this post was submitted on 03 Aug 2024
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chapotraphouse
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It isn't strange at all. Fascism is all about having "proper" vibes. Weird is a category that they associate with their enemies, the so-called "removed", and very specifically deviates from the "proper" majority. Being associated with weird cuts right to their own self-image (sense of superiority, social ranking, "tradition", etc), and their typical attacks against other weirdos falls flat when they are themselves seen as the weirdo.
It also betrays this round of Fascism's critical weakness, they don't organize. Organizing has a wonderful property requiring one to modulate their politics to their audience and slowly bringing them to your way of thinking. Since this had to be done at scale it also meant organizing your message for consistency and distribution. This current crop was raised in very hermetically sealed online environments, most of which were kept secret from other people. They have no experience toning down their rhetoric for general consumption. Because none of their messaging or memes are modulated, they come off as incredibly disjointed.
If the general public truly learns about 4chan, and it's adjacent porn boards, "weird pervert" might become the one-two punch that annihilates this group's aesthetics.
We would do well to apply this criticism to ourselves. People don't change deeply-held political opinions at the drop of a hat; it takes time and effort. Lacking the patience for that, or arguing that we shouldn't have to put in that effort, is fundamentally our problem.
And if the shit you say online would come off as bizarre or off-putting to even a lot of sympathetic people in the real world, how useful is that rhetoric, really?
There’s also the simple fact that online right wing spheres appeal to and provide a sense of belonging and superiority to people who were ostracized in high school. A LOT of right wing hatred is just misanthropy born out of social rejection.
EXACTLY. It's their entire schtick. "We are normal. We are proper. We are the defenders of virtuous civilization." This is their outward creed. Pointing out that they are obsessed with people's genitals and things that slaps them in the face. It makes them outsiders. There in inferiority associated with being weird. There is a sense of ostracism associated with it.
And as others have pointed out is also is such a common word that everyone in America can associate it with an icky feeling about someone. Everyone has used the word. Everyone has experienced weirdos in their lives. It is an instant association.