Just had to out this somewhere and this is probably the most safe space for it.
I am an ultra left anarchist so i support any progress shift in us political polls and i do get it.
I dont and wont ask people to stop using effective political memes. But whenever i see a top comment labeled these bad people as weird, i feel like i too would not be accepted, even if i know thats not what its about.
Sorry.
I feel like “weird” misses the mark. It’s quite hurtful to people who are outside the norm and proud of it.
“Creepy” is a way better description of those guys.
It is amazing that weird works better than something more accurate like creepy.
Honestly? Some of those SoBs are ontologically evil but you call them that and they’ll laugh.
One of very few bits of rhetoric that actually phases them is the claim that everyone isn’t, at least secretly, just as evil as they are. That there’s something abnormal about how hateful they are, or in other words that they are weird in being so detestable.
Creepy is almost too specific. Too harsh. It’s too “out of line”. People are surprisingly sensitive to that kind of thing.
But “weird”… Weird is fuzzy enough to get away with. It’s non-specific. It’s the sideways head-nod or glance to “creepy’s” direct finger point. People know you mean they give you the “ick” when you say it, because it comes with the body language that communicates that, vs that which communicates “quirky”.
“Weird and unsettling” is an accurate phrase to describe these people, and I don’t see much overlap with how people talk about me at all. And they’ve been calling me weird for 35 years or more now.
I assumed “weird” was used intentionally as an understatement for comedic effect.
The trouble with “creepy” is that it’s emotive. Although it’s absolutely a correct word to use, it can easily be dismissed as an insult.
“Weird” is less of an insult, and can be taken objectively. I’ve got OCD, I know I’m weird - I’d be lying if I pretended otherwise.
But the thing is, Trump and Co don’t just want to be seen as “normal”, they want to be seen as the best at “normal”.
This is why “weird” works. It’s possible to argue that Trump being creepy is just someone else’s opinion, but it’s very hard to deny that he doesn’t do and say some weird things.
This is sticking because, even with the ludicrous amounts of good-faith his supporters have for him, it’s undeniably true, and possibly taps into any underlying misgivings they may have.