Normie Discourse

2025-09-06

One thing that's been on my mind recently is the term "normie." I started thinking about it because a few friends would talk about their grievances in work or school, saying that they were constantly surrounded by normies. This is interesting to me because my suspicion is that everyone has a similar disposition towards others who they don't know intimately but have to engage with them in common societal contexts such as work or school. It reminds me of a Japanese cultural concept: honne and tatemae. Honne 「本音」 essentially means "true sound" and is used to convey a type of disposition that is reflects a person's true feelings and attitudes towards a situation. Tatemae 「建前」 essentially means "public posture" and generally refers to feelings a person shows in order to maintain social harmony, or Wa. In the West, we think of society as something that needs order, not harmony. Our individualist disposition makes us see civic structures as a "necessary evil" (at least according to Thomas Paine) and not something that is harmonious with nature. According to Rousseau, humanity's natural state is something that doesn't prescribe to any kind of civic structure, but instead prefers humble solitude to conglomeration. But still, it's interesting that universally, it seems that there is a balancing act when it comes to socializing that people seem to fundamentally dislike.

Logically, predication collapses when it becomes universal. When everyone's a normie, then no one's a normie. So with that, I think it's important to not be afraid of saying something that might make us feel like an outsider because truthfully, being an outsider is a universal fear. So for me, I hope that I can remember this:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”

—Romans 12:22 (ESV)

I can ponder on social order and how it affects the psyche forever and go down endless rabbit holes with it, but the wiser thing to do is to understand that I am closer to a person than I might think (even if I don't know them) and that no matter whether or not I believe someone is better or worse than me, the truth is that we all share a Common Thread and because of that, I resolve to do my best to treat them with love and patience.