Unfinished Kris

This Time.com article highlights M-W’s word of the year for 2024 as well as nine other words of note.

They selected polarization as word of the year, which seems pretty legit. I’ve heard the word quite a bit and it describes the state of things pretty well.

They’ve also highlighted the word weird, and wrote this about it:

“Weird” was weaponized by both sides of the political spectrum this presidential election. Minnesota Gov. Walz gained national prominence by his persistent labeling of Republicans and their platform as “weird,” while Republicans showed no hesitation lobbing the adjective (defined as “of strange or extraordinary character”) back at Democrats. “Weird seemed to be directed at not only the policies, but also the appearance and behavior, of the opposing candidates,” said Merriam-Webster.

Couple things….. First, I’m gonna need these politicians to leave my word alone. Weird is not a bad thing. Weird is a good thing, and we’re not going to roll back the connotation of it to mean something negative… ‘kay? ‘Kay.

Next, Time hit on the word I think they should have chosen and that is: weaponized. This year, everything was weaponized, from the justice system to WORDS… like weird. Weaponized… to be made into a weapon, used to attack a person or group.

I grew up with a saying that went a little something like, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” Now it seems to be more like, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, and words are also weapons.”