POLITICS

What We Mean When We Say Weird

Why attacks on normalcy strike at the very heart of MAGA identity

Photo by David Todd McCarty.

“That was some weird shit.” — Former Republican President George W. Bush following Trump’s inaugural speech In 2017

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There’s a certain irony to the power that weirdness has had on the minds of the Maga Movement as of late. They are not generally moved by liberal condemnation and, in fact, seem to lean into their worst instincts just to prove how little they care about what the snowflakes think. However, one central tenant of the movement is that they are desperate to be taken seriously. They believe themselves to be the only true representation of morality and patriotism, the only authentic Americans. They are the gold standard for normality, righteousness, and patriotism, so when you tag them as weird, abnormal, or deviant, you undermine the argument that they are the norm and should be trusted and in charge.

Which is really the crux of the matter. They so want to believe they are the normal ones, the authentic examples of decency, principle, and honor, that they are blind to how abnormal they have become in the eyes of the world…