To the editor: Whereas philosophy professor Eric Schwitzgebel is offended by former President Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) being called “weird” because he identifies with having been a weird kid who liked mollusks, I appreciate how the word shifts our paradigm.
After nearly 10 years of too-much-Trump, words like “liars” and “authoritarians,” which Schwitzgebel recommends in lieu of weird, have lost their sting. Even “fascist” and “Hitler” don’t have much juice anymore and don’t really address the moment.
The majority of us live in a you-and-me world, where diversity and differences are a given. And this is why Trump and Vance — with their us-versus-them anger and name-calling; with their wanting to control our lives and bodies, air and water — seem goofy, not normal, unbalanced, definitely not rational and not constitutional.
They’re not good Golden Rule Christians — and frankly, they’re weird.
Pamela Kelly, Long Beach
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To the editor: I agree with Schwitzgebel that labeling Trump and Vance as weird is a poor choice. He’s quite right in that a lot of people self-label as weird in order to stress their uniqueness and individuality.
A much better and more apt label for them is “creepy.” People would never refer to themselves as creepy, because that has only negative connotations.
And Trump and Vance are indeed creepy, in the ugliest and most dangerous way. They’re like that character in a suspense film that everyone thinks is a great guy, but you know he’s a vicious sociopath and kind of creepy.
So, from my lips to the Democrats’ ears: Let’s go with creepy.
R.M. LaCarr, Mount Washington
