black nerd empowerment – Yuki The Snowman

Reality Over Fiction: Why Real Life Empowerment is Better Than This Nerd Crap

“This Tupac museum is way better than going up to that little anime convention down the street!” I told a mother and daughter who asked me if I could take their picture next to a collection of notebooks from legendary rapper the late Tupac Shakur. Both women laughed and nodded in agreement. I myself was in awe reading his original, hand-written drafts of some of his iconic hit songs such as Troublesome ’96, To Live and Die in L.A., All About You, and California Love. From the pages, you could feel Tupac’s drive to make each of his works a masterpiece.

I was originally in Los Angeles during the 4^th of July 2022 weekend for Anime Expo: the annual anime convention in which broke socially awkward weeaboos with disposable income spend their money to help support Los Angeles’s train wreck of an economy (and to an extent, California’s own train wreck of an economy).

However, in the planning stages of my L.A. trip, I came across an advertisement for the Wake Me Up When I’m Free Tupac exhibit hosted in L.A. Live. I figured that it’d be great to take a break from all the weeaboos who finally learned some social skills and take care of their personal hygiene during the COVID shutdowns in order to do something more laid back. Plus, as someone who’s a fan of hip-hop, the arts, and a proud Foundational Black American, I felt that it was my duty to pay respect to the man who not only changed the world but especially inspired Black people globally to rise up against systematic white supremacy and to better themselves.

Anime conventions come and go. Most offer the same thing that you can experience at any other convention. But, a once-in-a-lifetime pop-up museum revolving around the life of a Black man who changed society, well, I had to go and check that out before it was too late.

Not mere seconds upon entering the exhibit, I felt powerful energy and drive that I’ve never experienced at any anime con. The energy of Black Empowerment. The drive to better myself as a Black man. Reading stories of Afeni Shakur – the mother of Tupac – and her courage to stand up against white supremacy as a member of the Black Panther Party during the 70s made me feel proud to be who I am.

Seeing how driven Tupac was in his short 25 years of life to create and produced only fueled my own creative drive. Reading about how he was able to produce many hit songs even in jail made me realize how much I threw away so much free I was blessed with during the 2020-2021 COVID lock-downs. Freetime that could have birthed work. Work that could have birthed content. Content that could have birth funds for me to have a much better and longer time in Los Angeles and Anime Expo. Don’t get me wrong: I had a hell of a time in Los Angeles and Anime Expo this year – but – it would have been nice to have more money in my pockets and more time on my hands out there.

Hell, if I wasn’t such a moron who let his inner darkness take control which turned into a destructive mental slump over a simple minor medical issue like heart failure (that landed me in the hospital for a week), I could have produced so much high-grade content for my blog and YouTube channel. That in turn could have birthed new traffic flow to my website and subscriptions to my YouTube channel. I could have grown big enough to land myself a free press or industry pass for Anime Expo; thus, saving me money and netting those glorious industry connections (only for me to lose them given how quickly they will discover how I could never be in their industry like that with my savage mouthpiece).

I know that you should never compare yourself to someone else. It’s a dangerous mental trap, but I gotta get this off my chest. Tupac spent time in a hopeless situation like prison and was able to produce hits after hit. Yet I wasted a year of my life feeling sorry for myself. A year where I could I could have risen up from the darkness and into the light and just produce masterpiece content like him.

As Foundation Black Americans, it’s a skill we’ve mastered due to 400 years and counting of going through the most horrific and sinister shit in human history. Honestly, being in that exhibit (as well as a real friend giving me a kick in the ass about my behavior) just gave me the realization that I have to go back to my old-school ways (producing content like crazy like I did during 2017-2019).

Like Tupac, I had to take control of my own life and direct my own fate.
That’s true empowerment.

*****

In contrast, the night before, I was at Atlus’s Persona 25th Midnight Masquerade dance party that was held during Anime Expo 2022. After waiting in the general admission line for over an hour, I had arrived just in time to hear this Asian DJ stop playing music (it wasn’t even Persona music, mind you) and start whining like a little bitch about as a child, he felt insecure about his racial heritage; wishing that he wasn’t Asian. As things couldn’t get more awkward, he sang a song about his struggles of being Asian in Canada. I wish that I would have recorded that, but I, along with my crew, felt second-hand embarrassment from that turn of events and left to chat it up with some Persona (and Shin Megami Tensei) cosplayers in the bar area.

(I can’t believe you early admission tickets guys really paid $25 to get in early only to hear that mess).

That was just pathetic. I couldn’t imagine being a young Asian person up at that party and hearing another Asian whine about how insecure he felt in his youth. How’s that empowering to anyone? Let me be that DJ! If I was him, I’d be up there talking reckless on stage about great Asians are because we made Persona, anime, and cosplay.

