What hidden segments of society do you interact with?

[Veritass]

So I'm at Taco Bell last night grabbing a bite on the way to rehearsal, and I'm listening to the conversation at the next table, which is between two tattooed guys who are probably roofers or electricians or something similar. I'll call them Biff and Dirk, and I'll try to clean up the language a little.

Biff: Where you been?
Dirk: F-ing Neil got stabbed in the head again last night.
Biff: What a p-word. What happened?
Dirk: We went over to his place, and his girlfriend Carrie had her dealer over, and they were like humping, and Neil went all p-word on him.
Biff: Neil's such a p-word. I'm sure he got the s-word beat out of him.
Dirk: Actually, Neil was doing OK, but then the dealer guy pulled a knife on him and stabbed him in the head.
Biff: What a p-word.
Dirk: It totally sucked. I had to take Neil to Hoag [Hospital] and get him a couple of staples [stitches], and the whole time Carrie is all freaking out like she never saw blood before. You shoulda heard Neil scream like a baby when he got stabbed.
Biff: I did a year in county [jail] with Neil, and he got beat up all the time. He's such a p-word. He's gotta be on parole or probation or something. Did he get [his parole] violated?
Dirk: Nah. The cops came by Hoag and asked him what happened, and they released him into my custody, since I'm his sponsor.

Now, since I didn't have a newspaper to read, I found this highly entertaining to listen to. Here was an entire subsection of society that I normally don't get exposed to, being a middle-aged upstanding citizen.

My wife and I have discussed at times that we have all of these little segments of society. For example, we are "theatre geeks" and try out for plays and musicals. There is a small group of people that do this, so we run into the same people all the time, and there is a protocol associated with doing this: things you are supposed to do and not supposed to do, how you dress and speak, a jargon associated with this segment, etc.

Another segment, a la Little Miss Sunshine, would be the "junior beauty pageant circuit". They have their own little clique, and jargon, and accepted protocols.

Obviously I ran into a different segment at the Taco Bell.

What segment(s) of society do you associate with, besides "gamers" of course?

 

[Nylan]

band geeks of the highest order

future mechanical engineers

religious people

 

[Bozo Erectus]

What segment(s) of society do you associate with, besides "gamers" of course?

Mostly dumb potheads. I definitely steer clear of people who regularly get stabbed in the head.

 

[silver 2039]

Stoners mostly. Its pretty intreasting taling to them about how they used a telescpoe to make a joint, and such.

Also with some of those gangsta type people, I find out who they beat up on Saturday on which road, and their little run ins with the cops and such.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

[...]

Obviously I ran into a different segment at the Taco Bell.

What segment(s) of society do you associate with, besides "gamers" of course?

Quite a lot, and I'm glad to have met them. Most of them are outcasts in one way or another. Let's enumerate...

One. The burning anarchists, people who consider themselves outfringed from our society, trying to build a better world, quite willing to consider themselves at war with this one if such is required, rejects and rejectors. Two. Jennifer Diane Reitz and several other people leaning in the same direction, who have discarded most current ideas of sexuality. Three. Deep hackers whose knowledge of data, in their opinion, empowers them to trump and ignore and show as self-contradictory many laws regarding computers. People you can't out-argue on their own field, but they hate law and lawyers with a passion, as their Gordian analysis breaks on it like waves. Four. The differently minded, from Creationists to self-proclaimed astral travelers and 'ki' users, who don't acknowledge the same reality as I do. Five. Culture masters of a few cultures which are tight-knit and have a fast feedback loop, such as lolcats. Usually mocked from the outside, fascinating once you watch long enough that you can trace a few rules. Six. Fringe groups that are far out past, say, furries, and I don't say more on this board.

 

[nc-1701]

What's wrong with "Ki" users? Ki is an important part of most martial arts, and is very real...

A for me: I have met alot of homeschoolers being homeschooled myself, but I find them to generally be similar to the rest of society... I have also been, and am, friends with alot of very religous types... Which has been quite interesting, and vasstly changed my opinion of religon... A quick search will show you what my opinions on it once were...

 

[CurtSibling]

I am friendly with various followers of the occult, not to mention many underground thinkers and related misanthropes.

...

 

[Leonel]

I'd say but I'd be breaking Rule 1 and 2 and I'm not talking about Fight Club either.

 

[silver 2039]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention Satanists. I'm friends with many of them.

 

[downtown]

2 groups come to mind.

1) Musicians, and by extension, the other business people that go with them (venue owners, sound guys, roadies, booking agents, music store owners, etc etc). I know most of the musicians in my genre in the central Ohio area, and know almost every single musician who performs in public in my area. There certainly a subculture within the arts community, a code of ethos (often one that the artists and those close to them do not share with others on the business side, which leads to all sorts of problems), etc.

2) Independent Media Outlets. I've done some freelance work for media and news groups outside of the major newspapers and radio stations in my county (college radio, independent sports papers, local news internet forums, etc). These other news sources often exist to serve other "subgroups" that major news outlets don't cover (like say, musicians!), or to write things about local news events that for whatever reasons, the main outlets can't cover. Also, the main outlets suck pretty bad.

 

[Kozmos]

I socialize with almost everyone cept skins. Metalheads and rockers are my favourite though.

 

[Peuri]

I'd say but I'd be breaking Rule 1 and 2 and I'm not talking about Fight Club either.

I hear you brother. I also know a freemason.

 

[IglooDame]

"Alternative lifestyle" folks. And gun-nuts.

I remain convinced that if I could get some of both together for a party it'd be the most fantastic thing ever and I'd win the Nobel Peace Prize on the first ballot.

 

[JollyRoger]

The gun nuts I know would shoot the alternative lifestylers I know and the alternative lifestylers I know would love nothing more than to hone up on their more sadistic skills with an unwilling gun nut. You would deserve a Nobel Peace Prize if you could get those groups to peacefully party togther.

 

[Tycoon101]

I only interact with the people on chat. I have no life outside of my computer room.

 

[Leonel]

I hear you brother. I also know a freemason.

Not the freemasons either.

 

[Peuri]

Not the freemasons either.

Yeah, the first part wasn't about the freemason I know..

 

[Phlegmak]

Sounds like most of your "hidden segments" of society are quite overt and not quite so covert.

 

[Leonel]

Yeah, the first part wasn't about the freemason I know..

We are legion.

 

[Azale]

Vampires...