Rings a bell, doesn’t it? It’s because you might have heard it before, the phrase “Normal people scare me.” It was made significantly popular around 10 years ago, by the series American Horror Story. You might have seen it on posters and merchandise scattered around, with the particular letter style of the show. And while it was something a deranged, albeit likable character wore on a black t-shirt, it stuck with many, found relatable in various, different ways.
 |
| American Horror Story (2011-) |
I, too, grew up scared of normal people. And still, nowadays, I can be wary of those that seem too normal. Because what is normal, anyway? Who decides that? And most importantly, what’s with the obsession of being such?
And maybe there really is something wrong with you that must, at all costs (especially yours), be corrected by normal people, so that you too can, at last, be normal. Maybe you’re a freak of nature that should not exist. But maybe not. Again, who defines what fits within what can be considered normal and what doesn’t? Based on what? What the majority are like or what they are supposed to be like? To what end? What is the criteria exactly?
If you’re somebody who felt clueless and unprepared to face a confusing world with norms that make little to no sense to you as well as rules that nobody speaks of but still viscerally reacts to when broken, chances are that normal people scared you. As if walking on a minefield, you could not proceed freely among them. Something would set them off. And you would pay for it. Because you’re not normal - but they swear they are.
It takes years of learning and years of growing to be able to navigate and push through a normal world unscathed, with what’s ‘normal’ frequently changing, oftentimes without warning, right where you are or across space and time. You have to be wise and you have to be strong. And you either mutilate yourself to adapt or summon the ungodly will to change the circumstances that dictate the so-called normalcy everyone must adhere to.
The rare and unusual may be celebrated, but only when they are extraordinarily serving the normal and when the normal still has power and control over them. Otherwise, it’s scary. It’s so scary it must be declared a universal danger. And it should be annihilated, figuratively or even literally. Can’t have that chaotic element threatening the order of things, can you?
So when you hear “Normal people scare me”, what do you hear? Both sides fear each other, but for different reasons. Although, ultimately, both fear the same thing: receiving irreversible damage. Normal people scare me because they are scared of me - and they will go to great lengths to secure themselves. Then I’m left with two options: devour them or be devoured.
 |
| American Horror Story (2011-) |
It’s no surprise, then, that if you are naturally a bit eccentric, you gravitated toward and were most comfortable around other weirdos like you. Weirdos got you and likely weren’t as insistent in making you into something you’re not. They understood you on levels deeper than anyone who’d only see you as the odd-one-out ever could. They weren’t perfect, but you weren’t looking for perfection either. With them, you could relax. At least a lot more than you would be able to around a strict normie ready to spot whatever was off about you and make a big deal out of it. Much to your detriment.
Sometimes, however, it doesn’t go that well. Sometimes fearing the abnormal is justified. Sometimes hanging out with those that are outside of the norm doesn’t guarantee that you are safe. And you should indeed be careful.
Speaking from experience, I have been drawn to questionable personalities before and it hasn’t gone well. At all. Perhaps I was operating under the influence of a death wish and did not mind any of the risks involved. Thus, I ignored clear signs that they weren’t relatively harmless deviants. But I did learn the hard lesson: There are monsters everywhere. Whether, given the circumstances, they pass as normal or not.
Normal people scare me because normal can be anything, no matter how cruel. You can look around or back in history to confirm this. All sorts of measures, and even punishments, can be taken against those that deviate from the norm - or from whatever they’d consider proper behavior. And they may point fingers, project their issues, and believe themselves entitled to destroy or banish what they deem abhorrent. Even though, ultimately, you are probably no worse than they are.
What is normal is completely situational. Rarely is it truly about what normally occurs in nature. Which, you know, is infinitely vast, complex, and diverse. In nature, it is normal for anomalies to occur. But more often than not, it is instead about what is or isn’t acceptable to a person or a group of people. It is an artificial construct and you’ll be damned if you don’t suit it.
Now, you may say, “You’re overreacting, things aren’t that bad anymore!” But then I ask you… Can you honestly say that?
With accumulated knowledge and laws put into place, things are different - I give you that. But they are merely shifting. There are new normalities but the same ostracizing attitudes and behaviors remain, now under different guises. And you can only hope that who you are is included in what will be the new normal. Because the problem is that when you fixate on narrow and short-sighted definitions of what normal is and enforce them, you will always be that villain that the strange kids fear. Whom, if they survive, they will go on to oppose.
Were you a strange kid too? Are you strange now?