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At first I thought this whole "weird" thing was kinda dumb, but it really seems to be driving them crazy. Carry on!
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.
You gotta think of it from the POV of a grown adult with the mind of a child..
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.
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.
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 think if you call a Nazi a fascist, they'd laugh, but if you call a random MAGA fascist a fascist, they take it as being overly dramatic
Fascism to them is the comically evil natural conclusion that was Nazi Germany - It's like how they're not criminals even though they commit crimes, because they're good people and the criminals are bad (and they're criminals even if they've never broken the law). Fascists are the bad guys, like terrorists - they don't know or care what it means to be a terrorist
But make no mistake - they understand and believe in the core of fascism. They think everything would be better if "the good people" were in charge, because "the bad people" are the cause of all evil. They want to be the "in group" and either hate or don't care about "the others". Which is cruel, but I can understand it - if you could fix the country by getting rid of a few million people, that's just the price for a better world. Even then, in many of their minds, those people have the option to just shut up and conform and they'll become a "good person"
That's what's so obvious to me now - they think they'll never be in the out group. Up till now, I've been thinking you have to make them understand that fascism must always have an enemy, and when the obvious targets are gone fascism will pick a new enemy to perpetuate itself, forever. One day you'll end up on the wrong side of that line.
But they don't want to understand that, and so they never will.
But what would rattle them? What would make them rethink all this? Question their status as one of the "good guys". They know what they'd let happen, if not join in on. The others aren't treated as people, and that's them. Tell them they failed to conform. They didn't make the cut.
They're just weird, they're different and couldn't even notice because they're too intrinsically weird. They're not part of the "in group", and it's just a matter of time until someone notices.
Yeah, you're right: They're not the "in-group" anymore. Just that until now, nobody noticed. Calling them "weird" makes it explicit.
Fascists only care about strength or the appearance of it. All of those things are not bad to them. But being weird? That's a sign of weakness.
Can't forget domestic terrorist!
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.
I think it's because "weird" is emotion, and these people have never learned to deal with emotions.
I have to admit, this in and is itself is simply "weird". I didn't think this would do much, either.
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 ~~have~~ caused.
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.
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.
I feel like for years, the whole "liberal outrage" meme has been a crutch for Republicans. And now a single word is causing these snowflakes to flip out? What beautiful karma.
By liberal outrage im referring to this one.
What's hilarious about this is that they are so sensitive to being described. As a filthy liberal, you can call me weird is be like hell yeah strange-pilled bizarre-maxxing. Call me a communist I'll be like you know it brother, stalin-with-laser-eyes.gif.
But call a right winger a weird fascist and they're whining "well now let's not resort to insults". Why can't they tolerate what they tend towards? Doesn't sound very empowered to me.
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.
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.
That actually makes sense. Calling them weird is something that goes against their values that they can’t really reclaim because it’s too mild
That's a rather "weirdly" specific thing to call out there Royce. Are you trying to tell us something?
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.
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.
It's a bit like how the Norwegians used humor as a method of resistance against the Nazis
That must be why a warm laugh is such a threat.
It brings me some comfort seeing how clear and easy to understand language is being used against these angry people.
They are being forced to explain their behaviour instead of arguing the specifics of words. It's subtle but effective in my opion.
I am really enjoying this.
As usual the GOP are OBSESSED with porn, sex, GAY sex. OBSESSED!!!! Oh and... OBSESSED!!!!!
Well yeah they aren’t getting any gay sex
I mean the GOP National Convention took down Grindr in the area, or something, so yeah. Also, I guess some nobody had sex with a couch.
Someone needs to make a Grindr profile with a couch as the 'person" and see how many messages JD & friends send it. Or maybe we got it all wrong, it was the glove he was horny for and the couch was just the holder. Gives new meaning to the phrase "no glove, no love".
It's seems kinda weird. Not the gay part, just the obsession with porn. Kids sometimes study politics for school, do we really want them to start googling about sex acts to understand what a "trusted" public figure is talking about on social media?
Oh wow, this guy is being trolled hard. He's so insecure that I would almost feel bad for him if he wasn't also so hateful. He's just a candidate in the Republican primary for an election where the Democratic candidate is very heavily favored, so he's effectively a nobody (I'm sure he'd love to hear that) but it's still pretty funny.
But he is a weird nobody, and goes to lenghts to prove it.
This is really showing why this an effective strategy. If you called any of those fine gentlemen getting flogged at Folsom "weird" they won't care. In fact they would take it as a compliment, own it and may even mention that this isn't even their weirdest form. Do it to a conformist republican and they freak out and show how weird they are and obsessed with what other people do.
I absolutely fucking love that this triggers them
Weird is a beautiful word. I'm a circus sideshow performer, aka professional freak. In the sideshow we celebrate the weird and unusual and outlandish (but not these two, we're all hippy communists).
So the fact that this word triggers them is just 🤌🏼😙
What do you do? That sounds rad
What a weird thing to do.
Good. Good! Let the hate flow through you!
And he runs a podcast called "Call me crazy"?
I guess he just gets really sad when people won't listen to him and call him weird instead. :'(
It's hilarious watching them self-destruct over something that could be easily ignored to take its power away. Poor little guy can't help himself.
it's funny because none of the democrats "declared war on weird" and none of them said it was at all negative or derogatory; the republicans were just afraid of being different that they basically just made the democrats ad even more effective by perceiving weird as bad.
WAR ON SCANDALGATE is their default headline, adjusted for whatever the hell they are mad about. They are not creative. They are old, boring, and weird.
Man, these republikkklowns are some weird mofos. Couch fuckers, a guy trying to look like a cheeto with a terrible hair piece that can't complete a coherent sentence, just weird.
These are the guys in grade school who beat up smarter kids for not being as stupid as they were.
Weird is the "u mad bro" and I am here for it!
MANLY MAN NO SNOWFLAKE CUCK GAY STUFF HERE
DON'T CALL ME WEIRD
Ok but how did he become a senate candidate?