A show on the Food Network tonight focused on the toys and other collectibles associated with food. For example, there are conventions for people who collect toys featured in McDonald's Happy Meals and for the little trinkets you would find in a CrackerJacks box. Some of these people were certainly reminiscent of science fiction fans. The show also featured a couple whose "ultimate goal" is to collect all of the Welchs grape jelly cartoon-style jars. And I couldn't help but think to myself, "Why?"

Ah, tolerance. We all live in our own heads and have our own sense of what is "right" or "correct". I try to be aware of forcing my own narrow views on people, I really do. But my reaction to the jar-people reminded me of other reactions I witnessed recently - reactions of the mundanes to the people standing in line for Star Wars.

I was kind of sitting apart from most of the geeks (anti-social reading binge was in progress), so I witnessed a lot of reactions of people who were visiting the mall.

First of all, there were the ubiquitous "don't you people have jobs?" comments, coming from people who were ALSO at the mall during a weekday. But the most amazing case involved a dyed-blonde middle-aged woman who actually pulled a young man aside to berate him about wasting his life. Let me paraphrase what he said: I am a full-time student, and the semester just ended. I work part-time at a hardware store, and I have been going to work during the lineup. I am also working on a film documentary about people who stand in line for Star Wars. That's what I'm doing here. Good for you, buddy!

The theater was next to an IMAX, and the real "attack of the clones" was the busloads of elementary school students who were dropped off everyday to see the IMAX. The kids were pretty nice, but their adult chaperones made all sorts of disparaging comments. One man actually let his group of kids scream into tents where people were sleeping because "they should be up anyways." Nice, huh? Kids can learn so much about tolerance from the adults around them.

And you just know that the majority of the insulting adults collect Beanie-babies.

Also, when Heidi spent the night, people came by and threw water balloons at the fans while they were sleeping. Losers camp out for a movie, cool people throw balloons at losers. Ahem.

Ah, tolerance, I know it well.

Discuss Tolerance