Words are weird.
The word “weird” is a particularly weird word. Aside from the spelling, the way it has been used is hard to pin down, particularly since it varies dramatically by time, place, and context.
The dictionary definitions usually define weird in terms of being strange or unusual, or in terms of suggesting the supernatural. In my experience, there is often a negative connotation, but this is highly dependent on the context and on the person using the word. One example from The Urban Dictionary describes weird as “A word used by basic, insecure, boring, cookie-cutter ass bitches to describe someone better than them”, but the word is also frequently used of people who are “different” or “strange” in some negative way.
I generally prefer to modify the word with another to nail down the appropriate context. “Weird and wonderful” is clearly positive, while “weird and creepy” is clearly negative.
Which brings me to J.D. Vance, Donald Trump, and US politics.
Over the past few years, a great many have expressed concerns about the rise of fascism in online communities, US politics, and the world generally. Much of this concern has been expressed in terms of how frightening it is these these ideas and figures are becoming mainstream and more and more accepted by political parties. For example, “MAGA Republicans” are in Congress, the Senate, and many state governments.
While fear about the evolving situation is certainly understandable, describing figures such as Trump and Vance as “frightening” is not as effective as we might think. Fascists thrive on fear – they are motivated by their own fear, and use that fear to generate fear in their followers. From the outside, it often appears as if everyone is angry, but the actual root of all of this is fear. An interesting overview of fear and anger in politics can be found here.
People – both the “leaders” and the followers - like this WANT to be feared, and actually benefit from it. They like to believe that they are the “moral majority”, though they are neither “moral” nor the “majority”. The Moral Majority was actually a political organization which contributed greatly to the evolution of current religious extremism in the US, and the modern “Christian Right” or “Christofascists”
They want to be seen as “moral” and “normal”, while the rest of the world is made up of immoral perverts. They sometimes seem to think that the bad people include everyone “to the left of hunting the homeless for sport” (with thanks to Owen Morgan).
In fact, religious affiliation has been changing rapidly in the opposite direction. According to Pew Research, those self-identifying as “Christian” have been decreasing, while those who identify themselves as “religiously unaffiliated” have been increasing.
Look at many of their reactions to the LGBTQ community in general, and trans people in particular. Aside from the lies and inconsistencies, I personally suspect that at least some of the homophobia is denial from closeted homosexuals, but the invented stories about drag queens harming children and about the “woke left” “grooming” children and other things which are just not happening...
Wait a sec... harming and “grooming” children actually IS happening at a frightening rate, but it’s actually in evangelical churches and other religious organizations....
That’s weird!
Learn about Project 2025. It’s entirely consistent with Trump’s presidential administration - Why wouldn’t it be? Many of the authors were part of his administration, and JD Vance wrote the forward for a book written by the architect of the Project 2025 agenda.
The more you look at the leaders of the Republican party, the weirder and more creepy they look.
The reason that noting their weirdness is so effective is that it not only highlights the logical and moral incoherence of many of their positions, and their hypocrisy, but it also highlights for everyone the fact that they are actually a minority – very loud, and with a wildly disproportionate level of political influence and power, but a minority nonetheless.
They want people to view them with fear, not contempt and ridicule. They want people to think of them as powerful, not cowardly and pathetic.
That’s weird!
It’s also telling that the general response to Republicans being called weird is that they respond with variations on: “No. YOU’RE weird!” The problem is that they don’t know how not to be weird. I am struck by their lack of empathy, and the astonishing way they accuse their opponents of what they do – Take Trump’s accusations of Democrat “inflammatory language”, when he uses terms like “vermin”, while urging his followers to “go after” people he dislikes.
The perfect illustration of this is JD Vance’s attempt to buy donuts like a “normal person”. It looks more like a skit about an alien trying to act human – it’s incredibly “cringe”.
And then Tim Walz goes to buy donuts like a normal person, has fun talking to people, and even trolls Vance by commenting “Look at me, I have no problem picking out donuts.”. He didn’t even have to mention Vance’s name. Brilliant!
And yet, for some reason that I find utterly baffling, there are still millions of American voters who apparently plan to vote for Trump and Vance.
That’s REALLY weird!
To all Americans: VOTE!!!
To all non-Americans: Tell all Americans to VOTE!!!
Cheers!
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