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The New Florida Man
“Florida Man” is cultural shorthand for what MAD Magazine used to call a schmuck: a stupid, foolish, or contemptible person. This is derived from the Yiddish word “שמאָק,” pronounced schmok (at least, this is according to the first thing I found when I googled the word “schmuck”). “Florida Man” is a classist insult, a way for newspapers to run light, comic pieces that make poor people look like idiots. Of course, a lot of these stories are genuinely funny, if your sense of humor has a cruel streak. For instance:
“Florida man wearing 'No, seriously, I have drugs' T-shirt arrested for drug possession” (The Week, January 8, 2015)
“Naked Florida man, high on meth, bites K-9 dog, assaults officer” (Fox News, January 3, 2020)
“Florida man looking for Frisbees in lake fatally attacked by gator” (Toronto Sun, June 1, 2022)
“Florida Man Jailed After Alleged Vending Machine 'Smackdown' Over Soda.” Newsweek, May 18, 2022
“Roadkill art show in Pensacola shows artistic side of Florida Man.” Pensacola News Journal, May 4, 2022
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