At first I thought this whole “weird” thing was kinda dumb, but it really seems to be driving them crazy. Carry on!
It’s a bit like how the Norwegians used humor as a method of resistance against the Nazis
Their bread and butter has been to stigmatize other people.
In DEI terms, they consider themselves the ‘in group’ and for reasons ranging from media companies with agendas, conservative billionaires with think tanks and PACs waging influence campaigns, to voter inaction and gerrymandering, they’ve largely felt that they were ‘normal’ in their beliefs, morally correct, ‘mainstream’ and on the cusp of winning the culture war they insisting is being waged upon them. The assumption that they are normal, right, and justified in their whack beliefs allows them to live an unexamined life.
Trump has largely been their figurehead for the last 9ish years, and he’s so shameless that people calling him weird has no effect on him. I think people have idolized and embraced that shamelessness. Now JD Vance is up there sharing the spotlight and instead of being unmemorable like Pence, he’s not only weird like Trump and his followers, but also awkward and doesn’t steamroll his way through the weird stuff he says. I don’t stay up on conservative news, but whenever I see news about Vance on my feeds recently, it seems like he’s having a ‘please clap’ moment. He’s throwing water on their whole movement with his lack of charisma, and it’s breaking the illusion, so when folks get called weird, that armor just isn’t there.
MAGA folks being called weird in mass media confronts the illusion of normalcy and stigmatizes them as being part of an ‘out group.’
I don’t think they’re mad about being called weird, necessarily. I think they’re mad at being told their beliefs are abnormal by what seems like a majority. It’s a crap shoot on whether or not that results in self-reflection, or that folks will be whipped up into more hatred against others.
I think so long as the response is continued mockery of the figure heads (Trump, Vance, etc), or attacks are on the beliefs but not the regular people, even the hateful ones will exhaust themselves.
My wife and I talked this morning about it. Initially I was the same way but she pointed out how simple it was. That makes it effective.
Most people on her I would consider more news/politically involved. The average voter is not that. Using Nazi, racist, or fascist requires people to do some kind of homework. Using a simplistic word like weird puts the bar much lower.
Want to examine kids to confirm their sex? Weird
Wondering what two people do in their bedroom? Weird
Saying a “Black job is a job they have.” Weird
You don’t have to be a genius to realize the old guy shitting himself on stage and saying he is always the best is weird.
It’s blowing my mind how effective it is. Out of all the things to get offended by, that’s one of the last things I would have expected.
I wonder how many of the people getting offended by being called “weird” are heavily closeted about something; and being called weird scares them because they think they’re being outed.
Considering they are more crazy than weird, it may seem dumb:
Republican Senate candidate Royce White:
“We’re weird? You freaks support pride festivals where grown men are getting pissed on and sucking each other off in public,” White wrote. “You’re a clown and you’re lucky your term wasn’t up or I would’ve run against you. The People Are Coming! You communists are exposed.”
This is insane, because they claim to support personal freedoms, but in reality they don’t. Instead they criticize it and discriminate against it.
Perfect example of being weird.
Calling them insane or crazy would probably not have as good an effect, because it would be considered overboard hyperbole, despite it’s not.
They also like to embrace being called “crazy”, like they’re daring mavericks who are ahead of their time or something. Y’know, “fine line between genius and crazy” and all that. But weird really strikes at the core of who they are, at this notion that, fundamentally, they represent the “correct” way of being, and everyone else is wrong.
When you have an ideology built on destroying everything that deviates from your accepted norms, being “Normal” is the most important thing in the world.
I’m severely baffled. I don’t understand how this is where they draw the line. The most mundane innocent everyday word.
Fascist? Sure. Nazis? No problem. Inhumane? Why not. Horrible? Absolutely. Deplorable? Proudly! Racist pieces of shit? Oh yes. Weird? How fucking dare you??!
Random ass.
Makes perfect sense. It’s so simple I can’t believe I didn’t understand until now. How do you scare a fascist? Not by calling them a Nazi piece of shit
Question their status in the “in” group.
I’ve always thought, if you call a fascist a fascist, that doesn’t make them back down. It makes them feel proud instead (achieving their goals) and makes them stronger.
I’m really surprised as well. But if you think about where American culture was in the ‘50s and early ‘60s, there was a huge emphasis placed on being “normal.” You can be sure that most boomers were told by their parents or peers at some point to “just be normal” or criticized someone by saying they’re not normal, and there’s still plenty of conservative families raising their kids like that today.
I can only imagine that’s the nerve being touched by the “weird” criticism.
It probably brings back some junior/senior high school trauma they most likely all have.
It probably brings back some junior/senior high school trauma they most likely all
havecaused.
I’m pretty sure that’s a lot of this issue. They were bullies and assholes in school and always picked on the “weird kid(s)” and now that they’re being referred to that way they’re freaking out because they’re scared they’re going to become a target.
The Conservative movement in America has, for well over half a century, defined itself in the language of the “Silent Majority” because their goal is to be hegemonic. You can understand a lot of their politics if you see it through that lens.
Calling them out for being weird freaks (often, even by their own standards) dismisses the core of their belief system, undermining the base argument of their rhetoric.
I think it’s because instead of being a “taboo” category, which is inherently a powerful word that a certain kind of person just thrives on, it’s just really dismissive which completely takes the wind out of their sails lmao.
Like, if it’s taboo, they can at least convince themselves that there’s a silent majority out there who agree with them but are too afraid to say it, and they’re “strong and couragous” for fighting against these “oppressive social cages” or whatever, but nah man they’re just fuckin weird and nobidy likes them.
