this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2024
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See my comment but this is more or less getting into the weeds and allowing the terms of this dialogue back into the hands of oppressors/fascists. Using a term used to oppress others towards the oppressors is liberation for the oppressed and praxis against the oppressor by way of renegotiating who is and isn't in the "out group". Being ugly in your example is subjective as beauty/attractiveness is variable depending on context/kinks/culture/society etc. Using a term that was done to out group marginalized individuals and instead bring them into the in group while out grouping the oppressors and their way of thinking is horrifying for fascists and reactionaries as their greatest goal is to create acceptance to oppress, marginalize and eventually exterminate out groups. This is why the far right became truly troubled by being called weird by a perceived average individual such as Walz (who looks like a stereotypical Midwestern father figure), as this is a signal to them that they are not allowed within the "normal consensus" of society.
I think I disagree. Would a perceived average individual such as Walz calling Trump a f*g be liberating?
The use of the term f*g would need to be culturally changed so as not to just be calling Trump a member of the LGBTQ group and thereby out grouping them with Trump. Weird as a term is meant to state you are outside of what is acceptably "normal" while the slur is for a specific insult towards a specified out group (i.e. homosexuals), thereby using "weird" against fascists and reactionaries states that they and their beliefs are not normal nor accepted within society and inversely that those they persecute are more welcome than them thereby culturally challenging the dominance reactionaries have in cultural discourse away with one simple phrase "why are you so weird?".
Remember that average peeps in society don't usually read long essays on why accepting human beings is good which is something reactionaries bet upon and use small form propaganda to emotionally distort, therefor using a common tactic they use back upon them has ruffled them far more than calling them murderers/psychopaths etc because stuff like this stays far longer within the cultural zietgiest (i.e. why are those forever Trumper people so weird about genitals/gay people/Mexican people?).
So this is an attempt to take back normal for ourselves and relegate fascists into the role of counterculture?
Counterculture movements are commonly legitimized by way of being seen as counter to culture and open to discussion or investigation by the prevailing culture (for examples hippies, green movements, anti imperialist actions etc), labeling something or a group as "weird" more or less relegates them into the same lane as cults, extremely religious/zealous individuals and people in town that parents wouldn't want their kids around. Weird as a term when applied is used to remove the chance for debate or open exchange and is why it is used by fascists to shut down other groups, i.e. "don't talk to those weirdos they want to turn you into x".
Punks and hippies were definitely considered weird.
I'd say odd but not weird given they were absorbed into the culture (music, grung, punk aesthetics), weird is more Scientology and how they have to interact with people without saying who exactly they are until they finally have them in the organization given how much of a joke they are.