To be irritated by frequent references to 'snowflakes'

[DailyFaily]

I've noticed people using 'snowflake' as an mild insult a lot recently - here, Facebook, real life. It's usually with reference to something reasonably benign or not especially precious (just seen it on FB by someone saying not being allowed to smack your children leads to generation Snowflake, saw lots of it after Brexit/Trump from people suggesting those opposed to it should put up and shut up, saw it here on Thursday for someone who didn't want her nanny to do something which I think a lot of people would not like their paid childcare to do). I'm assuming it's a reference to Fight Club but I really haven't heard it referenced this way until the last few months which is odd given that fight club was released in 1999. I'm sure my irritation makes me a snowflake myself but does anyone find this annoying?

I hate entitled to. It shouldn't exist as an adjective

It was originally used to describe people who were alwats announcing how they (or their kids) were different from everyone else and demanding special treatment.

That's the only type of context I've ever seen it used, and on Mumsnet. The racism etc

Too, even

If it's used to mean somebody who is excessively mollycoddled it's annoying but don't mind it. E.g. little tarquin can't possibly do a normal child activity because....

What I hate is it being used as a way to shut down any discussion (e.g. So what if my joke was racially insensitive, you should stop being a snowflake / Or when nasty bitchy women say "I'm just being honest and direct and dont take crap" and then they call anyone who challenges them a snowflake.) In those situations i just think people who use it are snobby, self-righteous bitches.

It is overused for many things so it loses some of its meaning as is "entitled", "privileged", but at times I think it's very apt. I try to reserve it for those times. There are plenty of expressions which make my teeth itch too, but it's not all about me. Which is rather the point of the expression.

YANBU. It's sneery and unoriginal.

I have only everr seen or heard it on mumsnet

Not something i would use myself and i would agree that although it did have its place as an excellent descriptor its now used in completely the wrong way by fuckwits

Let me reiterate not everyone who uses it is a fuckwit, but there are fuckwits who use it a lot in the 'wrong' way

Oh and having just seen navys post

No...i have never been called a snowflake

I think it accurately describes the people who think their children might melt if they don't park over driveways or drop them on the double yellow lines or the yellow zigzags or think they deserve special treatment and generally don't think the rules apply to them.

YANBU. It's annoying and unoriginal. I agree with PP that it's usually used by the hard of thinking to shut down any challenge or debate - the new 'PC gorn maaaad'.

It was originally used to describe people who were announcing how they (or their kids) were different from everyone else and demanding special treatment.

Pretty much like that navy

But i have seen it used as a very lazy 'shutting you down' type insult

But like much of mumsnet its all a matter of opinion

never heard of it

I have only seen it used on mumsnet when people suggest a child or adult might have additional needs that might explain a particular behaviour - eg, if a child is very picky about food, needs some out of the ordinary treatment at school, struggles with something which would never occur to others to be difficult.

For that reason i don't like it.

So weird, I nearly started this thread today too!

YANBU. It is sneery. Yes, my children are special snowflakes - they're my bloody children!

It's just one of those terms, along with "virtue signalling", "political correctness gone mad," "Hampstead liberal" (not heard so often these days), "liberal elite" and so on that simply serves as a lazy insult by people who lack the intelligence to think of an actual argument. So the Trump administration, for example, uses it against people demonstrating against him, which is clearly ludicrous, because the whole point of going on a demonstration is that you are making a collective protest, that you don't think of yourself as anyone special.

The one advantage of the term is that it immediately indicates the person using it is an idiot, and so you need take no further notice of them.

I think it describes some people perfectly.

Such as students who are saying 'no platform' to someone whose opinions they disagree with.

When I was a student you had a choice to not go and listen to someone, or turn up and show how you disagreed with them.

We had enough respect for freedom of speech to allow them to, even if we strongly disagreed with them.

I don't like it now it has been hijacked by the alt-right. its used to shut down debate and ridicule anyone who thinks xenophobic or sexist language is inappropriate.

It really doesn't indicate that anyone using it is automatically an idiot. It entirely depends on the context. Unless you're a bit hard of thinking.

Agree with the use CatsWhiskers describes.

navy

Just had a quick look on advanced search to be nosy

The phrase is used a lot on AIBU but also on feminism chat and the EU threads

With the exception of chat thats virtually all i look at so no wonder i have seen it a lot

Well we are only snowflakes because of our selfish baby boomer parents.