Avoiding Ridicule as a Jedi

Laugh with them.
That is the beauty of being a jedi - you can laugh at it. Its funny. use the humor to get past the normal blocks people have to this type of information.

People can only hurt you if you let them.

When people mock me for my beliefs, I laugh with them and then I ask them what they think of the movies. Connect with them where their consciousness is. Love them. Accept them in the way that you want to be accepted.

Its funny. Just remember Yoda and Luke.

People will laugh and criticize what they don't know, so in some sense it is "normal" that they mock of us, I experienced this and now every time I have an opportunity I talk about this in public, to evercome the fear and try to put in words what is and why I am a Jedi, and every time I talk about it I discover something new, I understand this better and confirm that what I want to be. But it all depends on your reasons to be here, using the word "Jedi" can be cheesy and would take people attention in the wrong way. Instead we can describe what we belive and our way of life, so they understand it first, then we could mention that it is called being a Jedi.

Explain what your beliefs/religion/philosophy/path is/are. Do not label yourself. Just saying I am a Jedi, leaves the interpretation of what a Jedi is to the listener, which a lot of the time is a Jedi from a movie.

If you explain what you believe, you will find common ground that you both agree with. Usually you will have a much more meaningful discussion if you describe the path you have chosen and why. Let them place the label after they have heard what your beliefs/religion/philosophy/path is/are.

I was raised in the Christian Baptist church with a Grandfather who was the Pastor, Uncle who was a Deacon(now Pastor), and just about every other member of my family either holding an office or heavily involved. When I switched my focus from Christianity to Jediism, I actually didn't tell them. When I did finally have the courage, my Uncle huffed and walked away, my Grandfather told me if I didn't change I would be going to Hell, and a number of family and church family members actually stopped talking to me all together. Having lived in a family where no matter what you did, you were still a part of the family. But with me, I was excommunicated. But I was an angry person. I thought "Well if they don't want me, I don't want to be there."

I was on my path and couldn't tell anyone anymore. After even my family turned on me how could I trust anyone else with my truth? Then I met a woman(there's always a woman). I don't know what it was about her but something made me tell her the truth, and she didn't laugh at me. She was intrigued. She asked questions and was genuinely interested in what made a Jedi, a Jedi. Ever since that day, I carried a Lightsaber on my hip as confirmation and to remind myself in the times of doubt that I am who I am. Ridicule, hate, laughter and violence, I am a Jedi through and through. To this day I don't hide it and never will again. Find your strength, the thing that roots you in the Force, and never let it go. At least that works for me.

I find that laughing with people about it helps aha.
I mean yes of course at first glance it does seem odd and funny, they probably have images of Yoda or extreme cos-players come to mind because thats just what people first associate with the word Jedi. However if you just laugh with them and just sorta accept it I find they often want to know what the ACTUAL concept is and they usually end up saying "oh that's a bit like Buddhism" or something.

So yea like Proteus said, try not to take their surprise laughter too seriously because they don't know the depths or real concept behind what the word Jedi means to us, also if we approach this issue with a laid back attitude and more than willing to explain, we might even find ourselves with new people wishing to follow the path rather than get a bad name for ourselves

When I first started this journey I was mocked by my family, church I attended regularly, and yes even my friends. I think I took it to the extreme is some cases I wore the jedi robe in public and still do sometimes. I even got jumped by two men from nearby church that heard of the good I was doing "In the name of The Force" I was given a title of honor but, of dishonor the people of the city I lived in called me "Master Jedi" in a few short sentences yeah I know what you are going through. Yes, it can be hurtful, yes it can be hard for people to understand but, that is people. I think like 6h057 was saying earlier it's in human nature to fear what they don't understand. You look through history and look at all the examples we have of people being ridiculed by others because they're different. Even after I married my wife absolutely refuses to except my Christian beliefs and my Jedi beliefs hands down does not believe they can co-exist together in harmony as I see it. You don't have to share, prove a single thing with anybody and that is the truth. Unlike, other religions where your told to convert the unbeliever it's not like that in Jediism. I have had a few people come talk to me and ask me what I believed and ended up being interested and I gave them the info on totjo they joined and several days later never saw them on the site again...lol

Now, I don't want you to get the impression that I am saying, "Get over it, or build tougher skin" more or less what I am saying is to have Acceptance. You aren't going to change their perceptions of your beliefs and that is okay. If they're your friends they'll love you anyways if not then goodbye. My wife will never except my beliefs and I know that but, she still loves me none the less. Breath in and out and Accept this fact from someone who has been a jedi for sometime now and all of your fellow jedi here. We're here for you and to help you if you need it if you ever need to talk PM I will listen.

