Sheeple
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[[File:XKCD wake up sheeple.png|thumb|300px|Don't wake the sheeple.]] | [[File:XKCD wake up sheeple.png|thumb|300px|Don't wake the sheeple.]] | ||
[[File:Goatride.jpg|thumb|[[RationalWiki|Goatle]] are clearly superior to sheeple.]] | [[File:Goatride.jpg|thumb|[[RationalWiki|Goatle]] are clearly superior to sheeple.]] | ||
| − | '''Sheeple''' | + | '''Sheeple''' is a portmanteau of the words "[[sheep]]" and "people") used mainly by [[Politics|political]] [[crank]]s to describe the great unwashed masses that are blissfully unaware of whatever fringe issue is currently in vogue. It is a favorite of [[libertarian]] [[conspiracy]] theorists who use it to describe anyone whose heart does not skip a beat in love every time [[Ron Paul]] or Gary Johnson's name is mentioned. [[Michael Savage]] uses it as well. It is most commonly used by a crank when they lose a political/[[Religion|religious]] [[argument]], or, sometimes in place of conspiracy theory evidence in a last ditch attempt to substitute actual evidence. The irony in this is that that most conspiracy nuts that whip this word out are commonly, blindly following following a stupid theory without having even a smidge of evidence supporting it. Among [[survivalism|survivalists]] it is a reference to those who are Not Prepared for the Great Calamity Which Is Coming Shortly and who instead assume the government will take care of them in case of a disaster, ''a la'' [[Hurricane Katrina]] (hey, wait a minute, the government ''did'' take care of them, didn't it?). An alternative word for the term is "zombies", which has been recently popularized by conspiracy theorist [[Mark Dice]]. |
The term was, according to some sources, coined or popularized in the late 1980s by [[William Cooper]],<ref>http://extremelifechanger.com/index.php?p=1_165_157-SHEEPLE-</ref><ref>http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sheeple&defid=3510786</ref> but it appeared earlier than that in the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' in a 1984 article attributing the term to the [[John Birch Society]].<ref>http://www.wordspy.com/words/sheeple.asp</ref> [[Wikipedia]] cites one earlier instance of the term in the ''Emory University Quarterly'', 1950.<ref>Emory University Quarterly v.6-7 1950-1951, page 64</ref> The metaphor of sheep standing for the clueless public believing everything their political masters told them was of course used by [[George Orwell]] in his fable ''[[Animal Farm]]''. | The term was, according to some sources, coined or popularized in the late 1980s by [[William Cooper]],<ref>http://extremelifechanger.com/index.php?p=1_165_157-SHEEPLE-</ref><ref>http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sheeple&defid=3510786</ref> but it appeared earlier than that in the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' in a 1984 article attributing the term to the [[John Birch Society]].<ref>http://www.wordspy.com/words/sheeple.asp</ref> [[Wikipedia]] cites one earlier instance of the term in the ''Emory University Quarterly'', 1950.<ref>Emory University Quarterly v.6-7 1950-1951, page 64</ref> The metaphor of sheep standing for the clueless public believing everything their political masters told them was of course used by [[George Orwell]] in his fable ''[[Animal Farm]]''. | ||
Revision as of 02:12, 17 March 2013
Sheeple is a portmanteau of the words "sheep" and "people") used mainly by political cranks to describe the great unwashed masses that are blissfully unaware of whatever fringe issue is currently in vogue. It is a favorite of libertarian conspiracy theorists who use it to describe anyone whose heart does not skip a beat in love every time Ron Paul or Gary Johnson's name is mentioned. Michael Savage uses it as well. It is most commonly used by a crank when they lose a political/religious argument, or, sometimes in place of conspiracy theory evidence in a last ditch attempt to substitute actual evidence. The irony in this is that that most conspiracy nuts that whip this word out are commonly, blindly following following a stupid theory without having even a smidge of evidence supporting it. Among survivalists it is a reference to those who are Not Prepared for the Great Calamity Which Is Coming Shortly and who instead assume the government will take care of them in case of a disaster, a la Hurricane Katrina (hey, wait a minute, the government did take care of them, didn't it?). An alternative word for the term is "zombies", which has been recently popularized by conspiracy theorist Mark Dice.
The term was, according to some sources, coined or popularized in the late 1980s by William Cooper,[1][2] but it appeared earlier than that in the Wall Street Journal in a 1984 article attributing the term to the John Birch Society.[3] Wikipedia cites one earlier instance of the term in the Emory University Quarterly, 1950.[4] The metaphor of sheep standing for the clueless public believing everything their political masters told them was of course used by George Orwell in his fable Animal Farm.
Footnotes
- ↑ http://extremelifechanger.com/index.php?p=1_165_157-SHEEPLE-
- ↑ http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sheeple&defid=3510786
- ↑ http://www.wordspy.com/words/sheeple.asp
- ↑ Emory University Quarterly v.6-7 1950-1951, page 64