Forgiving the Normie

Having Empathy for the Average Person

Within the last year, I learned to accept the normie (internet parlance for the normal or average person). I’ve forgiven the normie for being themselves.

This article was written to enlighten others who may be judgmental towards normies.

“THE NORMIE’S GOING TO NORM”

The normal person. The average person. They are all around us. The normal person is the majority of people in any population. They are the ones who generally go to the bar, search for romance, and figure out the world through common sense without analyzing things extensively. They normally have the same opinions and knowledge that they learned at school, got from mainstream news, and don’t question such opinions and knowledge.

Overtime, I learned that I had a judgmental mindset regarding the normie. I realized that they’re going to be who they are regardless of my preferences.

IN THE CROWD

I actually came to this conclusion last year reading Faust, part1, by the great German philosopher and poet, Goethe. In a chapter called “Outside the City Gate, he described in very elegant poetry a crowd of average citizens in a city in Germany after winter ended walking through the city gates. They were wanting to go drinking, dancing and try to meet romantic partners.

Come up to Burgdorf, there you’ll find it true

The have the prettiest girls, the finest brew.

And there’ll be first-rate hassles for us.

-Says one of the random town citizens

A male student says:

Gad, how those sturdy wenches sail!

My word, we mustn’t let them go to waste.

A pungent smoke, a hearty mug of ale,

A dolled-up maid—such, brother is my taste

One more example comes from a Girl of the Burgher Class:

Look, will you, at those handsome lads!

That really seems a shame to me;

Here they could have the choicest company,

And who do they run after? Maids!

These lines really hit home to me. This book was written at the end of the 18th century in Germany. Yet, it is very relatable to me as an American in the 21st century. The normie man and woman in America discuss such average things as drinking, dating, watching sports ball, and vices such as smoking.

Looking at it like this, I came to realize that the normie is generally a good-hearted person. If the normie isn’t hurting anyone, why do I care what they enjoy? Not everyone has to pursue intellectual hobbies and matters.

Rather than judge them, I think it’s more helpful to just accept them for who they are.

Notes:

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang Von (2001). Faust. (Originally published, 1808). Translated by Walter Arndt and edited by Cyrus Hamlin.