Have We Become Merely Stereotypes?

Locobreath

New Member
I was watching Fox Cable News this past weekend. There was a brief segment about a middle age man who brought his Lionel Trains to work to show them to his co workers as part of a show-your-hobby day. When it was over the blonde, thirty-something female anchor added the following catty remark: I'll bet the guy is single and lives at home with his mother!

Whew!! Is that what people think of us? :mad: :mad: :mad:

Any comments from forum members? What is the worst thing someone said to you about our hobby?
 

NEMMRRC

New Member
Actually...

Locobreath said:
I was watching Fox Cable News this past weekend. There was a brief segment about a middle age man who brought his Lionel Trains to work to show them to his co workers as part of a show-your-hobby day. When it was over the blonde, thirty-something female anchor added the following catty remark: I'll bet the guy is single and lives at home with his mother!

Whew!! Is that what people think of us? :mad: :mad: :mad:

Any comments from forum members? What is the worst thing someone said to you about our hobby?
Actually, I do live at home with my parents and I am single. However, when I bring my train magazines to the office (Gazette and MR) I get lots of oooohs and aaaaahs. Of course when people turn around and walk away there is no telling what they say.
 

CharlesH.

Member
Whenever I bring up the hobby subject and show some of my pictures, these folks usually go with the usual "oooh", which normally I take like either some mild delight or sheer sarcasm. Curiously, the reaction that seems the most positive is the one that always gets in my nerves - the dreaded "c*te".

Quite frankly, I don't give a dang about what others think about my hobby, as long I'm the one who enjoys it. Period.

I'll bet the guy is single and lives at home with his mother!
Then again, what could we expect with a blonde thirty-something woman that works on TV that probably giggles upon hearing the word "doodoo"?
 

jmarksbery

Active Member
:curse: I don't think they will allow me to say what I think about that lad-----woma--what ever she may be!!! What takes her mind off the grind of everyday living? Well, I wish my mom was still living to live with. At 63 I have done more in my life than I wish to discuss here, I have done all the manly things that could be done. With having to retire (forced) early this hobby helps me relax and get control of what remains of my life. This person needs help, maybe Fox should send her to a sinceativity meeting or a model railway function to get her LIFE straight. UP HERS!!!! I guess the worst I have heard is "is that all you got to do is play with your toys?" My answer is "YEP" :p Jim
 

Chessie6459

Gauge Oldtimer
Not alot of people know i am into trains but the few that do don't make fun of me because of it. Something that people have made fun of was the job i had taken on and it is a volunteer firefighter. :curse: I have been called alot of names, but this is how i think about it. They will need me before i need them cause when they need to be saved from a burning building, or are entrapped in a vehicle what number are they going to call hmmmm 911 maybe. I also think they are jealous are just to scared to do what i do. Well i'm sorry if i am doing something for my community. I put my life on the line everyday whether or not we are called out. It is the fact To Protect & Serve. Am I not right?
 

Will_annand

Active Member
One of the female comedians, it might have been Brett Butler or Ellen, had a great line.

"I was going to be a TV News Spokeswoman, but I passed the IQ test."
 
F

Fred_M

Weekend, so it can't be E.D. So that leaves Juliet, Greta or Molly. I think that's all the blonds. So Greta is too smart to say such I think, Juliet would maybe joke and say such a thing, but I bet it was Molly? Sounds like something she would say. Am I right? Fred
 
P

philip

Tech TV was reviewing Train simulator and the young host referred to all of us as "Dorks" while chugging his arms like steam drivers. My son recorded the segment for me an played it. Iv'e been called worst things in life! Rather amusing. The host probably spends the majority of his time in front of a video game............he's a "Dork" to.
philip:eek:ops:
 
