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.
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.
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 think you’re not understanding the intended slam.
‘Snowflakes’ are special and unique. (Notably, their crystalline pattern)
Every snowflake is special and unique. (Every single one has unique environmental factors that form their unique shape)
If every… ‘thing’ is special and unique, no ‘thing’ is special OR unique.
It’s basically saying “you value your perceived characteristics higher than they actually are valued in the grand scope”
I can totally imagine an innocent couple sharing a cute nickname like snowflake and then having it ruined by the rest of humanity who are out here in the culture war trenches
imply it’s best to just be like everyone else
No it implies extreme fragility.
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I think it’s even older than that. I remember a scene in Fight Club (1999) in which the main character gives a motivational speech “You are not special. You’re not a beautiful and unique snowflake. You’re the same decaying organic matter as everything else.”
What does this surprise? It’s just another “woke.”
Antifa… Yes we are anti-facist like how the allies fought in ww2
Snowflake doesn’t imply uniqueness, but fragility.
It’s about fragility
I guess I don’t understand your thinking.
Supposedly, Every snowflake is unique. Therefore Being a snowflake means you are unique.
How does being a snowflake imply that you’re being just like everyone else?
I think the idea is that saying snowflake as an insult implies that being unique is a bad thing.
The point of the insult isn’t that snowflakes are unique but rather that they “melt down” at the slightest touch.
Wikipedia and most dictionary definitions talk about uniqueness. Each snowflake is unique. That’s what most people mean by it.
Snowflake is a derogatory slang term for a person, implying that they have an inflated sense of uniqueness, an unwarranted sense of entitlement, or are overly emotional, easily offended, and unable to deal with opposing opinions.
You are not special. You are not beautiful or unique snowflake. Quote from the novel “Fight Club”
I think you are cherry picking. It says it means both. My 5c: If you think you are unique and you don’t give a fuck about what other people think (example would be a goth or punk imo), then not a snowflake. If you melt down at the slightest touch over others not being like the status quo (example would be a Karen imo). Not a snowflake. If you think you are different, and melt down as soon as someone chalanges that difference (example vegan yelling at someone buying a steak imo) then snowflake.
I haven’t claimed it doesn’t imply fragility too. Just that the uniqueness is the primary meaning of it - thus the term snowflake. “I’m unique and thus deserving of special treatment”
If it was primarily about fragility then we’d probably be using some other term as that is not generally the first feature that comes to mind about snowflakes.
