Social media accounts for companies and government institutions are now using so-called “Gen Z slang” for their own ends. It was already cringey when those same organizations were doing it with millennial-speak. And you better believe it’s cringey with Gen Z.
Case in point, the United States Postal Service, one of the most important institutions in our whole country, knows what the word “rizz” means. And the internet is not happy about this fact.
For those unaware, “rizz” is short for “charisma.” It was originally appropriated from Black American culture when streamer Kai Cenat began using the term on Twitch, as Vox reports. So no, it’s not some “weird” or “cringey” Gen Z slang, it’s a word that’s essentially been stolen from its original context.
“Over time, however, the word caught on. Then it made its way to TikTok, where, Cenat says with disgust, ‘They butchered that word. They killed it,'” Vox said in its explainer.
On January 24, the Post Office’s official X account published a strange post using “rizz.” “Have you considered rizzing them up with a letter?” it said, complete with the “thinking face” emoji. The tweet, which has since earned 23,000 likes, went viral across X as users slowly came to despise the post.
“Something about the federal government saying rizz doesn’t sit well with me,” 3D artist Ian Zelbo posted. Similarly, viral X account @kirawontmiss fired back with a criticism of the Post Office: “Can y’all stop losing our mails instead.”
Twitter user @joshcarlosjosh, like others, reshared the Post Office’s post and added the 30 Rock “How Do You Do, Fellow Kids?” meme. You know, the one where Steve Buscemi tries to (poorly) blend in with high school students? The implication here, of course, is that the U.S. Post Office is trying to sound like zoomers—and failing miserably.
Others found the U.S. Postal Service’s post harmless. Voice actor Zane Schacht praised the Post Office, considering the U.S. mail service “one of the only good government institutions left.” Another X user pointed out that, hey, it’s nice to get a letter now and then.
Still, we’re clearly seeing the end result of Black culture being appropriated by white internet users, with “rizz” turned into “zoomer slang” and “internet slang,” and then used by major institutions and companies for marketing. It’s a sheer butchering of the term’s original meaning and context, and pretty sad.
(featured image: H. Armstrong Roberts, Getty Images)
