My Final Word On Cringe

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My actual KZbin Channel: ‪@BigJoel‬

[@mjcrom]

Little Joel horrified to learn that his audience is deeply and proudly cringe.

[@frozennorth3426]

it was only a matter of time

[@The_k81]

He didn't realize the empire he was building was founded on a swamp of cringe.

[@chainswordcs]

profoundly cringe

[@sloanekuria3249]

Defiantly but also still maybe a little defensively cringe? Just me?

[@mjcrom]

@@sloanekuria3249 no definitely not just you

[@birdwatching_u_back]

So glad Joel made it to heaven, I was a little worried after all his intellectual atheist slander over the years

[@covereye5731]

Saying he wasn't fond of the Satanists did a lot.

[@GodLandon]

Fortunately he killed the part of himself that was non-believing

[@Ooffoop]

I love the references

[@cipherpac]

The monumental work he did on behalf of the Oompa Loompas really went over well with Yahweh

[@LukeMcGuireoides]

You can thank me. I prayed for his salvation. It's down to me.

[@LeeBasil]

as an autistic person I resent being considered synonymous with cringe. I'm never cringe. I'm perfect

[@GVILTY]

REAL

[@hexeddecimals]

I like your pfp! who is it?

[@tim..indeed]

As an autistic person I accept that I'm sometimes cringe.

[@Lo-opss]

As an autistic person, i don't embrace my cringe and try to improve my social skills

[@vickorpus]

real

[@Silvarret]

Don't let this discussion distract yourself from the fact that Pepe shat themselves.

[@shmojelfed9664]

Wow pepe is pretty cringe ngl

[@henrymilek]

Why does Joel ignore this?? cringe

[@monkeydetonation]

I'm gonna shit youre pants

[@ComradeCatpurrnicus]

Let Peepo be. They're at peace with it.

[@DreamsOfLennox]

silvarret a fan of little joel???? by god, this is the least cringe thing i’ve seen in quite some time

[@Skyb0rg]

I’m sorry to break it to you, but the reason those videos have so much engagement is because the Little Joel comment section community is cringe 😢

[@eoincampbell1584]

legit though, for some reason most people in these comment sections just can't get a joke

[@table2.0]

We are cringe, but we are free. Also, self report, you’re here too lmao

[@uniquename6925]

​@@eoincampbell1584 we get the joke... Joel wants to make fun of a meme about self acceptance... And he frazed it as a joke... It's in poor taste imo, but whatever. The fact he doubles down on it, is kinda the part that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

[@j_117]

​@Unique Name thing is it wasn't really a joke. If you thought the point was just to make fun of a self-accepteping meme, then you really didn't get it. He was making less a joke and more a logical argument that he thought countered the meme. Which, imo, is that it would not be in your best interest to never feel shameful about your own actions.

[@xavierriv41]

Maybe some of you, but I have never once been cringe

[@f1nneganswake289]

the meme is a response to the overwhelming cringe culture we are coming out of. Cringe compilations. Being cringe was like the bully word everyone used for the longest. Cringe was how we othered eachother for a while. It feels very freeing and empowering to reclaim the word and the identity and be okay with it. "kill the part that cringes" is maybe the verbage you hate, but its more targeting being okay with being cringe and accept that everyone is a bit cringe.

[@f1nneganswake289]

its funnier to me adding to the discourse at this point than just lolling along

[@sebastiangorka200]

theres no "explosion" of "cringe culture" and "othering for cringe" its always been there, its a basic human reaction. youre not special.

[@f1nneganswake289]

@@sebastiangorka200 Woah there. Disagreements on the history of cringe is frankly necessary, but saying I'm not a special little guy is effed up.

[@MelodiCat753]

Joel is completely missing the cultural context, which I find strange as he usually is very nuanced.

[@elonmusk921]

@@MelodiCat753 to be fair, the comments probably didn’t help if there were so many people thinking he was referring to autistic people when he said cringe 😭

[@benjulesrun9057]

You know how people hate the sound of their recorded voice? To me "killing the part of you that cringes" is not being afraid to talk even though you don't like your voice, and that's a really helpful idea for my anxious ass. If I was worried about being cringe, I'd be focused on tons of stuff I think is cringe, that no one else even notices or cares about. I'd never do anything.

[@racoon2623]

i find rejecting cringe synonymous with embracing sincerity. my entire personality is filtered through layer after layer of irony as a defense from being seen as cringe, so if i reject that, i can be sincere

[@_Chelli_]

As an autistic person, I do feel like I do want to remove lots of parts of me that cringe, especially the parts relating to social anxiety and internalized ableism. But cringe definitely isn’t bad by default, I just wish I didn’t do it so much, especially for things that aren’t deserving.

[@TheColourAwesomer]

As another autist, killing any emotional reaction is not the way. I've been very avoidant because cringe is so triggering to me. Intergration/context and self-forgiveness is the way. When I'm less harsh on myself I ruminate less, and eventually emotions soften. Killing is pretty vague in this context. Is it an act of self-forgiveness or disacosiation.

[@gwen9939]

I think what comes along with "removes the part of you that cringes" it doesn't mean "remove the part of you that recoils from someone else's words or art", it means "remove the internalized predispositions you use to censor your own behavior". The situations of the term where it's most applied imo is when we cringe about something that reminds us of ourselves, or how we think others view us. So yeah, I think it's a lot of internalized phobias, especially potent in members of marginalized communities, and I think realizing that these are often notions that are enforced outside of ourselves that we've internalized as a result of growing up with them can help us have more compassion for the things we find cringe. Like, real counter-culture is daring to be cringe because it's daring to exist uninhibited outside established norms. We've romanticized counter-culture so much that we've forgotten that in their time they were most likely also considered cringe by a majority group.

[@llynxfyremusic]

This. I don't like other autistic people and I don't know how to change it. Cringing at other autistic people failing to understand social cues is so antithetical to how I believe we should treat each other and yet I do it anyway and I don't know how to change that behaviour. I would love to nerf the part of me that cringes.

[@TenguXx]

@@llynxfyremusic I think what you’re talking about is the result of the double empathy problem. In order for people to get along with each other, both people need to have empathy for each other, but we live in a society that does not promote empathy towards autistic people. We’re expected to carry all of the empathy in social interactions while being told that we’re incapable of empathy. Allistic people have no idea how much effort we expend to translate ourselves into their language, and so it never occurs to them that an equal effort is called for from them.

[@EggyDaxy]

I agree but killing the part that cringes doesn’t mean “stop finding things embarrassing” it just means don’t be too harsh on yourself for engaging in harmless hobbies. Don’t feel guilty for having fun. Not really toxic positivity and more like the bare minimum self love

[@SemiIocon]

I'm impressed by the advanced theory of cringe that Professor Joel clearly has been working on for several decades.

[@Ingestedbanjo]

I really, really love that Little Joel has made two follow-up videos clarifying his video on cringe. Feeling like he's overstepped and gotten an unexpected reaction for what he thought was just a dumb joke. This is meta comedy at its peak.

[@GatorThyMe]

ultimately, this meme comes from an environment where the word cringe was used in an extremely toxic, exhausting, limiting, stupid way. it was always a rather mean word, and even though it's a real emotion, i think it makes everyone feel better to try to aim beyond reacting to things by cringing, and look at everything with more maturity.

[@TheEepyMagi]

This, this is exactly it. Yeah i get Joel's point but clearly he was never constantly called cringe by some of his closest friends for simply doing what he loved.

[@fourquarks]

Yeah this

[@sodaandstars4389]

Yeah, the meme was speaking against limiting your interest and expressions for the sake of not being cringe

[@blahbliff9726]

When the giant letters did not fly out to signify that Doug Walker isn't cringe, that made me laugh a lot.

[@catfish552]

I half expected "Doug Walker IS cringe" to come flying at me

[@uselessDM]

Pepe pissing his pants whilst thinking about cringe is exactly what Caspar David Friedrich was all about.

