I never viewed being “weird” as a bad thing until coming to UConn and hearing the general rhetoric against weirdness all around this campus. Now, the fear and reality of being perceived as weird for acting and dressing in ways that are most comfortable for me make me dread going outside when I don’t have the mental bandwidth to be self-confident. I know there are others who feel similarly and are too afraid to be themselves due to the judgmental atmosphere. For all of our sakes, we need to build a better campus culture by collectively working to promote inclusivity for people who may not fit into certain molds of conforming and complicity.
Around UConn, you’re likely bound to hear someone in earshot calling someone or something else “weird” or “crazy.” These are terms so ingrained in our cultural vocabulary that they’re difficult to stop using in a negative light. But what do these terms mean historically so that we know how to move forward with the usages of these words?
”Weird” used to mean “fate” or “”destiny” in old English, but Shakespeare popularized the term as to mean “supernatural.” Then, the word became a synonym for words like “unnatural” or “uncanny” and eventually became pejorative and negative to some.
The word “crazy” is comparatively less optimistic. It used to just be a verb: craze, meaning something along the lines of “to break.” Then the term evolved into “crazy,” meaning “physically sick.” Then it became “broken.” In the 1610s, however, the term became used for those with mental illness, which has now become the primary definition of the word. It then took on the use of defining and persecuting mental illness along with other ableist terminology. These words have a certain baggage to them that normalizes oppressing people who don’t fit in to the neurotypical and “mentally stable” mindsets.
The mentally ill and neurodivergent have consistently been persecuted in history. This targeting survives not only physically, but rhetorically and societally today. In the past you would casually hear a mental health profession refer to someone else as “crazy” or an adjacent term for a divergent mental condition in the mental hospital as a demeaning term. Avoiding the use of these terms doesn’t change the atrocities inflicted on these groups in the past, but we can only strive to be better than our ancestors. It starts with actions led by knowledgeable intentions.
It’s not only the word choice, though. It’s also the inability to understand that there will be people who are different from you with different mindsets, capabilities and interests. At the very least, we need to be more conscious and constructive with our judgments instead of going through the popular motions.
Weirdness is a lonely and isolating virtue. It shows that you defy the grain, the social norms, and that you’re an individual rather than someone who conforms. Self-expression may be cathartic, but being shunned for showing authenticity leads many people to become insecure, lonely and depressed. It’s disgusting how so many are willing to hate without trying to come to an understanding.
There have been studies that have shown how approximately half of young adults in Gen Z don’t feel a sense of purpose in what they do. This leads to a sense of detachment within many people in Gen Z for others. I am of the belief that this apathy for our own lives feeds into this apathy for others and vice versa. It’s easier then, to want to see others suffering instead of critically thinking, tolerating and treating people like they matter. This lack of open-mindedness is toxic, unguided and inaccessible.
Self-confidence and mental stability seem to be delicacies in Gen Z. Resources to Recover, a mental health awareness and support organization, noted the mental health crisis in Gen Z. They were not the first to realize this. People are also increasingly impulsed to judge others instead of even making an attempt to see many of the nuances and angles that any one situation has. I somewhat attribute this to the combining of political and social media cultures requiring information to be on demand and creating this distinct “us versus them” mindset without looking rationally. It’s important to learn about struggles beyond your own, which ultimately makes you a more open-minded and empathetic human being.
There are many weird people out there who may or may not also be mentally ill or “crazy,” but that is far from a bad thing. We are kindred spirits. Although we can’t change the past, we need to build a better future for people like us: one where we can be accepted for everything we represent and continue to challenge the status quo together. This world is sickeningly isolating and now more than ever we need to build community. Take it from me, UConn: it’s a good thing to be weird and it doesn’t automatically make you a bad person. You think and do things distinctly and uniquely. You aren’t afraid of expressing what the typical person would be conditioned to think is “flawed.” To the typical people: hearing a non-conformer out might open your mind to other perspectives you may not have thought about before. Isn’t that valuable to you in an institution that supposedly prioritizes open-minded education?