Star Trek fans, particularly, had unjustifiably become synonomous with the stigmatic image of a lonely white male, safely nestled away in his parent's basement. They were known to be extremely over-protective of their obsession, discussing the minutiae of Star Trek ad nauseum at conventions and in fanzines. They were marginalized in society and, this can't have been very nice for them to endure, they were often ridiculed in the Press and became punch lines on late night talk shows.
Star Wars fans were spared this, because, as a group we were pretty cohesive and didn't take ourselves all that seriously. More importantly, we were not mocked, made fun of, or condescended by the mainstream. We were a happy bunch who saw Star Wars as fun, that when pressed, more often than not would repeat the words of the still respected George Lucas, "They're just movies."
We endured the Special Editions, they were fun. It was a blast to hear so many like minded fans, a mix of all nationalities, religions and sexes, cheering the first time Obi-Wan was on screen, or laughing when Luke wanted to go to Tosche station. We were united and strong, and nothing could hold us back in the sheer exhileration of sharing 2 hours with complete strangers who, in fact, had everything in common.
This was also around the time that the Internet started to become widely used. Now, all of a sudden, you could actually talk to these people. What a concept. Suddenly, Star Wars fandom wasn't only between a group of 3 or 4 friends. Suddenly, Star Wars fandom was becoming a global community.
When all of these personalities started to mix, there was infighting to be sure, there were disagreements, but damn it - it was still cool to be a Star Wars fan and we were united.
A coupke of years later, around the time of 'Phantom Menace,' there was this great shift in the extended Star Wars family. A splinter occurred due to the obvious reaction to the film and Star Wars fans became polarized. Suddenly, the prevailing opinion was, 'What do we do now?' I clearly remember for the very first time, a clear and decisive line being drawn down the middle of the community, and you were either on the 'I still love Star Wars side,' or the 'George Lucas raped my childhood side.' There was no grey area, and this to me, signalled the beginning of the end of two things - 1) The "coolness" of being a Star Wars fan & 2) The 'respect' we garnered from the mainstream.
Debate was furious, to say the least. We were at each other's throats like lions. 'Phantom Menace' was deconstructed, ripped apart, put back together (literally in some cases!) and the community became more and more polarized. The debate spilled over into the Original Trilogy. The Prequel-Haters disdain for Lucas was evident in their SE bashing. The Prequel-Lovers would defend Lucas, but were willing to concede that they were all a little bit let down. The two sides were fine for the most part with the SE's before 'Phantom Menace' mind you, but now here was something that drove a stake through the heart of the Star Wars fanbase, and the cohesive global community began to die.
We began to disect the original trilogy with a venom unseen for two decades. We began to get irritated by the little things that we had generally accepted for most of our natural lives. Then there was the saturation of the marketplace with Star Wars product. You couldn't go into Wal-Mart and sneeze without hitting something emblazoned with the Star Wars logo.
Here is the point of my long-winded brief history of Star Wars fandom - the mainstream smelled this shift and lept upon us. The Press began to tear us down, mock us, and treat us with the same kind of disrespect that had until that time been reserved for the Trekkers. Suddenly, it was us on Letterman's Top 10 lists, not them. It was really, really sad - and more than likely a great time to be be a Star Trek fan!
And you know what? Through all of this hate, spite and endless debate among the Star Wars Community, it gets really depressing that we all can't remember, cherish and love the very thing that brought us so much happiness over the years, happiness that we should be grateful for. Then I usually shrug and tell myself that, after all - we did it to ourselves.