WARNING: the following post may offend some of you even though i am trying hard not to! Choosing my words very carefully as I don't want to be banned, here we go:
I don't spot trains but I am interested in railways, their operation, history, development, expansion etc. I enjoy travelling by train (sometimes for no real reason) and i like photographing things including trains as you will see form my flickr page. I think I am a pretty "normal" bloke however I am sure things I do will be seen as odd by others.
Are all spotters soap dodging, social misfit, autism spectrum dwelling, emotionally stunted super virgins with droning Kevin voices, the conversational skills of a gorilla and the breadth of life experiences commonly found in amoeba?
No - of course not at least not all of them. We all know ( yes we do!) where we can find people like this and we all know that there are some (lots?) people like this interested in trains. Whilst there may be a stereotype quite a few spotters seem to fit that picture! I bet some of them use this board.
That's not to say there aren't lots of people like this in any hobby. I see people like this at beer festivals, at the cricket, at music events, at football and while this thread is about train spotters the desire to catalouge, record, order, sift, collect and conquer something runs through many, mainly male, pursuits.
Yes it is, at least to my mind! What a sad and lonely way to live that must be. I have dealt with some terrible, horrible people who have done the most awful things but it doesn't mean I want to give up on people.
There is nothing wrong with any of those things, just like train spotting. I would say there
IS something wrong when interests reaches obsession.
Don't be silly - that barely deserves a response.
what is that supposed to mean? No one is in any way suggesting abusing those with severe physical or mental disabilities!
I will "bitxch and moan" now thanks. You aren't the only person ( I am sure) who has experience of supporting people with severe mental or physical disabilities. And you bloody well should talk to disabled people as "normal" people. Everyone should because they are people just like us.
No one is "dissing" anyone. We are having a conversation about why some people involved in train spotting are a bit on the extreme end of normal society. No one is suggesting they should be locked away in some facility for 30 years :roll:
You know, as well as I do, that there are lots of spotters like that and we all know where to find them.
yes you would: its called being able to talk to people! It is something i find very easy and I don't work in a "customer facing" role. it isn't rocket science. I happily admit that for lots of people having a conversation with a stranger is very difficult unless they have a similar interest to you. You don't have to search for common ground if you have a shared interest but you need to eb able to talk about things other than your obbsession.
"Norms" (?) would be doing 1 or 2 of those things. Norms don't have a moves book or observation file!
I know - I have met some board members and they weren't that bad
Sadly, the stereotype has more than enough people conforming to it!
It made me laugh a great deal. It is almost exactly the same as train spotting!