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Fred_M

LOL, and when we unplugg our hobby there is still something to see Phillip. :D Fred
 

brakie

Active Member
What gets me is the good folks that say they wish they had time for a hobby but,spend hours in front of the old TV..Go figure. :confused:
Naw,folks with wee minds should be overlooked and pitied..
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
OK folks; let’s talk about a group of “dorks”, or in my estimation, people that need a life of their own. I used to enjoy a good baseball or football game, until they started this trend of zeroing the camera in on every baseball player that was getting ready to spit or grab their crotch, which wasn’t difficult since they all seem to do this frequently. I watch a football game for a while, until I can no longer stand the egos of those that strut around the field pointing at themselves to doing a job the get paid handsomely to do, or cannot score without doing the obligatory “dance” in the end zone. Now there are those that are hard-core fans, dressing up in a pig suite and snout or painting their body the team colors. Some strip to the waste in sub-zero temperatures, or shave their hair to sport the team logo. I was in a bar, one of those that had some 5,000 TV sets, each tuned to a different game, and there were these guys watching basketball. Well, every time “their team” scored, they jumped up and high-fived each other. I guess they don’t realize the team is playing for big bucks and not to please these guys, no more, no less. Now if that’s the way they want to be entertained, God love them. I can’t see myself doing that, but if that makes them happy, go for it. When the game is over, all these “fans” have left are the memory of the game and the greasepaint that they can’t rub off, while the players go home to a palatial mansion and a fat paycheck. The same goes for those addicted to video games, after hours and hours of playing, all they have are the memories, and perhaps sore fingers. Again, if that’s their thing, fine, but I get no pleasure from fighting some imaginary foe or conquering some evil empire.

Now lets talk about model railroading. After playing a “game” with their trains, maybe an operating session with a group of friends, maybe a work session at a club or just running some trains on their layout just for fun, when their game is over for that day, they not only have the memories, but they have a thing of beauty they can come back to day after day to enjoy and share, knowing that they created that world. And let’s get practical, go to a sports game and spend a hundred or so dollars and what’s left but a ticket stub. Spend the same amount on your railroad and you have something that you can be proud of and is there until you chose to change it. The ticket stub has no value, money spent on a layout or equipment will always have value, even when you decide you don’t want it anymore. Don’t like what you created, change it, sell it, trade it, you are in control. The sports fan’s only control is to change allegiance, which they rarely do.

Now, who are the dorks here? For a person to infer that model railroaders need to get a life really shows that they need to get out more often and look around. Model railroading requires talent and dedication, watching a ballgame needs only one of these, you decide which one. :wave: :wave:
 

CalFlash

Member
I normally reserve my comments and shy away as soon as I hear the L word. I often mention my hobby is trains and that's almost all I ever hear: "Oh I had Lxxxx trains when I was a kid". We need to promote our hobby as more adult and sophisticated. I view collecting trains (esp Lionel) as no different than collecting stamps or whatever so my comment my not have been the same but not far off. When I do get a chance to expose people to what I'M DOING the usual comment is "I never realized" Take time to show how our hobby is beyond the stereotype image.
 

cobra

Member
Since getting back into this great hobby , virtually all of the folks I've met in person and on line are pretty laid-back types . Not full of themselves . I like it that way . No , I don't ( would NEVER ) live with my Mother ....rather a great wife and 2 Pugs . I think as we get older we tend to mellow out a bit and this hobby seems perfect for that temperment . When I was younger , I confess I did ' roll my eyes ' at bird watchers , railfans , butterfly collectors , hikers and all ....seemed kind of , um , dorkie . Now I have a greater appreciation for these and other folks who enjoy peace and quiet ....and trains !

