Sheldon Adelson (Net Worth 3.4 Billion) – Just do things in life the way other people dont do things, Change the Status Quo and then you’ll succeed. I have said it a thousand times but nobody ever listens.

Being strange is beneficial in a capitalist society because it makes you unique. If you are unique then that means there is a low supply of people like you. There is another side of the equation, which is demand. There also has to be a demand.

Alkanadi:

Sheldon Adelson (Net Worth 3.4 Billion) – Just do things in life the way other people dont do things, Change the Status Quo and then you’ll succeed. I have said it a thousand times but nobody ever listens.

Being strange is beneficial in a capitalist society because it makes you unique. If you are unique then that means there is a low supply of people like you. There is another side of the equation, which is demand. There also has to be a demand.

There are different types of strangeness.

There are strange people I could spend all day with, because they're so interesting.

There are strange people I wouldn't want to spend five minutes with, because they're so dull and obsessed.

And there are strange people I have come across who give me the impression of being physically dangerous to me.

Generally I approve of eccentricity, but there are some exceptions too!

Sheldon Adelson isn't exactly my role model ... But there is nothing "bad" per se with being strange. Depending on what your goals are, "contrarianism" can be beneficial or a disadvanage.

For example, if you're investing in the stock market, it's often helpful to have the opposite attitude from what the pundits and media are saying (Media: "Dow is gonna hit 20,000 soon and stay there!" Smart investor: "I'm getting out of here." )

On the other hand, if you're looking to be a (successful) politician or socialite, you'll want to fit in.

I seem very strange to most people. People my age in my culture are not "supposed" to have my kinds of interests, dress, and habits. I stopped seeing this as bad once I realised that I actually get along much better with other "strange" people. In general, I find them more original, more unpredictable, more intellectually stimulating.

For example, I was once acquainted with a young man who could animatedly talk to me for hours about ancient mythology. I didn't know much about the subject and had only a small prior interest, but I really appreciated his complete sincerity, his originality, and so I have quite pleasant recollections about our interactions. It's not something I often see.

"Strangeness" can offer a new window into the world, if your position in life doesn't require you to be too conformist.

I think the relevant point here, Alkanadi, is that if you want Esperanto to be widely accepted, it doesn't help if learning Esperanto is seen to be strange rather than normal.

When attention is focussed on the strangeness of people who learn Esperanto (and unfortunately this is too often the case with TV/radio programmes or press articles) then it is difficult to get accepted that the learning of Esperanto is not strange.

So the advice must be, no matter how strange you are, try to present a public face of normality. Don't uninhibitedly exhibit your own particular weirdness when invited to be interviewed about Esperanto. Or, if you can't contain yourself, decline the invitation and suggest your more normal friend.

sudanglo:
So the advice must be, no matter how strange you are, try to present a public face of normality. Don't uninhibitedly exhibit your own particular weirdness when invited to be interviewed about Esperanto. Or, if you can't contain yourself, decline the invitation and suggest your more normal friend.

I idly wonder whether my striking long hair would disqualify me from being interviewed about Esperanto.

If indeed most Esperantists are at this level of "weirdness" (which seems a bit implausible), then surely it would be pointless or even counterproductive to try to hide it. Anyone who takes a deeper interest in Esperanto will eventually be exposed to the "strangeness" of parts of Esperantujo anyway. Do we really want to set up a Potemkin's village?

In general, I think you're too eager to generalise, to paint everyone with the same brush. Surely you're aware of the vast diversity of personality, opinion, etc., that is present in Esperantujo. I see it almost every time I interact with the community. It's not all a bunch of far-left, unicycle-riding, ukulele-playing hippies.

I don't exhibit my own particular weirdness when talking to others about Esperanto any more than when in other situations. I dislike having to "pretend" to be someone I'm not, whether this means being more or less "weird" than I normally am. If people want to (say) judge me just because of my nonstandard appearance - that's their problem. Sometimes, people just come to stupid conclusions.

Let's just be whoever we already are.

sudanglo:So the advice must be, no matter how strange you are, try to present a public face of normality. Don't uninhibitedly exhibit your own particular weirdness when invited to be interviewed about Esperanto. Or, if you can't contain yourself, decline the invitation and suggest your more normal friend.

God, I hope nobody interviews you.

To convince people you need to look professional.
The weirdness (that illustrated by Esperantists included) is the antithesis of professional.

Tempodivalse:I idly wonder whether my striking long hair would disqualify me from being interviewed about Esperanto.

Well, you grew out your hair to make room for you brain, didn't you? That was Larry Norman's explanation... or at least what my brother said that he said.

sudanglo:I think the relevant point here, Alkanadi, is that if you want Esperanto to be widely accepted, it doesn't help if learning Esperanto is seen to be strange rather than normal.

Elhana2:
To convince people you need to look professional.
The weirdness (that illustrated by Esperantists included) is the antithesis of professional.

Not all Esperantists are "weird", at least to the extent that it would bother other people. This is a bad stereotype.

Esperantists do themselves no favours by willingly buying into the stereotype and then complaining that the stereotype exists. That's self-defeating.

If you view your own community in such a negative light, then of course that invites others to view it in the same way.