Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!


 

 

 
bullet02.04.14    This definition is from www.dictionary.com

weird   Pronunciation Key  (wîrd)
adj. weird·er, weird·est

  1. Of, relating to, or suggestive of the preternatural or supernatural.
  2. Of a strikingly odd or unusual character; strange.
  3. Archaic. Of or relating to fate or the Fates.

So, perhaps the reason why people are so quick to judge a person and call them weird is because, they are not 'natural.' But, what does it mean to be natural? To wear your hair naturally or have it be it's natural color? To look natural? To act it? 

The key to the concept of weird and why so many people are quick to shy away from others who are not like them is exactly that. They aren't like them, and perhaps, on some subconscious level, they feel threatened by the fact that there are others outside of their little ring of familiarity. 

The problem with this is that there are so many social rings, that no set definition of normal or natural could ever be set. Now, I am going to do something that is never good or recommended when talking to a crowd of different individuals, who all contain different sets of knowledge of various degrees. I am going to assume that you will know the terms and groups of people when I say Preps, Rebels, Goths, Jocks, Skaters, and the Unclassifiables and Undesirables. This is all for the sake of my example and reasoning, so please bear with me.

Now,  I suppose that the Preps could consider the Rebels weird, among other things, in that, to be blunt but accurate, the Rebels just don't give a flying fuck about what others think of them. The Preps, on the other hand, would like to keep up a rather refined appearance. They dress nicely and really do take the time to look good, for themselves if not for others. This is all generalization, so please forgive me if any of this is inaccurate, although it is how I perceive the social groups at my school.

That is also another thing that will get people in trouble. Generalization, also know as stereotyping. Yes, a majority of Preps do dress nicely, and the idea that they are stuck up also goes with the title. For Preps, though, I do not think that it is mainly the outside appearance is all that defines them as who they are. They seem to have an aura about them that makes them appear stuck up, as many people will say. Preps do seem to act this way, but perhaps it is their way of defense, as if they feel they are being threatened; to not let others intimidate them, and so they retaliate by acting as if they don't care about the rest of the world.

Rebels, a group that I could probably associate with fairly well, and indeed I do. From what I have seen of Rebels, they seem to have a lot of self confidence in what they are and how they act. It takes a lot to go against the grain. But again, they have set themselves in this group, and are therefore, are following their own flow of things. The same would go for Goths and every other social group there is at any school at whatever grade level.

As I draw this to a close, I have still not settled my questions about the term weird and why people use it to classify people so frequently. Perhaps I will be able to complete this later tonight...