I think that sometimes it's very healthy to be reminded that your fandom drama means nothing to the outside world.
I've been rewatching the Jurassic Park series with some friends who haven't seen anything but the first film, and when watching Jurassic Park III, when we got to the Spinosaurus vs. T. rex fight I was caught totally off guard because in my mind this was by far one of the most famous moments of the franchise. This fight spawned countless internet arguments, entire tropes within dinosaur media, and a back and forth between dino fans that continues to this day, 24 years after the film's release.
And the two of them had NO idea about any of this. Halfway through the scene one of my friends leaned over to me and said "which of these dinosaurs would actually win, because I know the T. rex is gonna win cause it's a movie" and I realized that this argument which had permeated my world since I was in preschool had never even TOUCHED her life. They were both SHOCKED when the Spinosaurus won. To me this was like Darth Vader being Luke's father and my friends who are just as nerdy as I am but aren't as into dinosaurs had no clue.
It was a wild experience and I think it's a kind of perspective we all could use from time to time.
This also, sincerely, applies to non-fandom drama as well.
It's kind of amazing how we all live in our own worlds and don't realize it until moments like this
To give a little more perspective on this: the mods of JPLegacy, a forum that used to be THE Jurassic Park fan site (RIP) would instantly ban you on sight if you so much as mentioned the spino/rex fight because of how much shit-flinging would happen if they didn't.
