Sheeple
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'''Sheeple''' is a [[portmanteau]] of the words "[[sheep]]" and "[[people]]" used mainly by political [[crank]]s to describe the great unwashed masses that are blissfully unaware of whatever [[fringe]] issue is currently in vogue. | '''Sheeple''' is a [[portmanteau]] of the words "[[sheep]]" and "[[people]]" used mainly by 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 uneducated teenage [[YouTube]] commenters and [[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 cornered cranks who are running out of false facts or have had all their "[[evidence]]" debunked or 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 a 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]].<ref>Hey, wait a minute, the government ''did'' take care of them, didn't it?</ref> An alternative word for the term is "'''[[zombie]]s'''," which has been recently popularized by conspiracy theorist [[Mark Dice]]. | + | It is a favorite of uneducated teenage [[YouTube]] commenters and [[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 cornered cranks who are running out of false facts or have had all their "[[evidence]]" debunked, or 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 a 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]].<ref>Hey, wait a minute, the government ''did'' take care of them, didn't it?</ref> An alternative word for the term is "'''[[zombie]]s'''," which has been recently popularized by conspiracy theorist [[Mark Dice]]. |
==Origin== | ==Origin== | ||
Revision as of 22:12, 14 September 2013
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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 uneducated teenage YouTube commenters and 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 cornered cranks who are running out of false facts or have had all their "evidence" debunked, or 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 a 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.[1] An alternative word for the term is "zombies," which has been recently popularized by conspiracy theorist Mark Dice.
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Origin
The term was, according to some sources, popularized in the late 1980s by William Cooper,[2][3] but it appeared earlier than that in the Wall Street Journal in a 1984 article attributing the term to the John Birch Society.[4] Wikipedia cites one earlier instance of the term in the Emory University Quarterly, 1950.[5] 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.
What is the singular form?
If sheep is the singular of... sheep, and person is the singular of people, it is not clear what an individual within the sheeple herd is to be called - "sherson"? "Sheepson"? "Sheerpson"? Or perhaps just "sheeple"? (Although the latter just seems like grammatical error.)
More lulz
A surprising number of folks who brand their opponents as "sheeple" are themselves members of the Religious Right, who view the Bible as the inerrant word of God. This is the same Bible that encourages the followers of Christ to behave like "sheep" in the care of their "shepherd."
Wake up, sheeple!
Do not awaken the sheeple.[6]
Footnotes
- ↑ Hey, wait a minute, the government did take care of them, didn't it?
- ↑ 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
- ↑ http://xkcd.com/1013/