except that this isn’t about the emotion of cringe but about cringe culture, the general notion that it’s a-ok to make fun of individuals and/or subgroups for behavior that makes you cringe.
maybe you’re too old or too young or just lucky enough to have missed it but there was a time where unironic “cringe compilations” were a thing. people got harrased, doxed, and genuinely harmed because of it.