Sheeple

Goatle are clearly superior to sheeple.

We control what
you think with
Language

Said and done

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Jargon, buzzwords, slogans

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“”im the only guy who knows how to call out the bull shit of society the smart way. and against all odds i do it for free

—wint[1]

“”Meek and obedient, you follow the leader

Down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel

What a surprise

—Pink Floyd[2]

For the bleating animal, see Sheep.

Sheeple, sometimes spelled sheople, 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 the crank wants to publicize. 'Sheep' or 'cattle' in obvious reference to people has the same implications.

Analogous in use is the word "zombie", a word (as of recent years) trending in popular culture and video-games, which has been picked up by cranks like conspiracy theorist Mark Dice in order to try to lure people closer to his worldview. Godspeed, Mark. The Internet has also spawned a meme known as the "NPC" or "Non-Player Character" to describe the unconscious, script-running brainwashed masses; this was subsequently adopted by the alt-right as a way to attack anybody who doesn't see the world their way.

## Contents

* 1 Origin
* 2 Usage
* 2.1 Russia
* 3 What is the singular form?
* 4 More lulz
* 5 Wake up, sheeple!
* 6 See also
* 7 Notes
* 8 References

## Origin[edit]

The term was, according to some sources, popularized in the late 1980s by William Cooper,[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] (founded in 1958). The earliest known occurrence according the Oxford English Dictionary was in 1945 by an arts critic, "The People, as ever (I spell it ‘Sheeple’), will stand anything."[5][6] The earliest use of the term is sometimes falsely attributed to E. C. Segar, the creator of the Popeye comic strip. In the mid-1930s, an episode dealt with Popeye becoming the king of a remote island whose inhabitants blindly follow his orders, however bizarre they were. Popeye began calling them "my sheeps".[7]

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 1945 fable Animal Farm.

## Usage[edit]

“”You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it.

—Food and Drug Administration, telling antivaxxers not to use a veterinary drug to treat COVID in sheeple[8]

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[9] or Rand Paul's[10] name is mentioned — in other words, those who don't blindly and slavishly agree with the aforementioned. Michael Savage uses it as well.[11] It is most commonly used by cornered cranks who are running out of false facts or have had all their "evidence" debunked, or as a last ditch attempt to substitute actual evidence.[note 1] The irony in this is that most conspiracy nuts that whip this word out are commonly, blindly following a 'theory' without having even a smidge of evidence supporting it, and sometimes, not even understanding it (in the case of technical matters, such as the 9/11 collapses). William Cooper's unified conspiracy theory book Behold a Pale Horse makes frequent reference to sheep (and to a lesser extent to cattle) in the sheeple-sense of the word.[12]:64-65,73,159-161,234,297,317

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, à la Hurricane Katrina.[13][note 2] Common to dealing with persons in all these categories and more is the strong impression that one is in the presence of a frustrated would-be shepherd. Essentially, you're a sheeple if you believe what anybody else tells you to believe, but not a sheeple if you believe what I tell you to believe.

While it is true that the majority of Americans fail to understand even the most basic facts about civics,[note 3] reality is not a popularity contest. The level of acceptance of an idea among greater society does not have significant bearing to the merits of the idea — Galileo and Charles Darwin went through significant backlash to their scientific theories in their lifetimes, but their ideas have gained wide acceptance in the scientific community. On the one hand, American culture needs to value knowledge and intellect more, so that people can hold honestly-informed opinions about society. On the other hand, the reason why so many sheeple are rejecting the crazy conspiracy theory of the week could be because the theory is simply a lie or with very little basis in fact.

