>>372there's a pretty similar "geek pride" ideal in the US, totally separate from "otaku" geeks. i'm a big computer geek, mostly antisocial, and i'm happy to have the associated skills, as well as happy to be able to subsist on my own antisocial hobbies without the attention of others when need be. i have a decent job, i'm not unattractive, and i don't smell. why is the word "geek" negative? everyone has their own interests, and we all "geek" on something whether we realize it or not. people who are not geeks, tend to "geek" on whatever they're most interested in. a guy who enjoys working on his car to the point of obsession is not called a geek, but he is a "car geek" because that's what he obsesses on.
tl; dr
lots of people enjoy their geekdom/otakudom and simply don't care about the negative connotations of the word.