How to React to Being Called Sheep or Sheeple by Actual Sheep
It is an immutable law of the Internet that 99% of people who first bring up the word “Sheeple” in political debate are in fact the sheeple (while this might technically be lower it just feels like to use that the only people who use sheeple are the actual sheeple). Don't ever use it unless someone else does first. It is okay to call someone a sheep (or lemming or brainwashed), but again, even then most people who call others sheep are in fact the sheep. If a right-winger uses the term sheeple or sheep, explain to everyone that the right-winger in question is the one who is the sheep and show how decades of propaganda by right-wing media and politicians has brainwashed the base of the Republican party.
It is better and more accurate to call right-wingers brainwashed as most are not blindly or lazily following the herd. They have been conditioned to think a certain way because of decades of right-wing propaganda they consume from the media, politicians, friends, family & the Internet.
Calling people sheep is a phenomenon much more common with those who are brainwashed than those criticizing the brainwashed too. When right-wingers keep getting called out on something by multiple smart & knowledgeable liberals, if left unchecked, it is a threat to their fragile inner psyche. So they eventually have to respond.
Usually, their first line of defense is to discredit the source. But astute debaters can simply respond with other sources, evidence or arguments much harder to discredit. It is much more difficult for right-wingers to accept something when multiple people, with varied beliefs and multiple sources, all refute it.
Once it comes to this, their last line of defense must be that all these people have been brainwashed. But right-wingers usually don't use the term brainwashed compared to liberals maybe because acknowledging that brainwashing is possible opens their minds to the possibility that they too are susceptible to brainwashing and in the wrong.
So in to save the day for the right-wingers mind is the word sheep and it's pejorative cousin sheeple. People who are brainwashed never realize they are brainwashed at the time. Sheep, on the other hand, could merely not care enough to spend the time to find the truth. Calling someone a sheep means you believe they are just blindly following the herd. It could be for a multitude of reasons such as “being misguided” or too lazy or not caring enough to spend the time to find the truth – which makes it a much easier way for someone to dismiss the truth.
And if you take it a step further and call someone “sheeple” over sheep, it is an indicator you are trying to protect yourself from obvious challenges to your brainwashed mind by lashing out with a dismissive insult. That's why 99% of the people who first bring up the word sheeple in debate are in fact the sheeple. You will notice this law we discovered stands the test of time over and over and over throughout the Internet.
One of our biggest head exploders and pet peeves is when right-wingers call people sheep when they are in fact the sheep. So please do us a favor and feel free to call them out.