Diverging campus viewpoints give rise to the snowflake generation
“Rise of the snowflake generation”, by Josh Glancy, The Weekend Australian, Saturday:
(Author Jonathan) Haidt identifies several causes for the emergence of this volatile snowflake culture. One is “historically low levels of viewpoint diversity on campus”. Most US campuses used to count one conservative professor for every three liberals. That number is now more like one in 10 … “Sociology, gender studies, history, anthropology … Many departments don’t have a single conservative in them at all.” An unchallenged left-wing orthodoxy is the result.
Urban Dictionary redefined “snowflake” in May 2016:
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 millennial (social justice warrior-tard) who runs to her “safe space” to play with stress toys and colouring books when she gets triggered by various innocuous micro-aggressions.
Lionel Shriver in The Spectator Australia, last week:
Radiating rapidly from campuses into the larger polity, the noble defence of an infinitely multiplying list of marginalised groups is a predatory movement. Prowling the cultural veldt for givers of “offence” is a blood sport, and its pleasures are those of hunting: spotting your prey, stalking, going in for the kill. Any source of umbrage thus presents an exulting opportunity to score a trophy, stuff it, and hang it on your (Facebook) wall. Mainstream institutions straining to be with-it give credence to this pretence of injury and vulnerability, when no one’s feelings actually have been hurt … I don’t buy into the notion that the “snowflake” generation is all that sensitive, either. Antifa protesters in balaclavas can be quite violent for little specks that melt. “Snowflakes” may have induced institutions to employ the language of fragility, but I think a lot of these kids are tough as old boots.
The Huffpost website discovers Australian humour, January 30, 2016:
Matt Chun, an artist and cafe owner in the NSW seaside village of Bermagui, wrote a message for his customers on a blackboard. “Yes, we’re open on National Dickhead Day.” A photo of his sign was posted on Facebook and quickly went viral. The inevitable public outcry was swift and fierce, a fusillade of vile abuse and even death threats from faceless, well, the appropriate term would be dickheads.
Allison Pearson in London’s The Daily Telegraph, January 26, 2013:
Pink News demanded that (Suzanne) Moore apologise for what it solemnly called “her recent transphobic outburst”. Just to add to the atmosphere of sweet reason, Julie Burchill wrote an article for the Observer, defending Moore and machine-gunning what she called “bed-wetters in bad wigs”. Shamefully, the editor added injury to insult, pulling the piece from the website after it had been published, a move that was simultaneously repressive and useless … So, a perfectly valid comparison is blown up into “a transphobic outburst”.
Michael Bywater in The Independent, London, February 12, 2009:
Everyone has become such milquetoasts, so sensitive and quick to be affronted … I apologise to everyone for calling them affronted, sensitive, wet milquetoasts. I find this constant clamour for apology offensive. I demand a full apology … The cringe has become the posture du jour. (I apologise for the use of the phrase “du jour” which may cause offence as being elitist and hurtful to non-francophones.)