NEIL
 

grumbeast

Member
This is worrying, coming from the UK and being a trainspotter during the 80s I lived through the hobby being considered a slightly eccentric but harmless hobby (hell every small boy wanted to be an engine driver) to a much shunned, maligned and victimised minority group. Popular culture uses the term trainspotter to refer to a sad lonely nerdy individual with no social skills who obsesses about trivial minutia. To be called a trainspotter is extremely insulting these days. On a recent trip back to Britain I was amazed to see a middle aged men sneakily looking out of the window at trains and quickly writing down numbers so as not to get "caught". Before I left I don't know how many smirks I got at news agents for buying copies of railway magazines!

whew I'm having a rant, one of the really wonderful things I found about North America is how accepting people are of my hobby, when a so called friend decided to tell my (Canadian) wife to be I was a trainspotter (hoping he'd cause me some grief with the new gf) all she could say was "Oh thats nice, everyone should have a hobby" (was she the right lady for me or what!... 12 years on)

So this anchor's comments are the very start of a slippery slope we really don't want to go down.

(end rant for now :)

Graham
 

Matthyro

Will always be re-membered
I have a daughter in law who says" You want what? .... for Christmas?" My son thinks it is a waste of time too but my grandson loves coming here to play trains. Some folks just don't have their priorities straight
 

jetrock

Member
So far as I can tell, the public perception of model railroaders has always been like that--1950's issues of MR mention similar things, even though trains (real and model) were much more in the public eye. I suppose compared to some of the other hobbies I've had trains is fairly sedate--like running nightclubs and playing in a band and selling leather bondage gear and roadie-ing--but hey, as I hit my mid-30's I'm looking for more sedate activities, and fortunately I remembered how much fun I had with model railroading as a kid. And, unlike the amount of fun I had at gothclubs and punk shows in my twenties, it's just as fun today.

And, as far as public perception goes, I suppose that I am a bit more immune to negative public image, as other subcultures I have been part of were publicly perceived as satan-worshipping mass-murderers, malicious computer pirates or violent hooligans when I've pretty much been this nerdy guy the whole time.
 

revandy

New Member
My wife loves this hobby, first she knows where I'm at, secondly, she knows I'm not in some bar, and three, she and my daughters never has too worry about what to get me for gifts, my wish list is a mile long and growing!

revandy
 
Very true Graham, that's one of the reasons I'm hoping to move out of the UK too.

While I'm not into freezing to death on a platform end collecting loco numbers, I can't see any harm in it, it's no worse than golf or fishing, both of which involve standing around freezing too!! ;)

Something everyone seems to think is that Model railroading and playing computer games are mutually exclusive. I like to do both, depending on my mood. In certain circles playing computer games has got me branded a geek/dork/nerd whatever, it's more having an interest is frowned on, rather than your interest being anything in particular.

Simon
 

N Gauger

1:20.3 Train Addict
:eek: Wow :eek: I come back in here & a whole lot of new posts appear!!! :) :)

Want my take???? I am an assistant teacher (Docent) at a local RR museum. There are a bunch of misinformed people out there - some of them are your relatives & Friends :D :D

As has been said, Stamp collecting?? Yep ......they go up in value....but you might as well look at them in a frame..... you can't Touch them - Oil on the fingers you know.....

TV watching??? just memories are left :)

Ball game, Racing, Hiking & Fishing....mostly just ticket stubs & memories.....

and yeah, I'll give you.... that you CAN spend quality time with your kids "IF they want to go sit in a stadium" ........ But your Layout is always there - always in view "if" they want to be interested...... if they want to help........ That's THE best thing about modeling :)

And I get some "idiots" that don't care to learn.... don't care to "see" what I see.... in my Hobby.... Not to mention My involvement in this board (What do you mean - you don't get paid?) ........ ~~ Sigh ~~~

But guess what?????? Most of them... when I show them the layout and they ask That ONE BEST question.........

Where did you buy that!!!???!!!

I smile......... show all my pretty teeth....and reply... "I Didn't Buy It Anywhere... I Built That!!!!!!!!!

The looks are..........and always will be.................................Priceless!!!!!!!!!!

I've always lived by: "Learn what you can - Knowlege is Power" These poor people are just uninformed.... We have to start asking these people what they do to "waste their money" :) :) :)
 
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