Smile and Nod: I'm No Rosa Parks

"I was thinking of getting one of these for my brother," she said. Adding "my younger brother." As if to drive the point home that I'm a man child who should grow the hell up. "He doesn't like Halo, but it's so cheap," she finished, and I couldn't even respond. The fact is, I actually do like Halo. My shields were depleted. I had nothing left. I gave her my money and slunk out.

I suspect I'm overreacting to all of this. I suspect the world is a less scary place these days, and that no one really cares that I'm over 30 and play games. I suspect some of you reading this may have grown up in a time when being seen playing games wasn't the kiss of death to having a life. If so, then I'm glad. I hope you've never faced your own personal Bobby Kramers, or that if you did, you found a less destructive path toward dealing with him. I hope you had an easier time with being yourselves.

I'd like to say I've been doing my part in making the world a better place for you, but that'd be a bigger lie than the cake. I'm no Rosa Parks. Instead of standing proud and defiant at the front of the bus, I hid in the back, changed clothes and tried to pass myself as one of my oppressors. Then I wrote about it from a safe distance. It's better, I think, to stand up for oneself. To walk into the Best Buy, head held high, and buy that Halo controller, because, damn it, it's awesome.

Russ Pitts is a gamer. His blog can be found at www.falsegravity.com.