Originally Posted by
CamelBoyBashy
Well I didn't imagine that I would have to spell it out for you, but yes, I am very aware that an otaku means "no lifing" anime, having an obsession with anime. And as I stated before, people don't think much of it because it is the same as being called a no lifing nerd.
Also, I've been seeing you use the word "therm" instead of "term", is there a reason for that? I mean the word isn't spelt with an h.
Most people that watch anime that don't live in Japan, like me, don't really care about the word "otaku" because I don't ACTUALLY live in Japan, so I could really care less about some "harsh" meaning term in Japan. And I don't think anyone here brands themselves as an otaku, they, like me, don't really care about what the term means in Japan (since we don't actually live there) and we are well aware that we love watching anime. We see the term, as you stated before, as a joke and nothing more. So there is no branding.
And yes, you can call me a "baka", I really wouldn't care, for one, this is the internet and I don't actually live in Japan to take it as much of an insult. Also you can call me an idiot in English in real life and I still wouldn't give a ****. You need to understand that now-a-days everyone trolls, so our mind set is different from that of the past, hence, we don't take things as literally as we once did.
Now I'm going to take you up on your offer:
"Because ignorants use the word improperly doesn't mean we have to follow it. Knowing it's wrong and still going with it is even stupidier than following it out of ignorance."
Did you know that the slang "Swag" meant "secretly we are gay" back in the old days? I'm sure you know that that term is being used world-wide and has a different meaning. Now-a-days it means to basically have a sense of style when you dress.
Now would you say that the people using the word are ignorant? I wouldn't say that for sure. Just because a word used to mean something doesn't mean it can't have a second meaning. Maybe to gay people it will have that meaning, but to MANY of us now-a-days it has a different meaning. And as I'm sure you know, when you look up a word in the dictionary, many of times you find that word has many different meanings.
Therefore, in Japan (where none of us live) an otaku may continue to mean a no lifing nerd with an obsession, however, all over the world, for many people it has a different meaning.
^ My view.