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

This painting is already quite unfitting in CDF's work. He almost never draw any persons, and they never took center stage, except here (at best a few dots lost in the landscape).

[@uselessDM]

@@shytendeakatamanoir9740 I mean the meme seems to be insprired by Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer and there the person is quite prominent, also in a back view, so it fits perfectly well I would say.

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

@@uselessDM But it's unique. That's the only time he actually painted someone (afaik). It isn't representative of his entire work. ... I'm not entirely sure what my point is, honestly

[@ComradeCatpurrnicus]

Agreed

[@shytendeakatamanoir9740]

@@jimmybean420 Unfitting isn't the correct term, sure. Representative is a better term. Afaik, it's the closest thing to a portrait he did

[@extrules]

Since we are being sincere here, I'm gonna say some stupid sincere stuff. Cringe if u want at it lol. But when I was a kid, I got secondhand embarrassment so badly that I would cry. I would shake my hands. I couldn't handle loud noises or strong smells or long sleeves or tight shoes. I would shake my hands. My mom would hold my hands still and say, in her angry mom whisper right in my face, "Aren't you embarrassed? You're humiliating me!" And kids at school called me "special" and "weird" and "cringe". I was never diagnosed with anything, so I don't feel comfortable claiming autism, but you don't understand the connection here. It is so much more than you seem to think. Autistic behaviors aren't just cringe. I am cringe. My whole self. Everything about me is humiliating, embarrassing, wrong. My entire life has been hiding, masking, pretending, always worried, constantly cringing. Every word, sound, movement. All of it is inexorably tied to my own internal, severely oversensitive sense of disgust and hatred. It ballooned into absolute self hatred, and agoraphobia, and even self harm. Killing the part of me that cringes was never an option, until I realized it was. And it wasn't from that pepe meme, it was the "i am cringe and i am free" cow. I am cringe. And I am free. I am cringe and I am free. I cried. Unironically, it had never even occurred to me that I could be free and still be myself. So I will continue being cringe. I will let it pass over me and through me, and when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the cringe has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

[@kuman0110]

good take

[@faeancestor]

man

[@aggressivelyme9657]

This is pretty much what I wanted to say on the subject, especially that while yes, cringe does include other things besides autistic behavior there is still a /very/ strong connection between "cringe" and "autistic". Also I will say as someone who's seen a lot of Discourse in autistic TikTok, if you've researched what autism is and how it presents, and that feels like it describes your experience, you're definitely allowed to label yourself autistic. It's kinda like being queer or being disabled, when you're unfamiliar with the community you might be scared to identify with it for fear of taking "resources" away from people who are "really" that thing, but for the most part the community itself wants to encourage more people to realize they're a part of it, and by expanding the community we can expand its visibility and build solidarity with one another. Anyway, good comment, hope Little Joel sees it :)

[@aggressivelyme9657]

In fact, if I understand correctly I feel like calling actually harmful stuff cringe came later, from an attempt to redefine the term to be less bullying-y.

[@Fractured_Unity]

What’s important is why you are getting that cringe reaction. It’s only helpful up until the point when the only reason is due to perceived societal pressure. For example, there are people that think Coldplay is cringe for the simple reason that they were told it’s cringe music, not because they dislike all of their music or how their artists conduct themselves. Or how people, especially children, use it as a label for someone when they aren’t doing anything harmful, just different. But it is a totally valid emotional response to seeing someone get hurt. It’s an important empathetic tool when used correctly. Cringe in moderation, it has its uses.

[@thesaltybeard1793]

As a former anti sjw type I have to say learning to kill the part of me that cringed was the best thing I ever did for myself and others. I cringed at gay people trans people passionate people most people I found weird at the time. It was toxic and it was hurting me as well. If I didn't kill that part of me I would never have realized I was trans let alone changed my perspectives on things.

[@APaleDot]

I think you have it exactly backwards. Killing the part that cringes is not repressing an emotion, rather cringing is a learned behavior and is the thing repressing authentic emotions. "Do not kill the part of you that is authentic, kill the part of you that is inauthentic" is basically what the meme is saying.

[@fourquarks]

Great comment

[@ctrlzee69]

Yeah I'm honestly kinda shocked he doesn't see that definition. It feels pretty self evident that the meme is literally just saying "do what makes you happy without getting shut down by embarrassment."

[@ryanwilson2454]

Definitely. "Don't be ashamed of your quirks/eccentricities. Instead, kill the part of you that cruelly judges" is how I saw it.

[@CleopatraKing]

​@@ryanwilson2454 +

[@Potatotoro]

Part of the movement for accepting cringe is rejecting the hatred and contempt that’s so common on the internet. Recognizing that people can do what gives them joy and appreciating their joy, even if the action seems embarrassing, kitschy, what have you.

[@metascrawlmusic]

Okay, but the things I tend to cringe at things like Steven Crowder attempting to do stand up comedy (or honestly everything he ever says or does). Would the world be a better place if more people recognised that doing that gives him joy and refrained from cringing at it on that basis? The point is that we no one can control what we cringe at. It's an immediate, visceral reaction. Of course calling someone "cringe" to their face is impolite and should be avoided, provided that what they are doing is harmless and not hateful. But by the same token it's rude to call someone stupid or say what they're doing is crappy or worthless, even if that's the way we feel. This is all just basic politeness, I fail to see why the using word "cringe" needs to be singled out over any other form of rudeness.

[@PersephoneDarling28]

​@@metascrawlmusic yes it would be better

[@johangodojolo8652]

​@@PersephoneDarling28it definitely wouldn't be

[@gwen6622]

@@PersephoneDarling28 what a cringe thing to say lmao. i didnt know steven crowder fans watched little joel

[@Sarubadooru]

@@metascrawlmusic lol, the things that are wrong with someone like Steven Crowder are deeper than being cringe, it's practically irrelevant if people cringe at him or not, since what's wrong with him is his ideas in the first place, and not him being cringe or whatever.

[@Nobody_Special310]

Step 1: Go on Internet Step 2: Say a word, any word at all Step 3: Suffer

[@Vooblebooble]

As an autistic person who grew up undiagnosed, in a very neglectful setting, the montra has always just been really nice to me. But I honestly do see what you mean Little Joel, and I'm really kinda impressed by your thoughtful words in this video. Even if I don't necessarily see the same way, you're still incredibly good at making me think. Hope you're having a good day Little Joel. 💙 (P.s one small correction I would like to make, there genuinely IS a big overlap between being autistic and being seen as "cringe." There are still many people who use the word "autistic" as an interchangeable insult from cringe. Not that they actually are the same thing. Not all cringe is related to autistic behavior, but most all autistic behavior is seen as cringe.) Hopefully you get what I mean by that Little Joel, and still wishing you a good day. 💖

[@nuggetsandclide]

I met a furry at an eSports bar once, he was dressed in a full fursuit and playing Smash Bros. He kept losing, so I asked if his mask made playing harder. He said "Ah, yes. There's a big blind spot where the screen is.". I'd never spoken to a furry before, so curiosity overtook cringe and I decided to chat to him over a beer. He explained that he deals with a great deal of social anxiety, and that he would simply be unable to come to a place like a bar without his mask creating a small amount of protection from the world, allowing him to be himself, free from pain and discomfort... Even if it does make him lose in his favourite game. Of course the $600 he spent on his fursuit could have been spent on therapy to help him deal with the root cause of his social anxiety. But after chatting with this guy, and seeing how happy he was in a social setting, hanging out with his gamer friends, it really changed my perspective. Since then I've not felt the need to sit in judgement of people because they dress strangely, or do a weird hobby. People are just doing what they need to do in order to feel happy and comfortable as individuals, and that's cool with me. Kantian philosophy suggests that we shouldn't judge others against ourselves as all human beings have the same intrinsic value, separate from wealth, position, and culture. I Think the problem with this whole thing is that cringe is almost always used to refer to people and things which are ultimately harmless. To cringe is to sit in judgement of others who are simply expressing their individuality in a harmless way through wacky clothing, interests, or hobbies. Just because someone doesn't fit in with your preconceived notions of cool or normal doesn't make it worthless or embarassing, it just makes it different. Isn't variety one of the best things about living in such a culturally free society? It's of course worthwile to have a healthy level of empathy towards others, and to recognise/sympathise when someone is embarassed. And to have enough self awareness that we don't put ourselves in a position of feeling embarassed by one of our actions. But we can't let ourselves sneer, or lose our individuality due to the sneers of others.

