Being A Minority In The Geek World

This is a touchy subject, there is no doubt in my mind about that.  But it is one that needs to be addressed. Being a minority in the geek world can be rough and a bit discouraging. Ever since I can remember, I have been a geek. I loved Power Rangers, Super hero movies, Star Wars, Dragon Ball Z, Yu Gi Oh, WWF, video games, and so many more things. I believe one of my greatest loves were Superman comics. Unfortunately, I learned quickly that I was not the same as to fellow geeks. On the play ground at elementary schools, children have almost no filter because they simply have not learned about being 'politically correct', which actually is not an issue because they often speak the truth. One spring day, friends and I gathered together to play Super Heroes Vs Zombies where we would all pretend to be super heroes and then fight imaginary zombies. I always chose either Superman or Green Lantern and my friends at the time, who were predominantly white, would respond: "You can't be him! You are too dark. Superman doesn't eat tacos or is a janitor." They forced me to pick a darker character or default to being a zombie. As a kid, who did not have enough money to afford comics, my knowledge of minority super heroes was severely limited to the mainstream. Most often I would play the bad guy and die all the time or be put into jail by my friends. All because of the color of my skin."

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