Unprecedented AND Bad?

The word “unprecedented” has been used a lot over the last few years. I do not think it means what you think it means.

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Unprecedented and bad?
Welcome to the Know the Difference Minute for Wednesday, October 4th.
In an unprecedented move, Representative McCarthy was kicked out of his chair. He earned the chair after an unprecedented 15 rounds of votes.
The word “unprecedented” has been used a lot over the last few years. It’s probably been abused as well. Most people use it to instill fear in readers or hearers. It’s almost as though it’s come to mean, “This has never happened before so it will end badly.”
That’s just wrong.
There are lots of things that are unprecedented that end up well. Everything was unprecedented at some point. That’s how it became precedent. I’ve never been older, so my age, for me, is unprecedented. I was never a father before I had my son. The Brewers have never won the World Series, so when they do it will be unprecedented. Unprecedented doesn’t equal bad.
I’m Brian Jacobsen, Chief Economist at Annex Wealth Management. That is your Know the Difference Minute.