[@kataarifox]

This is written very eloquently, and I think you bring up a good point when mentioning the furry at the bar. I myself am a furry, and I have found myself restricted in many social situations in the past because I would cringe at my own interests, or cringe at people I'd see fursuiting because it's abnormal, even when I myself am a part of that subculture. Unironically this meme and mantra has made me more open about being myself, even if my authentic self sometimes contains parts that people will look at and consider cringe. When I think of the word 'cringe', I associate it with cringing at somebody who is doing something outside of social norms, rather than cringing at somebody who is doing something explicitly bad. Destroying the part that cringed at *myself* for being authentic to myself was one of the best things I ever could have done for my social anxiety.

[@chatterbones5614]

Gotta be real with you, when I clicked "read more", I didn't expect the next words I read to be "Kantian philosophy"

[@raspberrytaegi]

Great comment

[@emilymonahan5232]

FUCKING TRUE

[@jestersudz6085]

please i wish everyone was like this ToT i like have trouble talking to my own friends sometimes in fear of being cringe

[@MaxAim]

I believe the meme is talking about killing the part that cringes at yourself, not to stop cringing in general. It's about accepting and loving who you are.

[@thrpotatoasfgfejfidieiidkr7071]

Well I also feel part of it is to not look down on others either for things such as odd hobbies they might partake in.

[@FuckTheYoutubeUsernameChange]

thrilling conclusion to the trilogy

[@varnull6120]

I always took the meme to be specifically about self-cringe, about the fear of embarrassment and how it locks us in, breeds shame. It is a mantra of sorts to me (though I didn't find out about it from the pepe meme and uh, gotta say, not sure I like the pepe form of it) - a reminder that I'm gonna be embarrassing, and that like you said, it's not that big a deal. Because it is paralyzing how much it feels like a big deal. And besides, if you can find patience for your own cringe, you find patience for the cringe of others who are just trying to live their lives as best they know how and who don't owe you shit in the first place, much less a life free from cringe. I always took it as a call for graciousness to oneself and others, not a call to turn a blind eye to sense and taste - It doesn't deny the cringe, it just asks that you allow the cringe to be as it is, because it's gonna whether you like it or not. I feel like "toxic positivity" here would be to try and lie your way into believing you won't ever be cringe, no? You will be cringe, you should accept it - that doesn't feel toxic positive to me. All that to say, I like the meme, or at least the sentiment. I think it's a useful thought.

[@miningglalie]

based comment, i dont like the emphasis on "embarrasment" that this took, the meme is about self acceptance even if you might seem cringe to others or yourself its not a universal statement like "you will always be based trust me bro" because you wont, and thats the point. self growth and recognising mistakes without feeling some sort of embarrassment for it is much more productive and heartfelt, in my experience

[@catsforever420]

@MiningGlalie i agree i think joel honestly mixed up the internet slang definition of cringe with the dictionary definition which is understandable

[@miningglalie]

@@catsforever420 im of the opinion that a word is defined by its use, and they of course can have different uses. cringe is one of those and in the context of meme its not referring to necessarily quote on quote "wrong opinions" or "things you want to change" but rather "things that make you ashamed", understanding shame as a moral social emotion that imposes certain values on you that you shouldnt have to abide by, imo. thats more or less the context of the meme i would say, but the specifics are irrelevant. i think joel kind of took it out of the context of the meme and thus missed the point and made an argument that we all pretty much agree with in some form or another, but in doing so he took away from an original message that as weve expressed here is cool and a lot of us care about it i dont think his take on it is offensive, and i do think that the reason why neurodivergent people took issue with it is something that a lot of us identify with: being made to feel lesser for certain behaviors to the point that you tell yourself youre lesser when you present them. which is why i dont like the rhetoric of the joke even. sorry for the essay but yeah [Edit: by "it's not offensive" i mean that i just took issue with it as a pet peeve and not too much more, even if i find talking about it worth it. not tryna take away from anyone's feelings if they were indeed offended]

[@ianc8266]

The reason you would want to kill the part of you that cringes is that many people are held back from doing things that make them happy by being unduly made to feel by others that it is cringe and thus unacceptable.

[@tonyhinderman]

Free yourself from others Cringe. And cringe not at yourself

[@Gretcie]

A certain amount of cringe is healthy though. It speaks to the fact that if you cringe it implies that you have a certain amount of intrinsic knowledge of the social conventions that surround you. So recognizing cringe and how you react to it can actually be a strong form of social cohesion.

[@Gretcie]

@trapd00rspider Yea like it's all about balance. If you are always cringing at your own behaviour due to autism or other social issues then it becomes a maladaptive emotion.

[@Idran]

​@Gretcie that's assuming also that you're correct about the social conventions you've internalized of course often that self-directed cringe reaction is in response to things that are totally fine and no one but you cares about; a small amount of cringe, not too much of it, but also still a needless one

[@Gretcie]

@@Idran True. The self directed cringe could no doubt be needless. But to rid oneself of all cringe? There's just something about that which gives me pause. For what else bonds us together but shared human experience? To kill the cringe within oneself is to kill a part of us which makes us human.

[@insu_na]

"kill the part that cringes" is meant to improve self-acceptance. to accept that being a lil weird is totally ok, and to help get over intrusive thoughts... don't know where you got your interpretation from

[@kylegonewild]

Once I accepted I was cringe, I was free to be myself. 🙏

[@timisontube]

Amen

[@Fridge_Fiend]

Onxe I accepted everyone but me is cringe, I was free to look down on everyone else

[@Ingestedbanjo]

@@Fridge_Fiend I was about to agree with the top-level comment, but yours is brimming with such alpha swag vibes that I can't help but yeet a phat Like down on it.

[@InsaniquarianDeluxe]

You have a pepe profile picture. You need to cringe some more.

[@charliec1116]

@@Ingestedbanjo 😬

[@mocha3bunny]

i think a lot of people feel far more insecure about their interests and personality traits than maybe you are. people can be in social settings that are far more unforgiving of stepping outside what is considered normal, so those people really do feel like it's this massive obstacle to accept their true personality.

[@machinaowl910]

It is. Not to be "cringy" but it's like playing a game with imposters. You have to pretend to be someone that you aren't. For me as a bisexual person I learned that being gay is something that is seen as embarrassing. If someone asked me if I like girls I just say yes, and it feels very in-genuine to my true desires that prefers both genders. Being LGBT isn't a personality trait but it affects how people view you.

[@GALL0WSHUM0R]

​@@machinaowl910 Yeah, this exactly. I'm not exactly gonna cringe myself out of being trans, even if I know that there are people that probably find me "embarrassing" because of it. I could be less cringe by being more inauthentic, but I'd be less *me.* I had to kill the part of me that cringes at expressing my own identity in order to make any progress with transition.

[@faeancestor]

learn to code

[@billygoatguy3960]

As a school worker that is around both middleschool and highschool kids, there's basically no way to not be cringe. Whether it's because of me being unaware of some thing that just popped up around younger people, around general popular culture, around my views of the world being fundamentally different from each student i talk to, whether im literally just doing the job i was assigned and fulfilling requirements. It becomes a fools task to avoid being seen as embarassing in some way or another. Be yourself, its the only thing you can be. Feel cringe if you arent feeling like youre meeting up to your own standards. Feel cringe if you feel that you are becoming lax in your logic and relying on old patterns. Feel cringe if you are betraying what you believe is right and honorable. Politeness and correctness have short term consequences that should be respected but it should not define your soul.

