Originally a comment by Nullius in Verba on We can say it; he can’t.

We could say the same about the word “nerd”, which people tell me isn’t an insult anymore. They tell me that it’s cool to be a nerd now. They tell me to look at how nerd subculture is mainstream with comic book superheroes reigning at the box office.

Permit me to doubt. What I see is the cool kids saying, “I’m such a nerd,” in the same way and the same tone as they would say, “I’m such a bitch.” I see basic functionality locked behind menu options with labels like “stats for nerds”, implying that to understand or care about such things is abnormal. I see actual nerds seeking popularity through embracing Genderism, or else being shunned for lacking the social graces to shut off their hyperanalytical minds and go along with it.

The only person who can call me a nerd without being an asshole is me, and I’m an asshole anyway.

And “nerd” isn’t spat with anywhere near the venomous rancor as “terf”. It’s not in the same ballpark. It’s not even the same sport. There aren’t people making bank on shirts about nerds like the ones that say, “Kill TERFs”. Nor are there people telling crowds to attack nerds like the ones getting cheers for saying to punch any terfs they see right “in the fucking face.”

The gall of trying to claim it’s just an acronym with no connotations is simply stupendous.