Yeah, for conservatives, conformity is a large part of their mindset. A large part of their personality is focused on fitting in to be part of the “in group”. To them, the nail that sticks out deserves to be hammered back into place.
It’s also part of why they get so violently angry when they see things like blue hair or trans people; They’re genuinely afraid that if societal norms change, they’ll need to conform to those new standards. It’s why all of the “they’re gonna turn you trans, they’re putting litter boxes in classrooms, they’re trying to turn your kids gay, etc” type of fear mongering on Fox News actually works. It sounds crazy to anyone who isn’t focused on conformity… But to those who do focus on it, it seems like a genuine potential result of changing societal norms.
I mean in the grand scheme of things there are only a handful of types of people, maybe a few hundred and those types repeat over and over. Everyone has their own unique experiences, personal drama and relationships, but their behavior and core traits are shared with probably millions of people throughout history. Thinking you are unique is not a rational belief and if it becomes integral to one’s personality (like it has to millions of people before them) I think they should be mocked, just for the sake of getting their heads straight.
It’s not that you aren’t allowed to be the most important character of your story, it’s just that you shouldn’t think that’s because you are something that never was before and never will be after.
The snowflake metaphor really gives us everything we need. Yes each one has a different crystalline pattern but ALL of them will melt at the same temperature. Thinking your uniqueness extends to everything and frees you from all the rules is the problem. Of course, conservatives love rules too much and don’t even recognize when they are setting up rules for how your crystalline pattern is “supposed to be.”
The way I think about it is that we’re all “snowflakes”. No two people are exactly the same. So while one can correctly claim to be unique that also applies to everyone else. It’s not like everyone else is the same but you’re unique. Also, being unique doesn’t automatically mean someone is better than others - one can also be uniquely bad.
I think you’ve stumbled on it yourself. If every person is unique and special, nobody can be singled out or given preferential treatment. That would be an impossible task to cater to ~6 billion or what ever we are at now, individually
What if someone IS unique, though? I would consider Socrates unique. He was so determined, stubborn, and self-assured of his belief that he was a clueless fool that he was willing to die for it. What if someone is a once-a-generation brilliant mind or psychological anomaly? What if someone has a schizospectrum disorder and experiences a reality nobody else lives in?
I’d argue that’s not a unique person, but a unique skill of an ordinary person. Interacting with Socrates as a person probably wouldn’t have been extraordinary but experiencing his unique ideas for the time would have.
It is about fragility, like others said, but It is also about uniqueness, in the sense of “oh, so you think you’re soo special!”
Yeah, for conservatives, conformity is a large part of their mindset. A large part of their personality is focused on fitting in to be part of the “in group”. To them, the nail that sticks out deserves to be hammered back into place.
It’s also part of why they get so violently angry when they see things like blue hair or trans people; They’re genuinely afraid that if societal norms change, they’ll need to conform to those new standards. It’s why all of the “they’re gonna turn you trans, they’re putting litter boxes in classrooms, they’re trying to turn your kids gay, etc” type of fear mongering on Fox News actually works. It sounds crazy to anyone who isn’t focused on conformity… But to those who do focus on it, it seems like a genuine potential result of changing societal norms.
Or like “Oh, you think you’re soo different”
Weird insult, still.
The person you replied to went on to argue that someone who thinks they’re unique or special should be mocked, to bring them back down to earth?
Sounds like someone was bullied or abused and is forwarding trauma by justifying that it was correct.
I mean in the grand scheme of things there are only a handful of types of people, maybe a few hundred and those types repeat over and over. Everyone has their own unique experiences, personal drama and relationships, but their behavior and core traits are shared with probably millions of people throughout history. Thinking you are unique is not a rational belief and if it becomes integral to one’s personality (like it has to millions of people before them) I think they should be mocked, just for the sake of getting their heads straight.
It’s not that you aren’t allowed to be the most important character of your story, it’s just that you shouldn’t think that’s because you are something that never was before and never will be after.
The snowflake metaphor really gives us everything we need. Yes each one has a different crystalline pattern but ALL of them will melt at the same temperature. Thinking your uniqueness extends to everything and frees you from all the rules is the problem. Of course, conservatives love rules too much and don’t even recognize when they are setting up rules for how your crystalline pattern is “supposed to be.”
The way I think about it is that we’re all “snowflakes”. No two people are exactly the same. So while one can correctly claim to be unique that also applies to everyone else. It’s not like everyone else is the same but you’re unique. Also, being unique doesn’t automatically mean someone is better than others - one can also be uniquely bad.
I think you’ve stumbled on it yourself. If every person is unique and special, nobody can be singled out or given preferential treatment. That would be an impossible task to cater to ~6 billion or what ever we are at now, individually
We’re up to 8 billion now, it’s crazy
What if someone IS unique, though? I would consider Socrates unique. He was so determined, stubborn, and self-assured of his belief that he was a clueless fool that he was willing to die for it. What if someone is a once-a-generation brilliant mind or psychological anomaly? What if someone has a schizospectrum disorder and experiences a reality nobody else lives in?
I’d argue that’s not a unique person, but a unique skill of an ordinary person. Interacting with Socrates as a person probably wouldn’t have been extraordinary but experiencing his unique ideas for the time would have.