In defense of quirky hobbies and activities

Let's see if I can say this clearly and elegantly (note:  It ended up taking three edits):


I'm generally -- I hope -- a fairly even-tempered person.  But one of my (very few?) hot-buttons is people who react to someone's hobby or endeavor with "He/she must have a lot of time on his/her hands".


Note that this phrase is rarely used if it is obvious that (1) the output is being used to earn money (e.g. carving figurines for sale; sewing costumes for sale), or is done for instrumental purposes (e.g. building shelves for the storage room; making a table for the dining room).

Apparently, if the activity or endeavor is done to earn money, or to save money (i.e. "instead of buying it; cheaper to do it yourself; would cost too much to have someone do it properly, so you just do it yourself"), it's acceptable.


Here's why the "must have a lot of time on his/her hands" comment frosts my preserves:

-It's dismissive.  It strongly implies that the pursuit or activity has no value or merit, and the only thing lower than this pursuit or activity is sitting around, being bored.

-It demonstrates that the speaker has no passion, creativity, or thirst for knowledge.  (That is:  if pursuit or activity involves making a profit, well okay, it "makes sense".)


This rant was triggered by a dismissive (or, poorly-implemented attempt at humor) comment in response to my sending group e-mail about my spending a few evenings deciphering a wall hanging at work  that was written in Braille (over-simplified; close enough; blog entry here).


So:  this is in support of people who, for example

-Research local history
-Build things out of wood
-Make video shorts
-Build ships in bottles
-Engage in cosplay
-Play role-playing board games
-Take martial arts classes
-Practice hurdling
-Weightlift
-Learn a foreign language, even if there's no immediate plan to travel there
-Write or record a song, or an album, or a book, or screenplay, with no hope of it being published
-Study a jungle tribe
-Examine subatomic particles
-Test the learning capacity of protozoa
-And etcetera


This "only because they have too much time" attitude negates the creative arts, modern implementations of traditional crafts, the sciences, and nearly all academic pursuits:  people who  do things, not because they can earn money, but because it is interesting (to them).

These people are engaging in these behaviors because (presumably) they are interesting and fulfilling to these people -- not because these people are "bored", "at loose ends" and "don't have anything else to do".

Because you know what bored people do?  They watch t.v.  Maybe read a magazine or newspaper. Maybe take a nap.

People may take up "hobby X" out of boredom:  but they either discover they enjoy it -- or they quit. 


Just because you aren't interested in a behavior -- and perhaps it would bore you -- does not mean that another person is doing it solely as an alternative to boredom.

To dismiss someone else's passions and interests as simply "a way to use up time" is somewhere amongst the realm of "close-minded" and "rude".

Ornamentation and creative expression are good things -- and I pity the people whose sensibilities are so austere that they go beyond "indifference" to actually being dismissive of these endeavors.  May they live in beige-colored dwellings with bare, bare walls.


--GG