MTFBWY

I must confess I might be heading into a similar situation. I've been thinking it's about time to tell my family that I'm training to be a Jedi. It's not a big deal, it's just worth letting them know.

I know for a fact, however, that they will laugh when I tell them! Still, it doesn't deter me! I'll find a way to break it to them without causing too much humour for them

Any ideas as to how I could do that?

Hi everyone!

I as well have been mocked (and sometimes still am mocked) about being a Jedi.
It all started when I joined here, more than a year ago. I was very exited about the fact that there are so many other people with similar philosophies and ideas, and I began reading the Great Jedi Holocron and started practicing meditation and so on. In my excitement, completely ignoring the possible consequences, I even started growing a Padawan-braid.
Personally I love it, it reminds me everytime of the path I chose, and seeing it grow makes me feel proud.
Unfortunately, the people around me don't feel the same about it. When it was short, my classmates though that the barber did a terrible job and told me to get it fixed. But as it grew longer, and it became quite clear what is was, things changed.
Some people stopped talking tome completely, thinking I'm a weirdo, others started making fun of it.
I took most of it with humor, some friends started to call me "Anakin" so I always smiled and then either tried to perform a Jedi mind trick, making them to give me a piece of their Chocolate bar or I started quoting the movies like "I don't like sand...".
But there were also people who, for some reason, concluded that becoming a Jedi and having a Padawan-braid automatically means that one must have a small penis or die a virgin. I obviously couldn't respond with humor or completely ignore it, so I always said things like "well if you think so..." and turned away. Today I watch those people fail one test after the other as instead of learning they spend their time drinking and partying...

However, there is one really priceless thing my Padawan-braid caused:
It revealed who was a true friend of mine and who wasn't.

Sure, some of my closest friends make jokes about it, but they are funny, not offensive, and they treat me like nothing has changed.

Maybe I am just the odd ball that doesn’t have these kinds of issues? Maybe people already think I’m crazy and just go with whatever I say because they figure I’m nuts? :blink:

LOL :laugh:

But I have not experienced ridicule or anything like that when people ask or I tell them that I am a Jedi. And I don’t hide it or beat around the bush either. I just come out and say it. So I guess I could say that I have had it pretty lucky. :laugh:

I think that 6h057 said it pretty well in their first post and steamboat28 pretty much summed it up. Ridicule is not something that we can avoid all the time nor do I think we should try. It is a part of life and we can learn from those experiences. And that is also a part of why the community here exists; to support each other when times are rough or we experience turmoil in our lives.

And sometimes it is nice to have an ear to listen to you. Many of our clergy is very good at this and it is also in part why they are here as well. So if you feel you want to talk with someone on a personal level just contact one of them. I am sure they would be more than happy to listen.

OB1Shinobi wrote: generally, i find that the word "jedi" can be saved for last or omitted altogether

rather than say "i am a jedi, which means that i believe that we are all connected at a fundamental level and that it is my obligation to be of service to the world in which i live"

you could just say " i believe that we are all connected and that it is my obligation to be of service to the world; i guess you could say im a real life jedi"

see the difference?

This is more-or-less how I go about it. I may describe my religion anywhere from "pantheist," "animist," animist-pantheist," or "Jedi." Er... it makes sense in my mind, I think... in that the Force is sort of consciousness for the universe. All depends on who I describe it to.

Though I recall that when I've explained it in the past - I think just to my mom - I explained how religion (as with music, dancing, theater) can, in a way, be utterly absurd, I decided to find mine in Star Wars. Because it may be absurd, but at the very least it instills some kind of ethics for equality, compassion, and self-improvement.