### Russia[edit]

Similarly, in post-Soviet Russia, the term bydlo (быдле), literally 'cattle' but sometimes translated as 'sheep', has been used in the Orwellian sense.[15] The term temnoe bydlo (темное быдло), literally dark cattle, was also used in Bolshevik poetry.[15]

Russian fascist philosopher Ivan Ilyin (1883–1954) developed the non-factual idea that the Russian people, as well as the Slavic people of Ukraine and Belarus, are inherently innocent.[16]:22-23 The fiction of Russian innocence that Ilyin developed is one that can be exploited by a fascistic (or kleptocratic) state that never delivers improvements but only maintains the status quo ("eternity politics" in historian Timothy Snyder's parlance).[16] It is no coincidence that Ilyin is Vladimir Putin's most esteemed philosopher.[16]:16-35

## What is the singular form?[edit]

Q: 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.)

A: A sheep.

## More lulz[edit]

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. Their Bible encourages the followers of Christ to behave like "sheep" in the care of their "shepherd", avoiding false shepherds that turn out to be wolves in sheep's clothing.

## Wake up, sheeple![edit]

You will be led to judgement like lambs to the slaughter—a simile whose existence, I might add, will not do your species any favors.

## See also[edit]

* Wake up
* Useful idiot
* False consciousness — the Marxist view
* Psychological projection
* You

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ See also "escape hatch".
2. ↑ Hey, wait a minute, the government did take care of them, didn't it?
3. ↑ For example: "Despite nearly constant news coverage since the war there began in 2003, 63 percent of Americans aged 18 to 24 failed to correctly locate the country on a map of the Middle East."[14]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ im the only guy who knows how to call out the bull shit of society the smart way. and against all odds i do it for free by wint (@dril) (8:24 PM - 19 Jun 2017) Twitter (archived from 9 Jan 2018 00:44:36 UTC).
2. ↑ "Sheep" by Pink Floyd (Jan 8, 2016) YouTube.
3. ↑ Sheeple at urbandictionary.com.
4. ↑ Sheeple at wordspy.com.
5. ↑ "Round about Radio" by W. R. Anderson (1945) Musical Times 86(1225):84. doi.org/10.2307/933326.
6. ↑ sheeple, n., Oxford English Dictionary.
7. ↑ The early Thimble Theatre comic strips by E.C. Segar were reprinted in The Complete E.C. Segar Popeye series by Fantagraphics Books in the 1980s. Volume 5, ISBN 0930193296, presents the debut of Popeye. See also Volume 6 ISBN 0930193512, Volume 7 ISBN 093019358X, Volume 8 ISBN 0930193938, Volume 9 ISBN 0930193938, Volume 10 ISBN 1560970138, and Volume 11 ISBN 1560970154.
8. ↑ You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it. U.S. FDA (4:57 AM - 21 Aug 2021) Twitter (archived from 23 Aug 2021 19:20:08 UTC).
9. ↑ Re: Bernanke to the sheeple: don't even THINK about auditin by fainly161 (Feb 16, 2010) YouTube. "Ron Paul Warns of Cming[sic] Social nd[sic] Political Chas"[sic]
10. ↑ Rand Paul: ‘Resist’ the ‘Great Reset’ – ‘They can’t arrest us all’ (August 12, 2021) Wake Up Sheeple! (archived from August 25, 2021).
11. ↑ Michael Savage — Welfare Crybabies & The Sheeple Daily Motion.
12. ↑ Behold a Pale Horse by Milton William Cooper (1991) Light Technology Publishing. ISBN 0929385225.
13. ↑ Monday Potpourri: Sheeple and a Backdoor Survival Roundup by Gaye Levy (July 11, 2011) Backdoor Survival (archived from September 24, 2013).
14. ↑ Young Americans Geographically Illiterate, Survey Suggests by John Roach (May 2, 2006) National Geographic (archived from May 13, 2006).
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Russia Eternal: Recalling The Imperial Era In Late- And Post-Soviet Literature And Culture by Pavel Khazanov (2017) University of Pennsylvania, doctoral dissertation.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America by Timothy Snyder (2018) Tim Duggan Books. ISBN 0525574468.