[@Delaterius]

"Don't kill the part of you that's cringe. Improve your sense of what is and isn't cringe so you're not cringing at things that are basically fine." There. I fixed it.

[@littlewyzard]

but then how do you know what is and is not cringe? what would you consider “basically fine”

[@tomisaacson2762]

​@@littlewyzard if it makes me cringe, it's cringe. If it doesn't, then it's not.

[@littlewyzard]

@@tomisaacson2762 then how do you “improve your sense of what’s cringe”??

[@General12th]

@@tomisaacson2762 I call this the Tom Isaacson Theory of Cringe. I expect it will be a revolutionary model across all corners of social philosophy.

[@Delaterius]

@@tomisaacson2762 Correct. What makes Tom Isaacson cringe is cringe and what does not make Tom Isaacson cringe is not cringe.

[@CoffeeKatastrophe]

My mom shamed me until my personality was crippled until my late 20s. I would get sick if i felt cringe at myself or even others. It was debililtating. The thoughts of ultra-positive people on the internet were extremely helpful for me to go forward and live my life (with therapy and stuff). I'm super glad you don't feel you need these pro-cringe posts, but I certainly did. It's a big internet and we can all love each other here.

[@ChocolateMilkMage]

I hope you're doing better now.

[@mjr_schneider]

I didn't know Joel was serious about his pro-cringing stance. What people call "cringe" is usually an instinctive revulsion at social deviance. I thought the meme had a good message: rather than trying to conform just stop making yourself feel bad about not conforming.

[@maxwell8773]

Cringe as content on the internet is frequently something that serves to stifle the subject's earnest feelings and actions. In this context, i like to read this meme as encouragement to embrace the cringe, accept that it's something we all embody to some capacity, and keep doing the things we love anyway. :)

[@KeithBallardA]

Cringe comes from sincerity. Signed, a furry

[@FeirceDeity64]

If it's cringe to agree with Little Joel, then I'll just kill the part of me that agrees with people

[@blackenedizzycore]

i think cringe means something fundamentally different to most people than simply embarrassment and that's where this disconnect occurs, cringe is an extremely online phenomenon and carries the baggage of how it's typically used, which is to put people down for their mundane likes or interests or beliefs, cringe is effectively a pejorative insult with a circular definition on the internet used in place of actual discussion, "why don't i like this? because it's cringe. why is it cringe? because i don't like it.", it is a voracious contempt for anything deemed weird or unusual or abnormal or anything that you personally do not like or understand, killing the part of you that cringes doesn't mean not being embarrassed anymore, that is an emotion fundamental to human function, it's killing the contempt we have for others just enjoying their lives and not allowing blind hatred and disgust to control what brings joy to ourselves

[@SamStancill]

"Of course you're embarrassing, everyone is embarrassing, of course you like cringe stuff, it's not that big of a deal" Joel exemplifying the message of the meme

[@TheEepyMagi]

Joel is literally saying the point of the meme while arguing against it

[@tayzers69]

​@@TheEepyMagi hes not arguing against it? he clarifies that he was making a joke and literally calls himself pro cringe at the end of the video come on now

[@TheEepyMagi]

@@tayzers69 he's missing the whole point of the neurodivergence bit and its just pissing me off. My original comment was really hard to phrase idk man. "Autistic people are SOMETIMES called cringe" just. Oh my god could you be any more unaware of the topic you're speaking on

[@eleaticeyes813]

@@TheEepyMagi what a cringe comment.

[@adampliszka4855]

@@TheEepyMagi Honestly, to me it feels like a problem inherent to some topics where you have an emotion or experience that's overall universal, but there's also a group that has a unique relation to it. Like yeah, I 100% get what you're feeling - I have ADHD, and my childhood and teen years were hell, and it was so hard being constantly acutely aware of being extremely cringe (and even more so irritating in my case) and not being able to do anything about it, no matter how hard I try. But idk if I can expect people to be able to relate. I mean, sure, it would be great if all people knew as much as possible about as many groups as possible, but idk, feels like a fundamental problem with human communication, it sucks. Like, for example, I've also got a pretty severe dog phobia, and it can also make life much harder. And I am irritated by some discourse surrounding dogs, especially cause most people seem to not even understand how anyone can not love dogs - people straight up say stuff like "if you don't love dogs you have no soul", and even well-meaning folks who aren't saying anything "problematic" can make me feel weird. So I'm guessing there's a lot of similar cases where people have a perspective others don't understand. At least autism is getting some visibility lately, so more people will be aware of stuff like that; that's good. And with this Little Joel cringe saga it's also great that people are writing comments about their perspective.

[@MatauReviews]

My main thing is just: if you aren't willing to embarass yourself, you aren't willing to be vulnerable and make art. I get the Pepe revulsion. But the sentiment is alright to me

[@picnicsandstars]

Yeah the Pepe is incidental, I’ve heard this phrase for years and this is the first time I’ve seen him in it

[@kw1ksh0t]

Who are you, the art authority?

[@sleeptalkenthusiast]

@@kw1ksh0t theyre just stating an opinion

[@EebstertheGreat]

But you have to embarrass yourself. If you "kill the part of you that cringes," then that is impossible. People with no shame usually don't make great artists, and they hardly ever make great people.

[@stressedwes9565]

i agree with the phrase "if you aren't willing to embarrass yourself, you aren't willing to be vulnerable and make art", but i think you misunderstand your own phrase. if embarrassment didn't exist, would intimacy exist? that's like shining a light and not expecting it to cast a shadow

[@plasticbutler]

Wow. Posting a video with a 420 runtime... kinda cringe..

[@dinksunker]

One person’s cringe is another’s based

[@littlewyzard]

how embarrassing for him

[@OmnipotentNoodle]

I think the reason this silly cartoon frog standing atop a cliff resonates so deeply with people is because we live in a time of unprecedented shame and anxiety and its a really useful message to a lot of people (not me uhhhh someone else 👀💦) that its not liking or doing embarassing things thats the problem, its that we've been festering in a cultural cesspit that has caused us to internalize a lot of shame towards just being vulnerable and and genuine and liking things that are deemed "cringe"

[@emv2917]

Spoken like someone who never experienced fallout of the cringe culture era of the internet

[@PwnMissile]

He made the video length exactly 4:20 The shitpost continues.

[@whysocurious7366]

Are you accusing little big Joel of being a filthy marijuana junkie????!? How dare you!

[@benfawefwaeffwaefawfdekk2080]

The reason people assumed you meant autistic=cringe is that video came directly after the neurodivergent video. I get they were likely intended as completely different posts but it did come off as a vaguely passive aggressive statement about neurodivergent people not being self aware as "cringe". That if they do a behavior that others find embarrassing, dont do that behavior. Not what you intended, im sure, but thats how it came off

[@THeKallOfCtulu]

I think the genuine idea here, that it's fine to "be cringe" and worrying about "being cringe" is bad and harmful, comes from a kind of rejection of the kind of mean spirited irony poisoned impulse that the internet has fostered of just like seeing people being different, and kinda embarrassing, but otherwise harmless in public and kind of making that into this big wrong. The idea is it's fine to like, be a little goofy, to be open about your interests without being judged etc. I don't necessarily think it's the idea that one should never be embarrassed.

[@catsforever420]

i would say this definition of cringe is specifically applied to behaviors (often behaviors found in autistic people) such as being in a silly fandom (like furries) who have often been called cringe in what has been termed "cringe culture", like the toxic attitudes from 2016. not that you arent allowed to feel embarassed. i know this is a goofy conversation but i do think it's relevant :D

[@catsforever420]

i wanna add that i think its ok to call cringe at things, like entertainment, but not at people who are just trying to live their lives, if that makes sense? :]

[@amyyost7022]

Yeah, I think people miss a lot of connections with stuff like this. A lot of the band, theater, fandom, etc tropes are considered cringe because of ableism directed at neurodivergent and especially autistic folks. I guess it’s just kind of hard to see depending on your context, but it makes sense that people would consider cringe culture as being primarily aimed at us autists. Not that I think it makes Joel’s jokes problematic or anything, I just get where the criticism is coming from. The idea of Little Joel telling me to kill my autism is a pretty wild one

[@emilymonahan5232]

yes exactly not that my original qualm was ever with little joels take on the autistic community or something, but it is relevant to point out that people who are called ‘cringe’ tend to be harmless people who just wanna live their lives

[@siginotmylastname3969]

@@catsforever420 the furry focused stuff is also about cringing specifically at trans, queer and plural people imo.

