The surprising history of snowflake as a political insult

[babylonsister]

The surprising history of ‘snowflake’ as a political insult
On the history and the future of this election season’s iciest insult.
Jessica M. Goldstein
Jan 19, 2017, 4:16 pm


Snowflake has snowballed.

Before last year, snowflake-as-slang lingered on the fringes of the lexicon. It was a largely non-partisan slight — a mean, though not hateful, dig at millennials perceived to have an outsize sense of their own individuality and, by extension, importance. Helicopter parented to the hilt, millennials supposedly graduated from college (into a dismal economy with unprecedented mountains of student debt) too coddled for this cruel world, ill-equipped to face life’s indignities with dignity.

But as 2016 dawned, snowflake made its way to the mainstream and, in the process, evolved into something more vicious. The insult expanded to encompass not just the young but liberals of all ages; it became the epithet of choice for right-wingers to fling at anyone who could be accused of being too easily offended, too in need of “safe spaces,” too fragile.

You can see this linguistic evolution play out on Urban Dictionary: The 2008 definition of snowflake was “a person who think they are OMGUNIQUE!, but is, in fact, just like everyone else.” That was redefined in May of 2016 as “an overly sensitive person, incapable of dealing with any opinions that differ from their own. These people can often be seen congregating in ‘safe zones’ on college campuses.” A more aggressive definition went up the following month: “An entitled millenial SJW-tard who runs to her “safe space” to play with stress toys and coloring books when she gets ‘triggered” by various innocuous “microsaggressions’ [sic].”

Devastated by Brexit? Snowflake. Protesting the election of Donald J. Trump? Precious snowflake. Asking to take down a statue of a racist on your campus? Classic Generation Snowflake. Sexual assault survivors requesting trigger warnings on texts that include graphic rape scenes? Special snowflakes. Last November, snowflake was deemed one of Collins English Dictionary’s words of the year. That same month, the L.A. Times included snowflake in “a guide to the language of the ‘alt-right.’” The Guardian called it “the defining insult of 2016.”

“I think it’s gone beyond slang,” said Jonathon Green, slang lexicographer and author of several dictionaries of slang. “It’s a very specific, very politicized insult.”

more...

https://thinkprogress.org/all-the-special-snowflakes-aaf1a922f37b/

[irisblue]

1. And 'snowflakes' accumulated create an avalanches

❄

[Fla Dem]

2. Frankly, I dont mind being called a snowflake . When millions of

us snowflakes work together, we become a blizzard!

[Different Drummer]

3. I guess "snowflake" could be considered a "safe space" term for conservatives.

Attaching it to liberals gives them a false sense of superiority to us.