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Articles about logical fallacies

Informal fallacies: |  Appeal to tradition • Appeal to novelty • Appeal to nature • Argument from morality • Argumentum ad martyrdom • Big words • Certum est quia impossibile est • Morton's fork • Friend argument • Exception that proves the rule • Extended analogy • Hindsight bias • Race card • Moralistic fallacy • Release the data • Gish Gallop • Terrorism-baiting • Uncertainty tactic • Greece-baiting • Ham Hightail • Red-baiting • Gore's Law • Nazi analogies • Mistaking the map for the territory • Red herring • Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur • Presentism • Sunk cost • Two wrongs make a right • Flying carpet fallacy • My enemy's enemy • Appeal to ancient wisdom • Danth's Law • Argumentum ad lunam • Balance fallacy • Golden hammer • Loaded question • Escape to the future • Word magic • Spider-Man fallacy • Sanctioning the devil • Appeal to mystery • Informal fallacy • Common sense • Post-designation • Hyperbole • Relativist fallacy • Due diligence • Straw man • Good old days • Appeal to probability • Infinite regress • Circular reasoning • Media was wrong before • Is–ought problem • Ad iram • Just asking questions • Pink-baiting • Appeal to faith • Appeal to fear • Appeal to bias • Appeal to confidence • Appeal to consequences • Appeal to emotion • Appeal to flattery • Appeal to gravity • Appeal to hate • Argument from omniscience • Argument from silence • Argumentum ad baculum • Argumentum ad fastidium • Association fallacy • Broken window fallacy • Category mistake • Confounding factor • Counterfactual fallacy • Courtier's Reply • Damning with faint praise • Definitional fallacies • Equivocation • Fallacy of accent • Fallacy of accident • Fallacy of amphiboly • Gambler's fallacy • Imprecision fallacy • Moving the goalposts • Nirvana fallacy • Overprecision • Pathos gambit • Pragmatic fallacy • Quote mining • Argumentum ad sarcina inserta • Science doesn't know everything • Slothful induction • Spotlight fallacy • Style over substance • Toupee fallacy • Genuine but insignificant cause • Argument from incredulity • Appeal to age • Argumentum ad nauseam • Phantom distinction • Appeal to common sense • Argumentum ad hysteria • Omnipotence paradox • Argument from etymology • Appeal to trauma • Countless counterfeits fallacy •
| Ad hoc: |  No True Scotsman • Moving the goalposts • Escape hatch • Handwave • Special pleading • Slothful induction • Nirvana fallacy • God of the gaps • PIDOOMA • Ad hoc • Tone argument •
| Arguments from ignorance: |  Science doesn't know everything • Argument from incredulity • Argument from silence • Toupee fallacy • Appeal to censorship • Science was wrong before • Holmesian fallacy • Argument from omniscience • Willful ignorance • Argument from ignorance •
| Causation fallacies: |  Post hoc, ergo propter hoc • Correlation does not imply causation • Wrong direction • Counterfactual fallacy • Regression fallacy • Gambler's fallacy • Denying the antecedent • Genuine but insignificant cause •
| Circular reasoning: |  Infinite regress • Argument by assertion • Argumentum ad dictionarium • Appeal to faith • Circular reasoning • Self-refuting idea •
| Emotional appeals: |  Appeal to fear • Appeal to emotion • Appeal to confidence • Deepity • Argumentum ad baculum • Appeal to shame • Appeal to flattery • Tone argument • Appeal to money • Argumentum ad fastidium • Appeal to gravity • Appeal to consequences • Loaded language • Style over substance • Appeal to pity • Appeal to hate • Pathos gambit • Shaming • Degenerate • Abomination •
| Fallacies of ambiguity: |  Fallacy of accent • Equivocation • Fallacy of amphiboly • Quote mining • Fallacy of ambiguity • Moral equivalence • Scope fallacy • Suppressed correlative • Not as bad as • Etymology • Continuum fallacy • Wronger than wrong • Definitional fallacies • Code word • Phantom distinction •