I would be like “If it wasn’t for us Asians making Persona and getting cosplay poppin all over the world none of these non-Asians motherfuckers would be here today dressing up as OUR characters! A lot of these dudes are only gonna get laid tonight cuz our race made characters like Ann Takamaki, Kasumi Yoshizawa, and Rise Kujikawa cuz these little cosplay hos are dressed up as the tonight! That Maya cosplayer looks positive and I ain’t talking about her always saying ‘let’s think positive’ in Persona 2 or COVID! Any guy getting with her later tonight better wrap up it! Anyway, We’re the master race – not the whites! Yellow Power! ”

I would MAKE sure neither Atlus nor Anime Expo hires me to DJ their events ever again!

That wild fantasy aside, that lack of knowing oneself through empowerment. It’s the mindset of most nerds. You have these white male nerds who have been given everything handed to them due to white supremacy. So, when something does go bad for them, they lack the willpower to get through it. That’s why you see these little white boy incels degrading shooting up public places, and getting involved with alt-right groups.

For the non-white nerds (and the white nerds who aren’t on board with white supremacy) they lack the courage to push through the hardships of life. Most only look forward to the past with blind nostalgia because they don’t see a hopeful future. Pride in oneself is absent from their psyche.

They use fiction as a shield to withdraw from and protect themselves against the savagery of this life. By hiding from life, they don’t have the foresight to see how amazing and beautiful life can be despite its cruel, twisted darkness. Most of these nerds don’t use any of this geek junk they indulge in to empower themselves. They hate on the alpha male and alpha female nerds who have the testicular and ovarian fortitude to not use nerd culture to hide from life. Why do you think there’s rarely any true self or communal empowerment at these conventions?

This is why I named this post “Reality Over Fiction”. I felt more driven to better myself in the two hours I spent at the Tupac museum compared to the 10+ years I’ve gone to these geek conventions across America. Honestly, you can’t find empowerment or people who want to better themselves at these conventions. Why? Because self-empowerment demands that you take a deeper look at yourself and force you to question what the hell have you been doing with all your life. They don’t want to realize they’ve wasted their life not doing anything with it. Funny, given the heroes they look up to (may they be fictional or real) rose up and empowered themselves.

Guess it’s easier in fiction than in reality.

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The Swarthy Nerd Podcast
A Black nerd empowerment podcast where Black nerds (well, all nerds, but Black first and foremost) can get together and talk freely about nerd culture while also acknowledging systematic white supremacy and racism in nerd culture. Every Tuesdays we drop episodes containing serious and laidback topics while Saturdays we drop episodes talking about TV shows, anime, film, comics, manga, and video games.

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By Yuki The Snowman Posted on July 16, 2022

black nerd 0

The Need For A Renaissance Black Nerd

Black nerds, especially my fellow Black nerds who can trace their lineage to American slavery, you greatly disappoint me.

How is it that we live in a time where nerd culture is the dominant culture in entertainment, Black Americans have proven themselves to be the masters and creators of mainstream culture itself, yet, we have Black nerds who refuse to better themselves? Why do many of my fellow Black nerds use their nerdom to hide from their reality and problems as opposed to embracing and dominating them? What will it take for you Black Nerds to stop talking about nerdy things all the time and have other interests? When will you guys wake up and realize you are Black first and that being a nerd won’t save you from systematic white supremacy?

For the past few years, these are a few things I have pondered over with other Black nerds. Some have agreed with me while most others think I’m an asshole who doesn’t need to think and talk about race with nerds all the time because I make them and their white friends uncomfortable (by the way: I’m not an asshole – I’m the asshole and your white friends like me more because I have balls unlike your cowardly, weak Black ass).

Either way, it made me realize something: We need a Renaissance Black Nerd. You know, like a Renaissance Man, but he’s a Black nerd instead. Now, you may be wondering: What’s a Renaissance Black Nerd, why do we need them, and how to become them?

Well, let’s get right into that!

WHAT IS A RENAISSANCE BLACK NERD

A Renaissance Black Nerd is a Black nerd whose interests span beyond nerd culture. He refuses to be just a nerd with superficial knowledge and hobbies; knowing that it won’t get him far with others and in life.

He must have swagger, charm, and balls – the latter being the most valuable. The Renaissance Black Nerd makes it a point to explore topics that normies can relate to as to not alienate others or himself from discussions.

He can be a fan of live-action mainstream shows such as Power, BMF, and Empire as well as being a fan of anime such as My Hero, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Demon Slayer. He could go one step further and watch anime that isn’t on the mainstream’s radar like Troublesome Old Man and Odd Taxi or classic anime like Project A-Ko and Dirty Pair (1985); introducing both normies and entry-level anime fans to lesser-known shows in addition to holding conversations with hardcore otaku who’re fans of older and obscure anime.

He works diligently to improve himself. He takes care of his health by working out and avoiding fast and junk food. He doesn’t allow escapism media to neither control his life nor shields him from reality. He views his hobbies as luxuries – not necessities.

Finally, The Renaissance Black Nerd wants not to be a better nerd – but a better person. Seeking to be merely a better nerd only places limitations, but being the best version of you never does. He acknowledges that the Black nerd community needs someone like him; even if he has to step on a few toes and piss people off to get his way and change the community for the better.

