The word 'nerd' has been co-opted and mainstreamed. The original hacker culture was made up of laid back left-libertarian people really into computers. Not the most politically sophisticated people on the planet, and usually a bit awkward around women. Despite that, the culture was remarkably free of racism, homophobia, and structural sexism. There was a canon of cerebral entertainment that most nerds enjoyed, but it wasn't a part of their identity, just their love for embracing weirdness and subversion.

These days it seems to be about people who really like some kind of entertainment, be it a show, or gaming. As an old school nerd, this bothers me. No, you're not a nerd if you watch Dr. Who, or play videogames, or went to university. And being a political conservative, or a liberal, that's just plain not weird enough to be a part of nerdhood. Go away, posers. It's like chuds pretending that neoconservatism is 'punk rock'.