Post #65699 by tikibars on Fri, Dec 19, 2003 4:59 PM

I agree with many if not most of the above posts.

One thing to add as an 'also':

Within any social subculture, there is always that sort of mild annoyance that happens when laypeople misunderstand the interests that we are so deeply entrenched in. We sometimes forget that our clan is relatively small, and that not everyone in the outside world is an expert, and in fact few people besides us even really care.

For instance, when I was a teenager in the early 1980s with my red mohawk(!), I hated being called 'new wave' by people, because (in my mind), I was clearly 'punk rock', and the two were (in my mind) clearly different.

I know Star Wars geeks who LOATHE it when people assume they like Star Trek.

I know sound engineers who will KILL you for calling them a "roadie".

I know nurses who will chew you out for thinking that they are just assistants to doctors.

I am sure there are entymologists out there who want to throttle people who confuse butterflies and moths, or that assume they like beetles because they like butterflies.

As any social group eventually becomes clearly defined, it is then easy for them to get annoyed when people lump them in with marginally related things, particularly ones that have (in the minds of the members of the group) less than flattering connotations.

So -

To the layman, Parrotheadedness is not so different from Tikiness, but WE know that it is clearly different enough (for most of us) to enjoy one but not want to be associated with the other (I know there are people here who are exceptions).

But since the A LOT (not all) of Tikiphiles are rubbed the wrong way by Buffett's clan, I think that this annoyance is exaggerated exponentially due to the fact that those not "in the know" (i.e. the press, your aunt, frat boys, store clerks, that guy who was looking at you funny this afternoon, bar tenders...) so frequently merge the two.

It is almost as if, in order to maintain a mainstream perception of autonomy between Buffett's stoners and Trader Vic's loyal minions, we have to get triple offended when innocent confusion between the two groups (who admittedly have overlapping characteristics) occurs.

And the more it occurs, the more annoyed we get, until the annoyance and rivalry is unnaturally inflated. We create a rift that is bigger than it needs to be so that the separation is clear to people outside of our community.

And then...

Oh, what was I saying?

Give me another mai tai, I lost my train of thought.