Nerds vs Fundies

Spending my teen years as a fundie nerd (or is it "nerdy fundie"?) made for a very lonely time. Most nerds bunch together with other high school misfits, such as the drama kids, gay kids, exchange students, etc. Since I was an opinionated fundie as well as a nerd, it meant I was too closed-minded to really hang out with many of those outgroups - I'd piss them off with my semi-constant Bible-thumping.

Now that I've shed the fundamentalist mindset and fully embraced my inner (and outer) nerdliness, I recently saw something that made me extremely pleased. Since I detest my previous religious background now, you can imagine my amusement when nerds at Comi-Con 2010 lined up to counter-protest against the odious Westboro Baptist Church, who for some unknown reason thought it would be a good idea to protest there this year.

Obviously, the brains behind Westboro have zero clue as to what the strengths of being a nerd are. Thanks to comic books, Weird Al Yankovic, and years of being left out of "mainstream" cliques, geeks have learned that one of the best ways (if not THE best way) of dealing with hostile opponents is a combination of parody and mockery. When a group of hideous IRL trolls like Westboro threaten to bring their horrid anti-gay, pro-murderous deity sideshow to protest your event, the best thing to do is not give them the satisfaction of getting you upset and screaming at them. Don't try to engage them - dress yourself up in a caricature of them, then point and laugh at them.

That is exactly what happened.

Nerds fucking rule!

Here's a selection of my favorite photos from the counter-protest.