Wil Wheaton Explains Bullying with Compassion

I was a keynote panel member today at a funding session at a local university, and the experience reminded me of one of my favorite YouTube videos.

It’s a video of Wil Wheaton (the host of a YouTube show about board gaming called Tabletop) serving on a panel at a gaming convention. A kid asks him a question about people who make fun of them for the nerdy, geeky things they love, and Wheaton’s answer is absolutely brilliant (and quite touching). I’ll mention my favorite part after the video below:

So, my favorite part is when Wheaton suggests whenever someone makes fun of something nerdy the kid loves, the kid should ask the other person about what they love. Now, that might not always get a good reaction, but I really admire the compassion behind the idea. I like to think there’s a nerd in all of us–some people just hide it better than others because of insecurities. I like how Wheaton’s response not only shows compassion for the kid asking the question, but also serves the greater good of enabling people everyone to share what they love with others.

3 thoughts on “Wil Wheaton Explains Bullying with Compassion”

  1. I love this so much!
    I love Will Wheaton anyway, from Star Trek, so there’s that.
    I love that he actually uses the work “kind”: “…the kind, and best, reaction is…” Imagine if everyone approached every action with kindness! Kindness will save the world.

    Once when Blake was 6 years old, he said to me in the course of conversation, “I’m such a nerd.” I laughed and asked him what a nerd is. His confident reply: “Someone who’s really, really smart!”

    Reply

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