Weird words

Two days ago I found what I thought was a great forum for the discussion of different types of dolls. (For the sake of the people there, and myself, I won't mention the board's names or member names.) I excitedly joined in.

Last night though, I received a comment which really bothered me. One of my hobbies is creating modified versions of some dolls, combining different head and body combinations.
One of my favorite combinations is putting a doll with a large head but small body on a better-proportioned body. Another is putting shoes meant for one type of doll, on another, to see how they'll look and fit. It's created some interesting results.

Apparently, however, I'm the only one in the whole world who thinks that way. When I showed my combinations to the members of the board, I was told it "looked weird" and "in some way, disturbing."

That's all it took for me to leave.

Maybe I'm being too sensitive, but when you're a new member of a board, and someone immediately tramples upon your creative ideas and interests, it leaves the wrong kind of impression. There was no way I was going to stay there after that ordeal.

I'm not going to stop collecting dolls, or trying new things because of it. I know it would do no good to try and explain or rationalize myself to the people there. My experience has been that once the "weird" label has been applied, it's stuck and nearly impossible to remove.

I hate the word "weird".

I believe people use the term "weird" too much in today's society. If someone does or says things that others haven't seen before, that might be a little different, or that is beyond their understanding, why is it they're labelled "weird," "crazy," "nuts", "kooky", or some other derogatory term?

I'm not referring to the truly insane, such as murderers who kill for pleasure, those who go to extremes with their oddities, or people who break the law in other ways. I'm referring to people you see every day on the street, at work, or in your community who mostly act and behave "normally", but think outside the box. Even some of my disabled friends and neighbors are called weird!

Some of the best inventors of our time were called weird back in the day!

For instance, I know a doll collecting friend who does what some might consider "weird" things with their dolls: creates minotaurs using doll parts and parts from a plastic toy cow or horse.

I know someone on my job who views the world in a slightly different way than most. Actually she's one of my best friends, although she is defined by many as "weird." I find her ideas, insights, and views intriguing and refreshing.

Just because we know lots of people who act the way we do (for the most part), and might even like the same things we do, does not give us the right to call someone who acts just a little differently, or might put a different spin on something we like, "weird."

We all have different ideas. We are each unique, and we all have different ways of seeing the world and living in it.

In my opinion, all of us are probably a little bit "weird" to someone else.
As my mom likes to quote, there's a saying that goes "We're all weird except for me and you....and I'm not too sure about you."