Taking it too far, or just far enough?

People don't often tell others what their interests are, aside from innocuous things like reading books. Partly this can be attributed to a desire for privacy, but I think there's another, perhaps more important, reason. They don't want to be associated with the obnoxious vocal minority that tends to dominate people's perceptions of any hobby or interest.

For instance, if you told someone that you thought of yourself as an animal rights activist, their kneejerk reaction would usually be to think of you as one of three kinds of people.

1) A doe-eyed, idealistic hippie who cries herself* to sleep at night at the thought of an animal so much as stubbing a toe.

2) A frothing at the mouth vegan crusader who will happily drop everything to berate and verbally abuse a complete stranger for half an hour because they're eating a hamburger.

3) An "animals are more important than bastard humans" eco terrorist who would throw a baby into oncoming traffic without batting an eye if it meant keeping an animal out of danger.

These depictions are caricatures, of course, but they exist for just about any subculture you can think of. Take Star Wars fan boys. When you think of one, do you imagine a guy who grew up loving the movies, has fond memories of holding mock lightsaber duels with his friends, and thinks that watching the movies would be a great way to bond with his own children? No, you don't, because Star Wars fans are all obese losers who are too busy screaming "HAN SHOT FIRST!" or "don't come down here, mother!" to meet a woman** with whom to have children.

Whenever someone discovers that someone else has a secret passion for, say, fly-fishing or model trains, and then discovers that he or she is not a pants-crapping monomaniac about it, there's a tendency to say things like "Well, you're not like those other enthusiasts, you're normal." Here's the thing, though, the vast majority of people who have an interest or hobby are perfectly normal people who understand that there is a time and a place for their fandom. Your typical Trekkie doesn't run around all day dressed as a Klingon, and saying "like that time in Episode 326 when..." Most will say something like "The episode where Picard was turned into a Borg" or "The Best of Both Worlds" if they happen to remember the episode name.

If you think about it, just about everyone has some interest that could be taken to excess. For the sake of argument, say that you like Soap Operas. Do you think you'd be one of those people who follows the lives of the characters more closely than you're own families, and would be unable to differentiate between the character and the actor? Or would you be more likely to DV-R the show while you're at work, watch it in your free time, discuss the show with others who like watching it, and then not worry about it overmuch the rest of the time? You'd probably be the latter of the two. Similarly, if you like cats, would you be more likely to own one or two cats, or 15?

Of course, there are people who fit the stereotypes. Yes, there are crazy cat people. Yes, there are Trekkies who can't divorce the show from reality. Yes, some of those people might need help. But they're extremists, and therefore in the minority. Most people, even those with interests that others consider "weird" or "nerdy" are just like anyone else you might meet on the street. Because, when you think about it hard enough, that's exactly what we all are.

-Long Days and Pleasant Nights

*Note that I automatically assumed the animal rights activist was a woman. Yet another pitfall of public perception, the assumption that a woman would be more empathetic to animals than a man.
** Again with the gender stereotyping. I have a lot more to say on this topic, but that's for another time.