Also: are you neurodivergent and have you had that word constantly applied to you in abusive ways
Yeah. I never have been diagnosed as neurodivergent but I’ve suspected I could be. But either way, I’ve heard the word used derisively all my life :/
“Weird” is just a synonym for out of the ordinary (though one often meant as an insult) and being out of the ordinary isn’t quite the insult that “normies” (in the sense of “close to the norm”) think it is: being a great genius is weird, being a top Olympic athlete is weird, being amongst the most exceptional people in a profession is weird.
Absolutely, the other end of the scale is also deemed weird and one can hardly claim that being, say, way below average intelligence is a good characteristic to have.
The point being that merely being out of the norm isn’t by itself a bad thing.
For many people, including me, part of recovering from that abuse is accepting that you’re significantly different compared to the average person. If you’re ND and can’t accept that, you might be masking and that can be really harmful.
That being said, there’s still a difference between being called “different” or “weird”, and if the latter is being hurled at you with malice by friends, they might not really be your friends…
Oh i know i’m weird, and i’m fine with it.
I’m also Queer (and born in the 70’s) so i treat the two words with the same nuance. Certain people are allowed to call me those words. Others can keep a fucking civil tongue in their heads
