. I also met some Protestant evangelical young people who were similar. I did not want to be like those people. I found the older Catholic moms and grandmas of my youth much more appealing role models, as a lot of them had had some pretty exciting WWII era adventures and been very attractive before they became someone’s mom or grandma.

I now go to Mass regularly at a Newman Center and have noticed how much more normal the young Catholics seem there than when I was in college. I think it’s important for any Catholic young people’s initiative to feature a range of young people with different interests and personality types. There’s room for all under the tent. That includes people in rock bands, artists, activists, dweebs, preppies, hippies, punks, ordinary Joe and Jane average, etc.
 
I’m curious to know how dweebish was too dweebish to you. Like, dressing like you’re from a completely different decade? I could understand how that would be too weird for some.
 
No, I dressed from thrift shops myself. I was a college radio DJ and also had very little money for clothes.

It was more like being socially unadept or immature, or completely lacking interest in almost anything that regular young people enjoyed. Most engineers I knew, for example, might look kind of nerdy or get all excited by some scientific thing that no one else cared about, but they had some interests besides that, like politics, prog rock, hiking, Monty Python, whatever, and they also were generally able to date without more than a normal amount of social fumbling. But it was not uncommon to meet a Catholic “dweeb” who did nothing but go to church and spend time with family. A lot of them seemed to be discerning whether they had a vocation and/or having issues sorting out how to deal with the opposite sex. They were weird to be around.
 
Perhaps they were really sheltered homeschoolers. I’ve never met anyone like that in real life.
 
In my day, very few people were “homeschooled” but there were definitely families where people were living more like 1930s Eastern Europe than 1970s USA. Often the dad was an immigrant and was the boss. I knew a few of these families growing up.

Also, I think back in my day there was less awareness of autism and mental health issues among young people. There was a big stigma attached to having mental illness, and very few meds available and they weren’t very good. I suspect some of these cases of arrested development were turning to Catholic Church to try to cope with issues that today would be referred to a mental health professional.
 
I see. I guess it was much easier to shelter your kids back then.

You wouldn’t happen to be from the era in which people played records backwards and claimed they had hidden satanic messages? Or did that never happen and is just a stereotype?
 
redbetta said:
I see. I guess it was much easier to shelter your kids back then.

You wouldn’t happen to be from the era in which people played records backwards and claimed they had hidden satanic messages? Or did that never happen and is just a stereotype?
Click to expand...
LOL mymom was from that era. When I was very young I asked about it and she showed me how they would spin the record backwards and at a low speed to make it sound demonic.
 
It happened and I’m pretty sure Jimmy Page did put a backwards satanic message, “ Here’s to my sweet Satan”, on one of his records. Jimmy got a little too “into the pudding” with the Aleister Crowley stuff.

Of course, in the 80s and early 90s the US suffered from “satanic panic” in general. This is well documented in the legal literature because of the number of bogus convictions associated with it, and lessons learned.
 
No way! I thought that was a myth. I only saw that on That Seventies Show.

It’s a good thing that devout Christians are most appreciative of the good aspects of secular culture.
 
I listened to a Jordan Peterson lecture on that. He said people asked kids in daycare leading questions, the kids went along with it to get attention, and came up with fantastic descriptions of torture chambers and other such rubbish. It’s hard to believe that such things can happen.
 
It’s not hard to believe if you look at the history of child sexual abuse in USA. For many decades, children reporting such abuse by a teacher or parent or other trusted adult (as opposed to a perverted stranger offering candy or a ride) were disbelieved. By the 80s, the thinking had changed and people now thought that children never, ever lied about such things. There weren’t good protocols for questioning children and little understanding that a child might totally make something up to please the cop or end the interview or whatever. I have had arguments with older attorneys even today when I say something like “child victims sometimes are not 100 percent credible”.
 
Every bout of mass hysteria has a basis and at least an iota of truth.

I’m just imagining talking to my peers years from now, looking back, and thinking, “What the hell were people thinking back then?”
 
I like new catholic generation. It can just be a little too geeky and immature for my taste. I have nothing against nerdy stuff. I like Star Wars and lord of the rings too. But we live in an age where most guys and girls in their twenties are out hooking up.

Maybe those that are actively engaged in that lifestyle would appreciate ncg if it were less cringy.

I’m only saying it out of love
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top