the contempt atlas
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magat

political contempt · reclamation: low

A portmanteau insult (MAGA + maggot) aimed at Trump supporters.

◆ Real Reddit sample · classifier not yet validated — suggestive, not findings

Based on 233 real Reddit comments sampled via Arctic Shift.

How the word is actually used

Direct 83%Attributed 15%Claimed 1%

n = 213 aimed/attributed/claimed · plus 13 neutral mentions, 7 meta · 95% CI on direct: [7888%]

Most of what looks like contempt is people attributing the put-down to others or claiming it themselves — not aiming it. That gap is the whole point.

Where it's aimed

  • Conservatives98%
  • Liberals & progressives2%

Inferred per-comment target group, n = 231.

Where it's used — and how

  • r/PoliticalDiscussionn43
  • r/AskRedditn42
  • r/unpopularopinionn40
  • r/Conservativen40
  • r/AskAnAmericann38
  • r/Republicann28

Same word, different room: the bars (aimed · attributed · claimed) show how each community uses it. Sampled across political, regional, and identity subreddits.

Etymology

First attested 2016 · online

coined as an anti-MAGA epithet after 2016.

  • 2016earliest noted use
  • 2010scirculated as online political/lifestyle contempt

In context (short, fair-use)

  • DIRECTHow do you confuse a MAGAt? Talk about basic math, science, history or literature. reddit r/Conservative
  • ATTRIBI disagree. They can call us nazis, fascists, hitler, magats whatever untruths/insults they feel like. I literally don’t care about any of that. reddit r/Conservative
  • CLAIMI'm not a MAGA. I'm not a MAGAt. I'm a conservative. reddit r/Conservative
  • MENTIONOnce the accusations gain traction they're largely cemented in the minds of the most radical. The Pol sub (and most of reddit) still believes it was a "magat" who torched Gov Shapi… reddit r/Conservative

Try the perception-gap test →