[@adampliszka4855]

@@siginotmylastname3969 Hi, I'm sorry for asking, but what are plural people? Idk if that's autocorrect or something, or a group I'm not aware of, and I'm curious. The only thing that comes to mind is polyamory or like, maybe people who use "they", cause that's a plural pronoun?

[@litterbox2010]

Little Joel was right. I should have listened. I killed the part of me that's cringe, and now I'm the kind of person that just shits in their pants. Anytime. Anywhere. I'm eating dinner with my family? I shit my pants. I'm shopping? I shit my pants. I'm driving in my car? I shit my pants. Yesterday was the final straw that had me realise I need help. I was at my best friend's wedding as the best man and while they were saying their vowels, I let out a huge nastly fart that gradually got louder and louder and became an unstoppable torrent of liquid-shit. Everyone saw, heard and smelled it, and I just didn't care or even really notice I was doing anything out of the ordinary at all... and it's all becuase I killed the part of me that cringes. How do I come back from this? I'm afraid. Maybe I should kill the part of me that fears, too.

[@MantasticHams]

I think this all comes down to a very classic online misunderstanding. Multiple groups have honed in on very specific representations of cringe, and because we are all so atomized, in those niche groups, the word took on that new specific meaning, negating the others. I'd come across this thought in the autism community (I'm autistic.) and it confused me quite a bit, I certainly cringe at things that i find embarrassing. I realized eventually that the community was using cringe as shorthand for a specific kind of attack on autistic people that says they are embarrassing because of their stims, or special interests, and establishes a hierarchy of acceptability in social spaces. Then I came across it in some of the nerdier spaces i traverse (Tokusatsu, Indie games) and those people each had their very particular versions, and sadly, some of the time those did overlap in a venn diagram with autistic traits. When it didn't, i found that it aligned with the opposite, people who wanted to act like they were some kind of authority in a nerdy space, essentially a bully who had never been at the top of a hierarchy before and had just realized they could ruin the whole vibe. I personally find all this a bit strange, cringing is a bodily reaction, its nearly as hard to predict/stop/control as laughing or crying, your face is trying to release a kind of mental pressure. I think instead of killing a bodily function, we should prolly live in harmony with it lol. Realize cringe is outside of yourself, it projects itself onto you, and you radiate its light. Light can be sharp, blinding and uncomfortable, light can be soft, warm, and diffuse. Light can be anything.

[@bigoistin9125]

I think this is exactly the genuine point little joel was making and it's wild that some other people continue to talk past it and assume sincere malice.

[@user-oh6uw9mu9u]

Agree 100%, that's how I understand it too. "we should prolly live in harmony with it lol" Basically the "don't bully people" bit at the end lol

[@jonsmith1956]

I think ultimately you interpreted the meme differently than your audience did. You took it as "never judge ANYTHING and ignore all criticism" and rightfully reject that notion and they took it as a statement of self-love in an asshole world and rightfully celebrate that notion

[@irrisorie7]

i'm autistic and spend a lot of time in autism-positive communities, and i knew from the jump people were going to really not like your videos about this. "cringe" isn't used exclusively (today) to refer to autistic people, but also there is still a very large subset of internet assholes who have made it their entire lives to belittle and bully neurodivergent people (among others). the something awful-adjacent crowd and their extreme aversion to anything that wanders even slightly outside of the white, western, cis-hetero norms has been a dominant force online for a very long time. the word "cringe" was popularized by those type of people, and for a while it did basically just mean "the actions of anyone who isn't white, cis, hetero, neurotypical, thin, able, etc." a shorthand for bigotry, basically. it was the world's least subtle dogwhistle. people remember this, and maybe if they aren't super familiar with your views, they might not realize that the dogwhistle version of the word isn't what you meant. "cringe" has been watered down quite a lot since its inception and there are some (probably most, now that i think about it; i'm the guy who's obsessed with internet lore which i have to remind myself isn't actually usual lol) who may not be aware of all of that. anyway, i think it's good to water down the word cringe away from how it was originally used. especially because calling bigots cringe pisses them off SO much lmao

[@Bruhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.]

cringe is rooted in insecurity. You build this idea of what you think others think of you and build facades of how you think and act based on that. You feel cringe when you see something in which you imagine others would judge if you liked or were a part of said thing. the feeling of cringe is essentially a negative application of empathy. You subconsciously imagine yourself in their shoes and feel secondhand embarrassment to the point where some people literally can't stand watching it. If you've ever thought of something as "cringe" but then later in life ended up enjoying without shame, you know the feeling. It feels very free and uplifting. It's all about letting go of that invisible crowd of people judging you at all times, and letting yourself enjoy what you enjoy.

[@theofthe2299]

I don’t think most people’s application of cringe is unto themselves considering it’s more like a feeling of vicarious embarrassment

[@Bruhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.]

@@theofthe2299 well at it's root it's a form of putting yourself in their shoes. That's what empathy is after all. The ability to understand that other people's lived experience is equal in value to your own, and being able to imagine what being in their shoes would be like. I don't think people do it actively or consciously, i think it's a subconscious process inherent to the feeling of empathy.

[@neilmurtagh1330]

Idk I don't feel like people identify with cringe, it's just that cringe culture contributed to destroying any enjoyment of anything on the internet for a while. For example the cringetopia subreddit was such a toxic place and literally one of the biggest subreddits of all time. Basically what most of its members would do ended up just being cyberbullying and I think that's why a lot of people associate cringe with this negative idea

[@nikotatara4185]

i have 2 things to say lol 1) i am one of the earnest who integrated this meme into my philosophy and its solely because one of my friends sent it to me and it was the first time someone Didn't make fun of me for my interests and my hobbies. I grew up with so many friends mocking my interests and my hobbies to the point that i was too embarrassed to share anything that i liked, and i basically had no friends anymore because i just couldnt be myself without losing trust in the people i cared about. i made a new friend in my last year of college and this was the only person who found out abt my silly hobby and didn't mock me for it. i had friends who were 'supportive' and would want to see what i make but would still make fun of me for it. one day that new friend sent me the meme and it rly did mean a lot because it was like the first time someone didn't make fun of me, and showed consistent, earnest support for what i liked. and they told me to my face that i shouldnt cringe at myself, because i wasnt hurting anyone and i shouldnt be ashamed of what i love. it was something that i always knew logically, but actually hearing it out loud from someone i cared about made it click for me, and so when i catch myself cringing at myself again, i genuinely do repeat the meme like a mantra. like instant therapy LMAO AND FINALLY 2) i think its a bit... disingenuous to say people were saying "cringe" is synonymous with autistic because thats not what people were saying. what i saw was people were saying that one of the most common uses of "cringe" is to make fun of autistic people's interests and behavior. a lot of what was commonly considered cringe was just a way to look down upon neurodivergency, it was to point out that someone was weird and didn't fit in. what i've noticed is that people calling other things cringe, like nostalgia critic, is a reaction to how cringe has been used. not to compare it to literal slurs but recently people are reclaiming it and that takes the form of calling yourself cringe and not caring, and it also takes the form of calling actual harmful things "cringe" as a way to turn it back on the people that used it against you for no good reason.

[@Mae-eg9gm]

as an autistic trans woman who got made fun of a lot growing up for being “cringe” or “annoying”, i find a lot of comfort in reclaiming the label of “cringe.” however, i totally respect the autistic and trans folks who don’t find comfort in that and that’s totally fine

[@theadamant7125]

RIP Little Joel

[@JohnBainbridge0]

I mean... Cringe is a Gen Z meme, because, well, they're teenagers. Teenagers are made of cringe.