Formal fallacies: |  Confusion of the inverse • Denying the antecedent • Non sequitur • Affirmative conclusion from a negative premise • Not even wrong • Chewbacca Defense • Affirming a disjunct • Illicit process • Four-term fallacy • Negative conclusion from affirmative premises • Fallacy fallacy • Substituting explanation for premise • Enthymeme • Syllogism • Formal fallacy • Existential assumption • Masked man fallacy • Self-refuting idea • Argument by gibberish • One single proof • Affirming the consequent • False dilemma • Conjunction fallacy •
Fallacious arguments: |  Bumblebee argument • Fatwa envy • Gotcha argument • Hoyle's fallacy • Intuition pump • Logic and Creation • Not Circular Reasoning • Peanut butter argument • Great Beethoven fallacy • Fallacy of unique founding conditions • Evil is the absence of God • Argument from first cause • How do you know? Were you there? • Argument from design • Argument from beauty • Appeal to nature • Solferino fallacy • Religious scientists • Nothing to hide • Argument from fine tuning • Creep shaming • "I used to be an atheist" • Atheism as a religion • Argumentum ad populum • Argument from morality • Anti-environmentalism • Appeal to bias • Apophasis • Argumentum ad nauseam • Appeal to censorship • Argumentum ad sarcina inserta • Blaming the victim • Bait-and-switch • Danth's Law • Chewbacca Defense • Canard • DARVO • Demonization • Escape hatch • Friend argument • Everyone is racist • Gish Gallop • Greece-baiting • Gore's Law • Ham Hightail • Just asking questions • Leading question • Loaded language • Linking to authority • Loaded question • Lying by omission • Motte and bailey • Nazi analogies • Moving the goalposts • One single proof • Pink-baiting • One-way hash argument • Pathos gambit • Quote mining • Poisoning the well • Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum videtur • Race card • Red-baiting • Red herring • Release the data • Science was wrong before • Shill gambit • Straw man • Silent Majority • Uncertainty tactic • Style over substance • Terrorism-baiting • Weasel word • What's the harm (logical fallacy) • Whataboutism • Bullshit • Logical fallacy • Banana argument • Scapegoat • How come there are still monkeys? • Anti-racist is a code word for anti-white • Ontological argument • Omnipotence paradox • Presuppositionalism • Just a joke • Countless counterfeits fallacy •
Conditional fallacies: |  Slippery slope • What's the harm (logical fallacy) • Special pleading • Conditional fallacy • On the spot fallacy • Appeal to the minority • Argumentum ad populum • Galileo gambit • Professor of nothing •
| Genetic fallacies: |  Genetic fallacy •
|  | Appeals to authority: |  Ipse dixit • Appeal to confidence • Argumentum ad populum • Argument from authority • Linking to authority • Silent Majority • Invincible authority • Appeal to celebrity • Ultracrepidarianism • Appeal to the minority • Galileo gambit • Appeal to identity • Weasel word • Professor of nothing • Euthyphro dilemma • Divine command theory •
|  | Ad hominem: |  Ad iram • Argumentum ad cellarium • Bulverism • Poisoning the well • Blaming the victim • Tu quoque • Whataboutism • Nutpicking • Jonanism • Demonization • Shill gambit • Appeal to bias • Fallacy of opposition • Association fallacy • Damning with faint praise • Pathos gambit • Appeal to identity • Argumentum ad hominem • Nazi analogies • Not an argument • Nothing to hide • Scapegoat • 地下室论证 •
| Imprecision fallacies: |  Apex fallacy • Overprecision • Cherry picking • Overgeneralization • Texas sharpshooter fallacy • False analogy • Appeal to fiction • Spotlight fallacy • Pragmatic fallacy • Selection bias • Anecdotal evidence • Category mistake • Nutpicking • Imprecision fallacy • Confounding factor • Fallacy of accident • Neyman's bias •
Valid logical methods: |  Rapoport's Rules • Negative evidence • Reductio ad absurdum •
Fallacy collections: |  SeekFind • Nizkor Project • Fallacy Files • Your Logical Fallacy Is • Logically Fallacious •