WHY DO WE NEED A RENAISSANCE BLACK NERD

With the understanding of what is a Renaissance Black Nerd, we can look further into why we need them for the Black Nerd community.

First, there’s a disturbing amount of Black nerds who’re either cornballs, goofballs, coons, or willfully ignorant towards white supremacy in and out of geek culture and circles. They desperately yearn for attention and acceptance from white people – especially white nerds. This could be rooted in not being popular with their Black peers, befriending mostly white nerds, and nerd culture not being socially accepted before the 2010s…supposedly.

I say supposedly because the Black community in general (especially Foundational Black Americans) do love gaming, movies, TV shows, anime, and comics. We are some of the biggest, if not, the biggest consumers of them. However, most of us didn’t allow those things to consume our lives and use them as a way to build a false identity via escapism unlike the few who did (emulating their cornball white nerd “peers”).

Second, Black nerds generally need to have outside interests as there are some who are handcuffed by and to geek culture. No one neither respects nor cares about your fantasy fist-fight between Mileena from Mortal Kombat and Komi from Komi Can’t Communicate” while Komi is peeing herself out of fear for her life and Ren Yamai is collecting her pee to use later on at night when she is laying up in her bed having dirty thoughts about Komi.

That’s not interesting. It won’t get people interested in you. You know what will? Exploring and branching out of your comfort zone (more on this later). Stop sticking to only watching anime and watch live-action TV shows. Keep up on what’s going on in sports. Follow both local and national news and dive deeper into the world of politics so you can talk to people.

You’ll get more respect from upping your game that way.

Finally, to conclude, Black nerds need to do better. We need to be aware of how we present ourselves to the world. Image is everything: from your grooming, to the clothes you wear, and yes, even your weight. It doesn’t hurt to get a haircut every once in a while. If you’re gonna wear an anime shirt in public, at least make sure it fits (know that people still going to think you’re immature for wearing one, regardless). Don’t shy away from dressing maturely. Not saying to go out and buy a suit, but you want well-fitting clothes for every occasion: work, interviews, upscale bars/clubs, casual/romantic dates, etc. If you’re fat, exercise! If you’re a skinny twig, build muscle! Take care of your body, health, and mind!

Better your social skills – even if you’re an introvert! Not saying you to become the master of charisma, but work on building some charm to draw people into you. This is accomplished by following what I stated earlier above.

HOW TO BECOME A RENAISSANCE BLACK NERD

Armed with the knowledge of what is and why we need a Renaissance Black Nerd, you can now learn how to become one.

To start, branch away from and slow down on the nerdiness. You shouldn’t forgo it completely, but you can’t entertain or empower yourself or others with useless nerd triviality. People (especially women) love those who are well-versed in many topics and display self-empowerment, growth, and useable everlasting tangibles. If you can do that then you will be rewarded greatly.

Next, you must be willing to escape your comfort zone. Say you only leisurely travel out-of-state for conventions weekends. Get out of your comfort zone by spending 3-4 days before the convention exploring the city in which the convention is hosted. Explore Chicago if you’re going there for Anime Central. Make some time to spend a few days wandering Los Angeles if you’re there for Anime Expo. Don’t be scared to talk to the locals of the city and learn about the people who live in them daily. Ask them what’s going on in the city, where are the best restaurants, bars, parks, and sites to visit. Who knows? You might love it to the point that you want to return to that city not for a convention, but because of how dope the city’s culture is.

Lastly, you must embrace your Blackness. You are Black First and foremost. Believe it or not, these white folks respect Black men and women who aren’t buck dancing, shuckin’ and jivin’ brown-nosing coons on the job. They can’t run games on Black men and women who showcase superior intelligence and stand up to the system of white supremacy in the white-run and operated workforce.

Do this, Black nerd:

At the next event you’re attending (may it be a party, convention, what have you) talk to these white folks about politics, current events, nerd/pop culture, and history. Be casual and friendly with it at first, don’t start aggressively. Disarm them with a smile. Ask them about where their family originated. Example: When talking to someone who claims their roots are Italian, ask them if they’re family from North Italy or South Italy. If they respond with South Italy, say “Oh, Sicily! I can tell you’re from Sicily because of the darker skin and hair!” Throw in some history with how the Moors conquered Sicily during the Medieval Ages and that’s why they have dark hair and skin.

(They’re also talking shit about you behind your back because you reminded them that they have that Moorish blood in them despite claiming white)

To conclude, the Black Nerd community needs more of us to become Renaissance Black Nerds. While it’s cool to love being a nerd, it doesn’t hurt to use your nerdy ways to empower yourself. We need to make sure that the cornball goofball Black Nerds get overthrown and replace with a Renaissance Black Nerd that’ll better the image of the Black Nerd. Nerd Culture is on the rise and has become mainstream. Now more than ever, it’s cool to be a nerd. Black Empowerment is on the rise.

Let’s use that for our advantage my fellow Renaissance Black Nerds!

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