I'm interested in the use of the word "creepy" as a judgment of value. Seldom do I hear or read "This creeps me out" or "I find this creepy": it's always "[Insert Person or Action]] is creepy"
It's not that the person is "threatening" or "dangerous" or "evil" or "a jerk" or even "patheitc/ridiculous/laughable/contemptible/lame". The former are tolerable if not downright cool, attractive, and worthy of praise, and there are entire subcultures built around giving oneself and one's group an aggressive image. The latter can gain approval and pats on the head, like puppies: having someone beneath them makes people feel comfortable with their lot, especially if said someone defers to them.
But the "creepy"... there is no redemption for the creepy, the freaky, the strange, the weird, the "sick fuck". They are dehumanised: a disease, a cancer, a vermin, something vile, slimy, abhorrent. They'll be compared to reptiles and bugs: cold-blooded things that crawl on their bellies.
The creepy, I think, in the mind of those who use the word as an insult, is weak, powerless, diseased, downtrodden, and therefore resentful, vengeful, cowardly and unscrupulous. Let me see if I can evoke "the creepy" by an appropriate metaphor:
They are that one slave that, unlike others who are more than happy to serve, you caught more than once with a murderous look in their eye, one that
promises poison in your dinner. Or spit on your hamburger, whatever. They'll never take you head on because they know they can't possibly win in a "fair fight", that is to say, one where you have the advantage.
So they'll bide their time, and strike when you least expect it. Punishing them, threatening them is useless: they fold like a house of cards, they beg and apologize and promise... and their intent is only strengthened, their patience heightened, and their caution increased: beating them down only makes them more of a threat.
Fiction villains are interesting in that they are often also creepy (perhaps largely because they are chronic losers as per the Anthropic Principle). A villain who is not creepy is often treated as amirable: the Magnificent Bastard, or the Big Bad who is also a Worthy Opponent. The quintessence of the creepy in terms of power dynamics would be The Starscream: obsequious, fake, and ready to stab you as soon as you turn your back, and it's not clear whether what he wants is your place or your approval.
"Being evil" apparently equals "needing to be stopped", "inviting violence" even. Being creepy, on the other hand, means "please someone crush that thing now".
Well, these are just my impressions as of now, because I'm trying to make sense of why being creepy is such a bad thing while being bad is apparently okay.
I'm interested in the use of the word "creepy" as a judgment of value. Seldom do I hear or read "This creeps me out" or "I find this creepy": it's always "[Insert Person or Action]] is creepy"
It's not that the person is "threatening" or "dangerous" or "evil" or "a jerk" or even "patheitc/ridiculous/laughable/contemptible/lame". The former are tolerable if not downright cool, attractive, and worthy of praise, and there are entire subcultures built around giving oneself and one's group an aggressive image. The latter can gain approval and pats on the head, like puppies: having someone beneath them makes people feel comfortable with their lot, especially if said someone defers to them.
But the "creepy"... there is no redemption for the creepy, the freaky, the strange, the weird, the "sick fuck". They are dehumanised: a disease, a cancer, a vermin, something vile, slimy, abhorrent. They'll be compared to reptiles and bugs: cold-blooded things that crawl on their bellies.
The creepy, I think, in the mind of those who use the word as an insult, is weak, powerless, diseased, downtrodden, and therefore resentful, vengeful, cowardly and unscrupulous. Let me see if I can evoke "the creepy" by an appropriate metaphor:
They are that one slave that, unlike others who are more than happy to serve, you caught more than once with a murderous look in their eye, one that promises poison in your dinner. Or spit on your hamburger, whatever. They'll never take you head on because they know they can't possibly win in a "fair fight", that is to say, one where you have the advantage.
So they'll bide their time, and strike when you least expect it. Punishing them, threatening them is useless: they fold like a house of cards, they beg and apologize and promise... and their intent is only strengthened, their patience heightened, and their caution increased: beating them down only makes them more of a threat.
Fiction villains are interesting in that they are often also creepy (perhaps largely because they are chronic losers as per the Anthropic Principle). A villain who is not creepy is often treated as amirable: the Magnificent Bastard, or the Big Bad who is also a Worthy Opponent. The quintessence of the creepy in terms of power dynamics would be The Starscream: obsequious, fake, and ready to stab you as soon as you turn your back, and it's not clear whether what he wants is your place or your approval.
"Being evil" apparently equals "needing to be stopped", "inviting violence" even. Being creepy, on the other hand, means "please someone crush that thing now".
Well, these are just my impressions as of now, because I'm trying to make sense of why being creepy is such a bad thing while being bad is apparently okay.