[@Guadeloop]

I think my personal aversion to cringe is that I can safely say that the people in my life who used the word the most were the most narcissistic judgemental assholes I've met.

[@heyfella5217]

My thoughts exactly.

[@mysterioso2006]

as a self-proclaimed cringelord, i think its much better to learn to love the part of you that cringes at certain things, while ALSO learning to love the part of you that unironically loves certain things! lets not try to kill parts of ourselves LOL

[@jarrethoglesbee4596]

The word does have more broad application. But the specific meme you were reacting to didn't. That's why people got upset. It was cringe (specified) but you interpreted it as cringe (general).

[@jarrethoglesbee4596]

The other thing is extreme positivty is a coping mechanism in response to extreme negativity. If you've been harrassed and shmaed into a depression for "being cringe" you're going counteract that with extreme positivty which out of context seems unhealthy. What your not getting is we cringe at ourselves WAY more then most people because of how we've been trained to think about ourselves. Like being prideful is bad but lagt pride exists because its there to counteract nthe shame. Power currupts but not in the case of black power because they are disenfranchised to begin with. The amount of pain killers someone's using can seem alarming if you don't know how much pain they are in.

[@jarrethoglesbee4596]

Sorry ONE last little thing just to clarify cause I haven't seen anyone say it. You were not the one this message was for. It's not asking YOU to kill the part that's cringe. It was aimed at others who had this similar experience. Others have pointed out it's mostly autistic people but Its also people with adhd and imo even some neurotipical kids who were just considered weird. Anyone who was subject to cringe culture. Not someone like you who has a normal healthy cringe response.

[@zeenatyasin389]

all three videos being posted within 24 hours is hilarious

[@badger6882]

Lifespan of that one insect I forgor the name of

[@beardpandaa]

Maybe the meme should've said, "kill the part that unfairly cringes at ourselves". I think it is supposed to be a "be yourself" and don't stress out too much about being a cringelord for just being yourself. There are times when you should cringe at yourself like when you do something bad or mean. But, as a person with neurodivergency and moderate social anxiety, I tend to be unfair to myself when it comes to beating myself up for not being able to 100% conform and be "normal" (I actually had an issue with myself of being overly embarrassed for wearing a big red jacket when nobody said anything about it and I was just telling myself I was cringe for wearing a big red jacket...I got over that). There are many toxic cringe compilations online and people making a public bullying spectacle out of "cringe" people who are just being themselves and many times are just autistic (ie how certain people bullied Chris Chan early on). So this is a bit of a big deal discourse for neurodivergent people. Sorry you got caught up in the cross hairs.

[@SLYKM]

This comment section not taking this seriously is really making me reconsider my Joel support, big or little. These are things that really hurt Neurodivergent people who don't fit in. I believe there is a time and a place for shit post parasocial nonsense, and this is one that isn't it.

[@jofawkes]

This series of little Joel videos has been a fucking DELIGHT

[@cicadaseance]

I appreciate the nuance, but I still think you're in the wrong, Joel. 'Cringe', or embarrassment, as it were, is a reactionary gut feeling that is just as prone to social construction as other negative emotions that drive reactionary thought, like disgust and hate. People cringe at what they were taught to cringe at, so resisting that harmful socialization that instinctully others nuerodivergent and queer people is a good thing. I don't think the meme was ever like "embarassment is a worthless human emotion" but rather "what you are embarrassed about is socially constructed by a society that holds some bad ideas, and maybe that knee-jerk reaction is a negative one"

[@edithw-k7946]

As an author of fanfic who grew up in the 2000s, especially as an author of self insert fanfiction, I was quickly taught by 'flamers' that I was cringe, though that wasn't the lingo at the time. 13 year old me was basically bullied by online strangers into thinking that stuff was cringe, and so I joined in the flamers for years until I eventually grew out of it, in large part due to the "kill the part of you that cringes" meme. Now I'm writing a Naruto fanfiction where I kiss Deidara and my life is pretty good

[@lilaclunablossom]

I've never seen Joel over-analyze something yet also have it completely go over his head before

[@fourquarks]

Honestly yeah it's sort of fascinating

[@GogetaEiyuuYamcha]

The fact that "autistic" used to be used as a synonym for "cringe" says something

[@table2.0]

The reason it’s so commonly associated with autistic behaviour is that 1) autism is treated like a joke and an insult in a similar use case as cringe 2) autistic mannerisms, lack of understanding social cues, special interests and interests in fandom etc are very often labeled cringe. Enjoy what you enjoy without peer pressure or shame. If the behaviour is harmful then it’s not JUST cringe, cringe isn’t why it’s bad. Example: a fedora wearing man m’lady’s a woman. This is cringe, but harmless. But if the fedora wearing man then proceeds to harass or make unwanted advances towards the woman, then it’s cringeworthy AND harmful, and the harmful behaviour should be shamed. Cringe is thrown at FNaF enjoyers simply for being in the fandom, it’s thrown at people who know a lot about what they love and are overly enthusiastic about it to people, it’s thrown at people just having fun and from an outside perspective, people you don’t know cringe at you and want you to feel bad about enjoying yourself your way. “I am cringe, but I am free” is a real and powerful self empowering mantra for many, especially those with special interests and hyperfixations and ship characters and make fan content of their blorbos. It’s liberation from oppressive social expectations in a harmless and life enriching way. If you would’ve specified what specifically SHOULD make us cringe at ourselves when we do it, like a Karen being rude to staff should look at her behaviour and cringe because she was horrible to people, your argument would’ve been a bit more compelling, but you just made a statement and didn’t elaborate on why cringe is good or what should be considered cringeworthy. I’m going to continue to use UwU faces unironically for years into my future because I like them. Others may find it cringe but it’s my life. I am cringe, but I am free.

[@MrWalrusBot]

When you go out into the woods, and you look at trees, you see all these different trees. And some of them are bent, and some of them are straight, and some of them are evergreens, and some of them are whatever. And you look at the tree and you allow it. You see why it is the way it is. You sort of understand that it didn’t get enough light, and so it turned that way. And you don’t get all emotional about it. You just allow it. You appreciate the tree. The minute you get near humans, you lose all that. And you are constantly saying ‘You are too this, or I’m too this.’ That judgment mind comes in. And so I practice turning people into trees. Which means appreciating them just the way they are.

[@user-ig4dl4iv1j]

Humans actually have social responsibility though unlike trees. When Chris Chan berated that GameStop employee over the Sonic doll being colored incorrectly, it made a minimum wage worker's day more stressful and irritating. When those Homestuck fans at that ComicCon tried to die their skin the color of a Homestuck troll's in an attempt at makeshift Homestuck cosplay by filling their hotel room bathtub with Sharpies, some underpaid hotel worker probably had to spend hours cleaning it up. That doesn't mean you should be embarrassed to bring up that you like Sonic or Homestuck at a party. But sometimes we cringe because we're part of a society.

[@Geospasmic]

I wasn't upset or anything, I just felt different. My vanilla take is that we cringe too much, at things that bother us personally but don't really impose on anyone. Somebody being too enthusiastic about something that we think they're too old for, or laughing too much, or having a silly hairstyle, or whatever. We could save ourselves and others a lot of unnecessary hurt if we save the cringe for the really cringe worthy, like rudeness and bad behavior. That's the function of embarrassment in society, and I don't want people to feel bad about just being how they are if they don't need to.

[@CoolJoule]

i feel like the modern use of cringe means something different than embarrassment, that i can exactly figure out how to articulate

[@bennettsnyder315]

The definition of cringe has been altered/diluted/weaponized to the point that it just means bad now. That meme kinda predates that usage, to a time when cringe was a very specific reaction to people who were viewed as socially awkward. Contrapoints has a really good video unpacking the various psychological dimensions of that particular understanding of cringe, and might even be the originator of that saying (she definitely says it in that video, but idk if she's quoting it or not). Anyway I think in that context, the meme is pretty accurate and we'd all be better off dealing with our own shit rather than cringing at other people.

