I’m guessing if you come to this blog and listen to these podcasts, you probably have an idea of this day. If you don’t know, there here is the non-solicited history of this day that no one else in the world cares about, but should really be a national holiday.
The year was 1977, and a man named George Lucas debuted a little film, that would later be synonymous with the word geek, called Star Wars, on this day, May 25th. It took years of nerd and geek ridicule before it was recognized as Geek Pride Day. In 2006, across the pond or around the corner if you’re reading this from Europe, some “nerds” in Spain started the first Geek Pride Day, and from there it spread like the T-Virus, or the Legacy Virus, or something equally nerd threatening.
So today, or tomorrow, or yesterday, whenever you happen to read this, I hope you’re sporting that nerdy graphic T, your chic glasses, and telling those very obscure geek reference jokes, because today is your day. And as I read news articles on this particular day, something did bother me. One said that after today, we geeks would return to being made fun of, but I think that’s an old idea. We’re not made fun of anymore. If anything, we geeks and nerds of the previous generation are being emulated, admired, or at least…not being made fun of anymore. We are sought for repairs, respected for the most part, and we gather in larger groups.
So wave that geek flag proudly because in a few years, or maybe even sooner, Geek Pride Day will be every day, leaving this day for the equally nerdy and just as awesome Towel Day in honor of Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker’s Guide series and Terry Pratchet’s day of something…I don’t know, I don’t read Terry Pratchet and Discworld, which probably makes me lose some geek points, but hell, I host two geek podcasts, so…yeah.
HAPPY GEEK PRIDE DAY!
For more in depth information on Geek Pride Day and the manifesto, decree, pledge, and all that good stuff, check out this site: http://factor168.com/2010/geek-pride-day-25th-may/ It has practically everything you’d need or want to know about this “holiday”.
