I really tried to ignore it and let it go as just another passing trend. It’s not my language, not my culture and not my battleground, but it’s hard. It hurt me seeing it slowly spreading and getting bigger. What made me decide to vent was reading someone talk about their struggles and seeing a familiar sentence that might be familiar to all: “I was a weird child”.

Being weird is not usually a problem, the issue usually is people being incapable to accept what they consider weird. Different is not wrong, queer is not wrong, expressing yourself and living the only way you know when it’s not hurting anyone around you is definitely not wrong, even if it doesn’t conform with society.

All these horrible people hate being called weird because it’s what they having been calling us the whole time, but in more specific ways. I feel using it as a slur now just reinforces the negative connotations and validate their view.

Update: semantic satiation to the rescue. Weird became a meme and a trend everyone wanted to take part and use regardless of it making sense.

  • millie@beehaw.orgEnglish
    3·
    1 month ago

    Too much thinking.

    The right doesn’t care about accuracy, but they will pretend to to keep us busy. To counteract it, we can’t spend our time engaged in good faith arguments of carefully considered wording. We need to beat them on that flippant energy that shows we won’t take their bait and we know we’re right, so we don’t have to prove it.

    Weird is perfect for that. They don’t want to be weird.

    Now when they turn it around and try to call us weird? Then is the time to say ‘hey, that’s cool! I’m happy to be weird!’ and literally not worry about the contradiction at all.

    They picked an arena where they can’t beat us. Let’s meet them there.

    • ninjaphysics@beehaw.orgEnglish
      2·
      1 month ago

      This, 100%. Did I have a hard time being called a weird kid growing up? Absolutely. I feel how this might make someone very uncomfortable. I embrace being called weird now after much struggle, and use it as a badge of honor. And currently, that exact flippant energy being used at people who can only parrot hateful things? That’s my bread and butter now, baby.

  • tangentism@beehaw.orgEnglish
    2·
    1 month ago

    Saw a comment elsewhere that someone who shrugs off being called weird is better to know than the one who gets upset by it.

    The far right are seething about being called weird because they see themselves as they cool kids who laugh at others for being weird so it’s really got under their skin.

    The right has made major ground the last few years because any explanation leftists give they like to provide context which bogs them down.

    Calling JD Vance a weirdo couch fucker for example, is succinct, visceral and keeps them on the backfoot as the far right cannot process their emotions at the speed that the left can.

  • ski11erboi@lemm.eeEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    The word won’t lose it’s meaning if Democrats refuse to use it so why not flip the script and use it to call out their own bigotry? The more both sides use it the more it loses it’s power but I’d much rather see the word be applied to hateful opinions that can be changed than someone’s core identity that can not be changed.

  • pushka@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    1 month ago

    I’m in an evil autism group, and someone was talking about the “trump weird” thing - I think it’s fine, because i feel on the left-er side, being unique and weird is a term of endearment / good-ness, but on the right it’s a personal attack that you can’t fight against or argue with - no attack on all weird people like me, just hitting a nerve

    (like it may be more of an ‘attack’ to call him a felon, or abuser or fascist - but the supporters of trump just glaze their eyes over and ignore all that

  • Zeke@fedia.io
    1·
    2 months ago

    Weird is only a “weapon” if the person being called it treats it like one and for people like Trump(narcissist), being called weird is a trigger. I’m a weird person and most people who use the word are also weird. The point isn’t to make weird a negative word, but to trigger Trump and his goon and throw off his stride. That’s all it is.

  • amio@kbin.run
    1·
    1 month ago

    Not a slur. Not even close.

    What it is is an omnipresent, versatile, variable, nuanced word, that someone apparently started using “politically” like fifteen fucking minutes ago - I don’t see that as a compelling reason to hustle to change my lexicon, and wouldn’t advise anyone else to do it either. It is literally playing into their dogshit tactics: “validating their view” is, respectfully, not a good argument if we’re talking about the American right which I’m going out on a limb and assuming we are. This is because their “view” (like many of their imitators) is “I will bitch about everything I can possibly pretend to take offense at, or else make something up”. Therefore, allowing them to dictate your vocabulary (extremely and intentionally hypocritically, between the incessant bitching about “political correctness”) seems like a losing or at least pointlessly annoying proposition. You are playing chess with a pigeon, it will shit on the board and strut around like it’s won.

    If they didn’t want to be called “weird”:

    1. Maybe they shouldn’t have been weird

    2. Maybe they shouldn’t be whinging about it from the #1 spot on the podium of irrelevant namecalling and shit-flinging kindergarten/zoo tactics.

    3. Tough shit lol

    4. GOTO 3

    • ninjaphysics@beehaw.orgEnglish
      1·
      1 month ago

      I love everything you said, but badmouthing pigeons by comparing them to the far right loonies makes me sad lol. Pigeons are lovely, smart(ish), and sweet creatures!

  • flatbield@beehaw.orgEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    I have not followed the discussion so I may be just wrong. What I wonder is regarding the maga crowd is that they may tend to be more conformist. Also things like loyalty may tend to be more important than honesty with this group. I wonder if seeming weird in that group and being yourself is a lot less acceptable.

  • Kwakigra@beehaw.orgEnglish
    0·
    1 month ago

    There’s weird as in unusual, which I appreciate. Then there’s weird as in creepy.

    If you see two people in a park and one is an adult skipping around catching butterflies and the other one is trying to follow women around without them noticing, that is two totally different genres of weirdness going on. I’ll happily skip around with the person following their passion without fear of judgement, but the other weirdo needs to be kicked out of the park.