REPUBLICANS, as you’ve probably heard, are being called “weird”. In a quip that launched a million memes, Minnesota Governor turned vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz referred to his right-wing political opposition as “weird people” in a July 23, 2024, interview on MSNBC. Since then, the barb has stuck, with leading Democratic party figures, from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to presidential nominee Kamala Harris, branding their Republican opposition with the moniker.
Of course, in a classic deployment of the “I know you are, but what am I?” retort, the Republicans have tried to flip the script. “You know what’s really weird?” Donald Trump Jr opined on X. “Soft on crime politicians like Kamala allowing illegal aliens out of prison so they can violently assault Americans.
” And in an interview with conservative radio host Clay Travis, former president Donald Trump said of Democrats, “They’re the weird ones. Nobody’s ever called me weird. I’m a lot of things, but weird I’m not.
” While I get why both sides are hurling weird bombs at each other, I’m nevertheless not on board with all the “weird shaming”. It isn’t just hypocritical for each party to claim to speak on behalf of the forgotten and marginalised while mockingly calling the other side weird. It’s also deeply regressive.
The weird, I would argue, deserve respect. As someone who has spent the past three decades researching, writing about and teaching topics including v.