Normies and Misfits:

Alexander:

"Interesting comments. I’ll give my take on the “normie,” but also on the counterpart of the normie; the misfit. The use of the term “normie” emerged from communities dominated by the “misfit” type. We all knew this type of person from a young age. They may have been the weird kid or the nerd. Sometimes they were isolated and sometimes they felt special. Others either ignored them, bullied them, or didn’t like them much. They weren’t popular and didn’t quite fit in. The rest of their peers had a group. They might have been into sports or cheerleading or band kids. They could have even had an alternative group; they may have been emo or goth. All of these kids grew up to be the normies. These normies are the salt of the earth and the backbone of society. They like football and Taylor Swift and popular rappers and going to bars. They like cars and motorcycles and rock climbing. They like holidays and Christmas and dress up for Halloween. They become bankers and construction workers and waiters and college undergraduates. They don’t tend to drift into extreme or fringe ideologies, so they don’t become non-binary anarcho-capitalists or flat-earthers who convert to Jainism or whatever else. They tend to have mild social vices, but abstain from crime or serious deviations from social norms. They fit in and have lower levels of mental health problems. The misfit type resents the normie. They feel the way the narcissist does: better than others, but unappreciated by others. Everyone else is a fool (an “NPC”) except for them. Their specialness is intrinsic and invisible, however: they just feel smarter, wiser, and everything else. Others don’t see them that way and the “normie” culture at large - which is really quite diverse rather than being a monoculture - doesn’t acknowledge or reward them. So they feel resentful. The normie is ultimately the non-resentful. The one who is doing the simple, mainstream and normal thing - and enjoying it. The normie does these without reference to the misfit, but the misfit frames their identity in respect to the normie. “I like Christmas,” says the normie, without a thought in the world of the misfit. “Christmas is a scam and the normies don’t see it!” says the misfit. Always acutely aware of how they are an outcast. Probably selecting beliefs in many cases simply by virtue of the belief being uncommon among normies. A sort of pathological and unpopular hipster. Basically the normies are good. They are good for society and live better lives. Being normal is good. They usually aren’t exceptional - but the misfit is exceptional in the wrong direction. These are the NEETs and the extremists and mentality unwell, rather than the exceptionally wise, or smart, or productive. There is a kind of person who is exceptionally wise, smart, and productive, too. But often these just look like exceptional normies when you examine their lives."