[@genericname8727]

I feel pretty confident that the meme is older than that video. I’m not going to look into it, but I’m pretty confident I’m right and she’d have just been referencing it.

[@YEEEEEEA]

I feel like this comes down to semantical interpretation of what "cringe" means in this context to the people sharing this meme. A lot of the time people on the internet will use "cringe" to refer to anyone putting themselves out there, whilst they're really just projecting their own insecurities. For a lot of us in school "Cringe" was basically an insult people would use anytime someone was garnering too much attention, positive or negative. Almost like a fear of standing out in either direction. So for a lot of us the meaning has warped, for older people it might mean "doing something embarrassing/ones innate reaction to art or an idea" but to my peers I feel like the concept of "not being cringe" reflects the concept of not doing something you care about on the single fear that someone might judge you for it. Completely separated from the concept of cringing at art or not committing a social faux pas because you feel the emotion cringe coming on. But rather the fear that you might do something cringe and then commit an even worse faux paus. Causing others to cringe. Imagine that the cultural context is that our definition of someone being "Cringe" is different from the the word one would describe the emotion of "Cringing". We've heard everything being called cringe in a way that we've allowed to change the way we act and things we like. I think eventually that gets tiring and in this context it becomes freeing to "be cringe", which really just amounts to a basic message of don't let others judgement stop yourself from doing something you enjoy that is positive to you. Do things regardless whether or not a couple people might find them cringe. It's kind of like a Gen Z version of "Nobody is thinking about you as much as you are" that people post on reddit all the time. A message I imagine is obvious, but to be fair from who I've seen sharing this meme over the last couple years has primary been adolescents. Who for them I imagine this message is incredibly fresh and insightful. I feel like what "being cringe" means in this context doesn't refer to removing your ability to self reflect or grow, rather it reflects not growing out of fear you might be considered cringe. So it isn't saying "do whatever you want even if it feels cringe" but rather it points out the fear of potentially being cringe stops a lot of people before they ever start potentially doing something that isn't cringe at all. I think the core idea being that giving up the part of you that cringes does not reflect abandoning critical judgement of yourself and actions, but rather for someone who is overly anxious to consider to stop overthinking which this meme represents by hyperbolically referring to it as "Killing the part of you that cringes" which is a funny mamay because it's taking a framework many of us have seen before and had to overcome to become individuals, and comedically flips it on it's head in an absurd hyperbolic dramatic manner. In a sense "taking back the word" from people who've bullied them with it.

[@AviatorZoroark]

I mean I think there's still a fundamental misunderstanding you have about the phrase, and I don't think it's toxic positivity either! It's just a snappier way of saying "enjoy what you enjoy and don't let you fear of what society thinks of you override that base desire to be yourself." Which, I ultimately think is a good message. It's not saying don't ever cringe, i mean yeah that's a natural human emotion, but rather love yourself and your quirks. I think reclaiming cringe as a descriptor is fine and fun! I'm cringe but I'm free!

[@AviatorZoroark]

I really thought you were joking around about the cringe thing prior but this video shows sincerity, which is just kinda interesting to me! Idk maybe its just the spaces myself and others in the audience are in differ from yours enough that its not clicking the same way

[@GNAV3]

​@@AviatorZoroark Yeah a lot of people seem to assume the internet is still the same contiguous cultural ecosystem that it was pre-2010s-ish, and that whatever understood meaning they personally have of something is the dominant and commonly-held understanding of it. *EDIT: The internet's just gotten a lot more balkanized since then because of competing social media ecosystems creating their own self-contained cultural offshoots that become more distinct the more time goes on, and it's something that's not really talked about much it seems? 🤷‍♀ idk

[@blaster_live]

hard disagree, what does "overly sincere"mean?? should we not sterive to be sincere, should we all be living in 3 levels of irony, that can't be what you want, and why should we cringe, what do we gain by cringing, another level of ironey??? avoid being authentic to your self?? what is the gain????

[@burgermind802]

If cringe is an internal reaction solely, it's not in need of "killing", the cringe feeling that is a conditioned response where one is feeling bad because one knows that others find something cringe MUST BE STOPPED AT ALL COSTS

[@toppler8164]

Little Joel has expanded their editing budget. Truly, this channel is taking a turn for the worst.

[@bricknolty5478]

Little Joel didn't get bullied enough as a kid to understand cringe culture.

[@blanktester]

I think what you might be missing is that there's a lot of people who spend so much time cringing at things online that it's the reflexive reaction to everything, which really limits one's ability to just enjoy basically anything. I spent most of my 20s miserably cringing at other people on the internet, without really being able to enjoy my own stuff either. Unlearning that behavior really helped me be more comfortable with myself and empathize with others more.

[@camer4459]

I think that image and general meme mainly spawned from this younger generation growing up through the early 2000's and having the collective experience of being bombarded with shame and internalized embarrassment from sharing and partaking in "cringe" interests online (like fnaf or undertale, etc.) This is more so a response to that, where we just all kinda grew up and realized that it's stupid to feel embarrassed about having those interests because they're literally harmless and just fun for everyone, regardless of how "cringe" people think they are. I think it makes sense for Little Joel to not really resonate with this meme in general because I don't think he had that same experience, which is fine and understandable. But it's more than just rejecting a core part of being a person (embarrassment) and more so rejecting the notion that what you're doing is embarrassing to begin with, especially if that narrative was imposed on you from other people, and what you're doing is simply harmless fun you enjoy. Maybe it's not that deep, but that's what I think anyway :-)

[@katy2176-p3m]

Joel I think the "kill the part that cringe" was a reaction to said bullying. And to feelings of internalised shame over liking stuff deemed "cringe". To me, it's about questioning why you find something cringe. We cringe at harmless or good things, and people get harassed (due to other people's reactionary cringing) over this. I think it's good to ask yourself - why do I find this cringe? cringing is reactionary in nature and not all of it leads to good things. (I feel like Contrapoints video on cringe was pretty useful on this too, even though she is talking about a specific case that I don't remember lol)

[@yemmohater2796]

I'm glad that Joel has accrued an audience that isn't afraid to think for themselves about their own beliefs if the evidence disproves his.

[@littlewyzard]

yeah it’s nice to see people disagreeing with him in a respectful way even though it’s a silly topic :)

[@timisontube]

There seems to be 2 main definitions of cringe: a) simply the “bad” - Doug walker, etc. b) the repressive parts of society. This is my definition. I do not wish to destroy embarrassment, I wish to destroy inauthenticity, and that’s probably what most people are reacting to. I’m anti cringe Culture (as described by contrapoints et al)

[@littlestjoel]

I think the two definitions here are necessarily intertwined, tbh. Cringe is embarrassment, really, it's the part of you that recoils when you see something that makes you uncomfortable. And this often does include a drive toward social repression. To be sure, I think various kinds of bigotry are, in no small part, animated by "cringe" and that this is a bad thing.

[@geogeo3644]

​​@@littlestjoel cannot embarrassment be used to repress inauthenticity. when people say kill the part that cringes aren't they saying you should not be held back by people who try embarrassing you for being authentic. it's not as if people aren't aware there are things we should genuinely feel shame for doing but I think it's important to question what we feel shameful for. I'm sorry u didn't like the meme small joelsicle

[@leaffinite2001]

​@@geogeo3644 see im confused because inauthenticity wasnt in either definition op stated.

[@NoConsequenc3]

@@leaffinite2001 "I wish to destroy inauthenticity" retroactively.... you know what? I don't actually care. See ya!

[@theoriginalrandomman]

@@littlestjoel the meme is really just a tongue in cheek way to reject the socially repressive kind of cringe. I think everyone recognizes that it's good to have certain social expectations, and to be able to shame people who engage in bad behavior. That's not really what the cringe culture of the 2010s was about though, and that's really what the meme is intended to be responding to. It's a meme, you don't really have the space for a manifesto enumerating all the scenarios where cringe is still probably a good reaction while conveying the intended message that it's dumb to try to discourage people from such high crimes as liking a certain media property or style of fashion or whatever, let alone cringe as a tool for reactionary movements. I don't think we really need that either, because if you're in a space to see the meme then you're probably aware of all that and know what's being responded to.

