[BucktheWolf]

"People in this thread who said they are picked on because they like Japan are actually picked on because they are オタク.

People who get picked on are always the same. They are predisposed to it.
They are eternal victims. "

While I agree that idealistic obsession is bad, I'm still of the opinion that people will make fun of you just for little things, i.e. my experience with chopsticks. Like I said, I've never held Japan on a pedestal, but even I've been made fun of a few times. Once they here you take Japanese language classes, they assume you're an anime nerd with nothing better to do. People generalize, whether that generalization is warranted or not. I believe Debi just did so, as well (or maybe I didn't bother to read every post ever written here and she did).
I could go so far as to accuse Debi of being otaku for writing otaku in katakana. That was honestly my first impression, though I'm not proud to admit it. Then we could fight about it and get nowhere, because, come on, we're posting on Japan Forum. We're in this together, and everyone else thinks we're geeks.

I gotta say, too, there's really nothing wrong with being a nerd with interests. Telling someone to stop being a nerd so they won't be made fun of is pretty much the same thing as making fun of them for being the nerd, don't you think?

Ooh, I should add that I mean no offense or hard feelings. Hell, my opinion is no more or less valid than Debi's. :3