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Former U.S. President Donald Trump and then-Republican candidate for U.S. Senate JD Vance greet supporters during the rally at the Dayton International Airport on November 7, 2022 in Vandalia, Ohio.
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The Good, The Bad, and... The Weird
If this narrative about why the Republican Party is just "weird" helps us defeat the dangerous threat of Trump and Vance, fine, I'm in. But a society in which we fight over who is “normal” while we “point and laugh“ at the weirdos is a dangerous society.
Aug 07, 2024
If this “weird” thing helps the Democrats (and the rest of us) to beat Trump (and to keep the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society and their billionaire patrons at bay), I will, reluctantly, endure it. Whatever it takes.
A recent Salon headline reads: "’Pointing and laughing:’ Democrats leaned in on ‘weird’ and experts say it's working.”
OK. But I don’t like it. In fact, it troubles me quite a lot.
Most of the people I love best are “weird.” I aspire to be weird, and I worry that I should have the nerve to be weirder, and I dream of living in a country where “weird” is OK. I’ve spent most of my life criticizing and lamenting the ways in which our society shames people into “normalcy.”
Jimi Hendrix was weird. Bob Dylan is weird. Frida Kahlo was weird. Bernie Sanders is weird. Abe Lincoln was weird. My favorite students are weird. My best friends are weird. And there are millions of weird people doing incredible, liberating, mind-blowing, paradigm-shifting, care-taking, creative work that will make our lives better and richer because they are weird enough to see beyond “the way things are supposed to be.”
This is not to say that Trump, JD Vance, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Stephen Miller are not weird. They are. But way more importantly, they are hateful, racist, narcissistic and anti-democratic.
And of course, in a country with a long history of racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, Christo-fascist notions of “normalcy,” everyone who isn’t a straight white christian boy is in serious danger of being ostracized as “weird.”
A society in which we fight over who is “normal” while we “point and laugh“ at the weirdos is a dangerous society.
This is not to say that Trump, JD Vance, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Stephen Miller are not weird. They are. But way more importantly, they are hateful, racist, narcissistic and anti-democratic.
I oppose racism, sexism, homophobia, violence, mass incarceration, tax cuts for the rich, violent borders, climate change, hate, lying, the glorification of wealth, meanness, narcissism, war, the glorification of war, shitty food, the deregulation of rapacious opportunistic corporations, the fascist supreme court, voter suppression, and efforts to hide and deny our violent racist history. As far as I can tell, the GOP is enthusiastically in favor of all of this.
But I am not opposed to weirdness. In fact, it’s a cherished value.
So, I hope we can find a different and better narrative. In the meanwhile, let’s be very careful.An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Tim Koechlin
Tim Koechlin holds a PhD in economics. He is the Director of the International Studies Program at Vassar College, where he has an appointment in International Studies and Urban Studies. Professor Koechlin has taught and written about a variety of subjects including economic, political and racial inequality; globalization; macroeconomic policy, and urban political economy.
If this “weird” thing helps the Democrats (and the rest of us) to beat Trump (and to keep the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society and their billionaire patrons at bay), I will, reluctantly, endure it. Whatever it takes.
A recent Salon headline reads: "’Pointing and laughing:’ Democrats leaned in on ‘weird’ and experts say it's working.”
OK. But I don’t like it. In fact, it troubles me quite a lot.
Most of the people I love best are “weird.” I aspire to be weird, and I worry that I should have the nerve to be weirder, and I dream of living in a country where “weird” is OK. I’ve spent most of my life criticizing and lamenting the ways in which our society shames people into “normalcy.”
Jimi Hendrix was weird. Bob Dylan is weird. Frida Kahlo was weird. Bernie Sanders is weird. Abe Lincoln was weird. My favorite students are weird. My best friends are weird. And there are millions of weird people doing incredible, liberating, mind-blowing, paradigm-shifting, care-taking, creative work that will make our lives better and richer because they are weird enough to see beyond “the way things are supposed to be.”
This is not to say that Trump, JD Vance, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Stephen Miller are not weird. They are. But way more importantly, they are hateful, racist, narcissistic and anti-democratic.
And of course, in a country with a long history of racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, Christo-fascist notions of “normalcy,” everyone who isn’t a straight white christian boy is in serious danger of being ostracized as “weird.”
A society in which we fight over who is “normal” while we “point and laugh“ at the weirdos is a dangerous society.
This is not to say that Trump, JD Vance, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Stephen Miller are not weird. They are. But way more importantly, they are hateful, racist, narcissistic and anti-democratic.
I oppose racism, sexism, homophobia, violence, mass incarceration, tax cuts for the rich, violent borders, climate change, hate, lying, the glorification of wealth, meanness, narcissism, war, the glorification of war, shitty food, the deregulation of rapacious opportunistic corporations, the fascist supreme court, voter suppression, and efforts to hide and deny our violent racist history. As far as I can tell, the GOP is enthusiastically in favor of all of this.
But I am not opposed to weirdness. In fact, it’s a cherished value.
So, I hope we can find a different and better narrative. In the meanwhile, let’s be very careful.Tim Koechlin
Tim Koechlin holds a PhD in economics. He is the Director of the International Studies Program at Vassar College, where he has an appointment in International Studies and Urban Studies. Professor Koechlin has taught and written about a variety of subjects including economic, political and racial inequality; globalization; macroeconomic policy, and urban political economy.
If this “weird” thing helps the Democrats (and the rest of us) to beat Trump (and to keep the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society and their billionaire patrons at bay), I will, reluctantly, endure it. Whatever it takes.
A recent Salon headline reads: "’Pointing and laughing:’ Democrats leaned in on ‘weird’ and experts say it's working.”
OK. But I don’t like it. In fact, it troubles me quite a lot.
Most of the people I love best are “weird.” I aspire to be weird, and I worry that I should have the nerve to be weirder, and I dream of living in a country where “weird” is OK. I’ve spent most of my life criticizing and lamenting the ways in which our society shames people into “normalcy.”
Jimi Hendrix was weird. Bob Dylan is weird. Frida Kahlo was weird. Bernie Sanders is weird. Abe Lincoln was weird. My favorite students are weird. My best friends are weird. And there are millions of weird people doing incredible, liberating, mind-blowing, paradigm-shifting, care-taking, creative work that will make our lives better and richer because they are weird enough to see beyond “the way things are supposed to be.”
This is not to say that Trump, JD Vance, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Stephen Miller are not weird. They are. But way more importantly, they are hateful, racist, narcissistic and anti-democratic.
And of course, in a country with a long history of racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, Christo-fascist notions of “normalcy,” everyone who isn’t a straight white christian boy is in serious danger of being ostracized as “weird.”
A society in which we fight over who is “normal” while we “point and laugh“ at the weirdos is a dangerous society.
This is not to say that Trump, JD Vance, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Stephen Miller are not weird. They are. But way more importantly, they are hateful, racist, narcissistic and anti-democratic.
I oppose racism, sexism, homophobia, violence, mass incarceration, tax cuts for the rich, violent borders, climate change, hate, lying, the glorification of wealth, meanness, narcissism, war, the glorification of war, shitty food, the deregulation of rapacious opportunistic corporations, the fascist supreme court, voter suppression, and efforts to hide and deny our violent racist history. As far as I can tell, the GOP is enthusiastically in favor of all of this.
But I am not opposed to weirdness. In fact, it’s a cherished value.
So, I hope we can find a different and better narrative. In the meanwhile, let’s be very careful.We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.