Embrace the Cringe
Show of hands: Who else is sick of the c-word? It’s plastered all over timelines, polluting every comment board, and is coveted by Generation Z as if they invented it. I am so tired of cringe. Everything today is cringe or cringey. Forget so-called “political correctness” or its sister scam, “cancel culture.” Cringe needs to be our top priority.
The dictionary definition of cringe: “bend one’s head and body in fear or in a servile manner.” But by today’s standards, cringe is synonymous with “something I don’t like,” rather than how it was originally intended.
Like when you’re at a cousin’s birthday party and you randomly remember fifteen years ago when you asked your camp counselor if he thought your mom was hot, thus causing you to spasm in front of said family and you have to cover and say you caught a chill . . . on a July afternoon. More on the lines of that, but no.
Actor you don’t like? “Cringe!” Song you don’t like? “Cringe!” Cheeseburger overcooked? “Cringe!”
Here’s the thing, boys and girls: you need to learn to embrace cringe. For the sake of your emotional intelligence, you need to understand that it’s okay to feel uncomfortable. I’m not talking about that old song and dance — “You don’t have the right not to be offended,” said by belligerent comedians to get a quick paycheck. As I said before, we have changed the meaning…
