Is the Esperanto community really accepting of people who are different??
글쓴이: AlanLadd13, 2013년 12월 6일
글: 137
언어: English
AlanLadd13 (프로필 보기) 2013년 12월 6일 오전 5:30:26
I suffer from bad social anxiety disorder and I am socially awkward because of it. I also get picked on and teased by other students at school for it and have a hard time making friends. I was wondering if other Esperanto speakers would label me a weirdo and freak because of my anxiety disorder and avoid me?
I was initially positive about learning this language but after reading about how some people viewed the awkward people at the meetups I'm not so sure because I know I will definitely be awkward at first because of my condition.
honest opinions of how I would be viewed at a meet up because of this would be appreciated.
Thank You
whysea (프로필 보기) 2013년 12월 6일 오전 6:08:08
like at any gathering, you might find some unpleasant people who dont want to talk to you. but that happens to everyone. At the same time i think "weirdness" is very common among esperantists and pretty highly accepted compared to other groups of people. furthermore i think spontaneously striking up conversation is more welcome in esperantujo, because we're all itching to practice speaking the language.
donar (프로필 보기) 2013년 12월 6일 오전 10:28:07
Note that Esperantists are no homogeneous group of people. But humans are still humans, so even at Esperanto meetings same minded ppl will form their own subgroups.
The key is to not stand in one corner doing nothing. Be open minded, who is not open minded is a dilettante anyway.
But I guess more important is to get rid of your social anxiety. Meaning, that all those harmful thoughts only exist in your head, although ppl are and always will be envies predators. The best way is to face up with your anxiety and attend e.g. at meetings like the Esperanto ones (doesn't matter if you travel alone to those meetings). This "shock therapy" called method is a way of curing yourself without external help and Esperanto can be a good tool for this goal.
EldanarLambetur (프로필 보기) 2013년 12월 6일 오전 10:51:36
Whenever you have a very tolerant community, you'll always get some people that push the tolerance.
I'd say the best thing is to be open and just repeatedly try, if it doesn't cause you too much trouble. If you greet someone with a smile, confessing your anxiety, but excitement for the language, I can't imagine anyone would view you as a freak. Sometimes out of anxiety you'll say things that don't really help a situation, and all you can do is expose yourself to those situations and practice overcoming your anxiety enough to function, I guess!
As whysea said, we're mostly all a little weird anyway
I hope you give Esperanto a go
tommjames (프로필 보기) 2013년 12월 6일 오전 11:34:49
I've never been to an Esperanto congress so I couldn't comment on the weirdness of attendees, but I've met socially with quite a few Esperanto speakers from different parts of the world and I've mostly found them to be very pleasant, non judgmental people, so I wouldn't worry too much about being perceived negatively.
jismith1989 (프로필 보기) 2013년 12월 6일 오후 12:18:52
It's also worth mentioning that Zamenhof's interna ideo and homaranismo are based on tolerance and respect for diversity. (See here, for example.) Just as Esperanto is cosmopolitan (in the true etymological sense, promoting 'citizenship of the world' ), so I'd imagine Esperantists would be more open to other kinds of individual differences, as well as national ones.
And as Tom said, Esperanto is worth learning for its own sake. Don't consider it only as a means to improve your social problems, because there are probably other and even more effective ways of focusing on that. That's like someone learning French just to get girls. Well, kind of.
donar:First and foremost, Esperantists are not comparable to political left-alternative mindeds or militant vegans, so, different people are more accepted.That seems like an unnecessary comment to me. Yes, there's all kind of leftist factionalism, of course, but many people on the left are very accepting of difference and even alternative viewpoints. I think people from both the left and the right can be dogmatic and engage in 'groupthink'. (And no, I'm not going to make the obvious link to Nazism, especially since you're German, but I'm sure you can think of other examples yourself.)
I agree with you though that 'shock therapy' is one of the best medicines for social anxiety and similar problems. Oh, and I've just noticed that it's your first post, so welcome to the community!
Leke (프로필 보기) 2013년 12월 6일 오후 12:24:22
I personally learn esperanto for my own geekery, and not for the social element. Saying that, I would probably be more social if I was better at the language, but that is partly down to my own laziness (or as I like to say, in-no-hurriness).
erinja (프로필 보기) 2013년 12월 6일 오후 2:04:16
Esperanto speakers are tolerant of all of this - to a fault, even, I'd say. People who likely have no friends outside of Esperanto seem to find their niche and do fine. People put up with a lot.
orthohawk (프로필 보기) 2013년 12월 6일 오후 5:05:30
whysea: At the same time i think "weirdness" is very common among esperantists and pretty highly accepted compared to other groups of people.Unless of course the "weirdness" comes of being a conservative religionist or quirks that arise from one's religious beliefs. Then you may as well be a serial killer as far as some people are concerned.
Benjamino (프로필 보기) 2013년 12월 6일 오후 6:15:22
There are no Esperanto gatherings around me. My impression is that Esperantists are just like anyone else, though. There are nice people and mean people. And sarcastic people, and people who try to be good but end up doing the wrong thing. There are people with something to prove, and people who feel small and have to compensate. And then finally there are psychopaths. I'm not trying to scare you; that's just the way the world is! Eventually we have to learn how to face it exactly how it is, or we end up becoming what we fear most. After all, it's almost always fear that drives people to do things that hurt others. The rest of the time it's resentment.