[@coreyparchem3470]

I can't believe that little Joel thinks that feminism is cringe

[@fourquarks]

Joel, the meme is about rejecting internalized shame from social ostracization and bullying, not 'you shouldn't ever feel embarrassed when you do stupid or silly things' or about repressing second hand embarrassment. The original meme text comes from communities where people were often being targeted by people calling them 'cringe' as a synonym for 'r*tard' or 'degenerate'. This meme is a parody where the text is next to a picture of pepe the frog shitting his pants, maybe that can give you a clue to the intended subtext.

[@ummmmmmmmmmmnmmmm]

I think it's worth mentioning that people with ASD have a tough time recognizing sarcasm so when they saw your video "doubling down" on being anti-cringe they might've thought you were being serious and tried to match that energy in their comments

[@dc19lima]

Yes, for me was like "Wow, he's doubling down because he is trying to make obvious that was a joke by elevating the rethoric to absurd" but that unfortunely backfired.

[@yemmohater2796]

HE WAS BEING SARCASTIC?? I started waxing philosophical in the comments of that one

[@ummmmmmmmmmmnmmmm]

@@dc19lima I do that too! I try to be so ridiculous that no one could possibly think I'm being serious but it always backfires lol

[@vexorian]

I think there's a language thing going on here. The cringe meme is not really just created out of nowhere. It's a reaction to an internet trend in which everything was getting dismissed as cringe. Basically people who have been irony poisoned and are pretty insufferable. Kill the part that cringes was sort of a necessary reaction to fix that. It's an over-correction if you take it too literally. Sure embarrassment is just an emotion at the end and emotions tend to be useful.

[@MrMixedGamer]

I think for me and probably a lot of other people that didn’t agree with your video is because you seem to be talking about cringe as an action or reaction to art, and when other people talk about cringe like in that meme, they’re talking about that self doubt and loathing that comes with liking or enjoying “embarrassing” things, additionally I think alot of people were conflating your pro cringe stance as a pro cringe culture stance if that makes sense, cuz to many people who have grown up on the internet the word cringe is inherently tied to that malicious part of the internet that tears people down for showing any degree of earnestness, social awkwardness, etc

[@koldi9746]

you really hit something with that last sentence. I have genuine issue with people who seem to believe cringing at some art/behaviors while enjoying other that other people consider cringe is somehow hypocrisy and that you should just drop all your barriers and accept everything. I think it's really counter-productive to media and art discussion and developing one's own taste.

[@S728-u9x]

Real

[@Fractured_Unity]

What’s important is why you are getting that reaction. It’s helpful up until the point when the only reason is due to perceived societal pressure. For example, there are people that think Coldplay is cringe for the simple reason that they were told it’s cringe music, not because they dislike all of their music or how their artists conduct themselves.

[@slavajuri]

It is entirely possible to develop one's own taste without falling into "cringe" or "cringe culture," the latter of which was also certainly counter-productive in online media discussions for much of the last decade.

[@koldi9746]

okay, at this point I found the words "cringe culture" used to mean several contradictory concepts, what do you mean here? What defines "cringe culture"

[@RaxiazRedux]

Cringe lies in the eye of the cringer

[@thelegalsystem]

Joel coming in with the hot take of embracing feeling the full range of human emotion instead of closing yourself off to pain and suffering.

[@ElectrifiedBacon]

"not wanting to be cringe" is why i haven't transitioned :/

[@Trunks1200]

I honestly think that you calling that meme "forced positivity" says more about how you've been poisoned by cynicism and irony than about the meme being "too sincere." What does it even mean to be "too sincere." That idea is so alien to me because it implies that we must on some level be insincere even if it's just slightly, and I think that's honestly dumb. If you cringe at people who are doing things they love that don't hurt anyone in a material way, to an extent that is a natural reaction but I think it's healthy for us to ask why that is our natural reaction. What in society has trained us to have a negative reaction to these things? Cringing at something fundamentally bad like awful right wing propaganda is fine, but if your natural reaction for example to something like, say, Boomer the Dog, is "that's cringe," then you probably have some bias that's been rooted into you that probably should be addressed. Much of cringe culture is about naming and shaming people who aren't "normal" by the definitions of a certain group, neurodivergent people for example, and that is fundamentally cruel and bad, actually. This is usually what people are talking about when they talk about embracing cringe. Learning to push back against the shame put on people for being "not normal" and allowing themselves and others to be authentic without the fear of judgement.

[@Hcloudbear]

I think there are meaningful conversations to be had about this silly meme. Topics like social structures and conformity, taboos, right vs. left politics, and as you mentioned, interacting with autistic people. Just using the word cringe brings up the subjective nature of language and meaning, all of which is inherently political.

[@kuman0110]

good take

[@WASDLeftClick]

“Kill the part of you that is cringe.” should probably mean something more like change the parts of yourself that don’t line up with your values and principles.

[@fritzstammen4535]

I used to watch cringe comps on KZbin alit when I was in highschool, until I realized that what I liked about them was a part of myself I shouldn't indulge. The appeal of looking at cringy shit is that it give you a sense of superiority, based on your relative social intelligence. To cringe is judgemental, it's the act of relishing in someone else's embarrassment. But if you can stop cringing, you stop judging people for their ideosyncracies which are not immoral, and you give permission to yourself and others to not let the fear of embarrassment influence your actions. Embarrassment is useless in most situations, and very easily escaped if you don't feed into it. The only thing that's really cringe is to let the fear and judgement of cringe dominate your interactions. This take sucks

[@fluorescentalien5204]

personally, I identify a lot with that meme and the main reason is that I have a lot of anxiety issues that cause me to feel like I have to examine myself a lot to keep from being embarrassing. so I think of cringing at myself as that unnecessary, overly harsh form of self critique.

[@MinPhoebus]

GOD three minutes ago. FREASH off the presses from heaven DIRECT from the joel hole. i am SHAKING

[@jh-ns3qn]

direct from the what

[@MinPhoebus]

@@jh-ns3qn Oh the Joel Hole. The wonderful hole from which his wisdom came

[@charlespentrose7834]

I think it can often be worth asking yourself why you're having a cringe reaction. There's also a big difference between feeling cringe and trying to make other people cringe at the same things you do.

[@Gibbontake]

i never saw "kil lthe part of you that cringes" to mean you should never be embarrassed by everything you do it's just a nice thing to think about to stop overly self-critical people in their tracks, people who do normal things and decide that they should hate themselves afterwards because of internalised bullying or social pressure people like me 🥺 the parts of me that cringe are op, is what i'm saying, my self loathing is very strong and a little mantra like this is helpful in a small way i wasn't offended by your videos tho i could tell you were just goofin

[@pinkopansy]

me and a lot of the autistics i know like the meme for genuine reasons (I could give or take this specific Pepe meme but I like the phrase in other contexts. imo it's mostly just what you said at the end tho: that bullying is good to discourage - so you get it. A subset of that bullying is Online influenced and common in many of the online and youth-oriented spaces I've been a part of for the past decade being online. to me it's just hyperbole to make a stronger point while simultaneously needing to be understood as servicing a silly little meme used by a very broad range of people for a diversity of reasons. some of those people will do things I think are just bad if not cringe and may be worth ridiculing or criticizing. bullying by calling people cringe is common enough that I think that is what is being responded to with the meme it's not meant to be "I can do no wrong" or "you have to like how I behave" it's meant to be "that's a stupid bit of social etiquette and I'm actually very happy to hear I don't do that". "cringe" is obvs what a lot of people with learning disabilities get called for their special interests and mannerisms. more broadly though - regardless of neurotypes and disabilities - you are right that we should just not bully people (including people behaving "weird").