Funny you should mention Bronie at this point. This past weekend in Raleigh, they had a Bronie convention. The TV cameras scanned the audience and honest to god I have never seen such a large group of losers in my life. It really was sad, and the news people kept making remarks about how weird it was and even at one point used the expression...Ewww!
I felt bad for these people whose problem was probably "arrested development" but they were not harming anyone else. They looked like lonely, sad and dysfunctional human beings desperately searching for friends and people to share things with. I got to thinking how lucky I have been in my life to not be dependent on stuff like that for my self worth. I've had a good career, a great family, a marriage that in spite of ending, did last 29 years and produced two great girls who have since produced 4 grandchildren for me to laugh, play and share with. I spend entirely to much time on this board and others, but since I am retired I no longer have the stimulation of interacting with people on a constant basis. This is as close as I can get to it.
All of us, and that includes the most sanctimonious of the posters here, and at other places, have some sort of socializing problem whether we care to admit it or not. From those like myself that readily admit that, for the moment, I have nothing else to do to those that would have you believe that they are the most sought after, highly productive people on the planet, yet can find the time to respond and comment almost continuously. To clarify, I don't have a problem with people obsessing about Disney, but I do respect those that take ownership of the fact they all of us have a degree of obsession. There is nothing wrong with that until we start to point out fingers at others the have the same or like obsession, but take a different route and call them either mentally ill or developmentally stifled. Believe me, to the outside world, to the people that have real challenges and really important things to accomplish in life, it is pretty likely the problems of Guests at any Disney Park, the condition of the light bulbs, the idea that a ride breaks down more then we would like, is not even anyplace on their radar. We are indeed a group of misfits that are relegated to our own self imposed island and could easily be looked upon, by them, as mentally ill and developmentally challenged.
I don't see anything wrong with us having that obsession. As was stated before we could be doing a lot worse but we have followed this relatively isolated hobby all the time remembering that it was all started by a cartoon mouse. We are not correcting the world and it's problems, but also are not hurting it with any degree of noticeable damage. When someone mentions that they wouldn't be surprised to see a life-styler involved in something much more serious someday, there is a pretty good chance that anyone of us might have that mutant gene just waiting to surface. That is something that can happen within any group of people. To quote the shadow..."who knows what evil lurks within the hearts of men".
When you think about it we are all fighting and arguing about a damn Theme Park. People are out there without the proper shelter and nourishment or clothing. There are people in the world being attacked by chemical warfare, oppressed by power mongers, suffering from natural disasters that have no end, and we as a society spend a large chunk of our day wondering what happened to Miley, and particularly us, we are constantly fighting to get a place like the Disney Company to go back to the original ideals that created the place that we call Disney. It's not going to happen, it's a different world so instead of beating our heads against the wall worrying about FP's, light bulbs, $600.00 hotel rooms perhaps we should advance our own development and try to help a failing world. Basically, I just realized just how little I am contributing to anything by being involved in this stuff. I have managed to take something that I used to find as a great way to shield myself from real life and made it as frustrating as real life. I have managed to zap the fun and joy out of something that I used to call a great part of my life, a part that I used to look forward too. Something just seems wrong doesn't it? Is it them or is it us? I don't have the answer to that.
