The Special Snowflake Slur

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Joined: 17 Sep 2014
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28 Nov 2014, 12:08 am

I recently saw in another thread that someone who confided in a friend about their autism was called a "special snowflake" in a derogatory/get over yourself fashion.

This bothered me as I have always loved the snowflake analogy. It is so true that no two people are alike.

But in the case of Special Snowflake Syndrome, which research has revealed has been around for some time, it seems often to be directed at people with invisible disabilities.

I have experienced this myself. I confided in three girl friends (at diner) that I was autistic. They all looked away from me awkwardly as if I had said I had committed a crime. I imagine their reaction would have been different if I had said I had been diagnosed with Diabetes or such.

It seems that we are supposed to suck it up and not complain. But I don't understand why.

Here are some quotes from my research:

Know your Meme - link

Quote:

Special Snowflake is a derogatory term widely used on Tumblr to describe someone who often whines about deserving special treatment or sees oneself as exceptionally unique for no apparent reason...

From various Tumblr posts:

Quote:

that implies she has self diagnosed because she’s another special snowflake.

Quote:

Don’t act like a special snowflake.

Quote:

You’re still a special snowflake, let’s face it.

Maybe I'm making too much of it. It's not a new concept. We used to say "Get over yourself." But why is this so often directed at people with mental illness?

campboy92
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28 Nov 2014, 12:09 am

IT'S DISGUSTING RIGHT? I AM SO SI SICK OF IT

androbot01
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28 Nov 2014, 12:18 am

It's very dismissive.

FedUpAsp
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28 Nov 2014, 12:42 am

If someone calls you a special snowflake to be derogatory or dismissive, annoy them by calling them the nickname Snowflake from now on.

CockneyRebel
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28 Nov 2014, 12:48 am

FedUpAsp wrote:

If someone calls you a special snowflake to be derogatory or dismissive, annoy them by calling them the nickname Snowflake from now on.

That's a very good idea. That sounds like something I'd do.

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League_Girl
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28 Nov 2014, 1:03 am

It's also directed at parents who think their kids can do no wrong.

eg. "These days parents get mad at the teacher for their special snowflakes grade."

I never knew it was derogatory.

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nick007
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28 Nov 2014, 1:43 am

I had teachers use that term with me when trying to be supportive but the term still sounded derogatory to me.

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Sweetleaf
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28 Nov 2014, 2:24 am

I think I more thought of myself as a sh*tty snowflake growing up.

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Yugidude1
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28 Nov 2014, 2:27 am

It does depend where you are but it does tend to annoy me in most cases

League_Girl
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28 Nov 2014, 2:30 am

I didn't start hearing of the term until around 2011.

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androbot01
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28 Nov 2014, 2:58 am

Here it is used in:

Above the Law link

^A law school site^

Quote:

Concurring Opinions reports that Hanrahan suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome. He claims that he finished 4th in his class at Drexel, but didn’t get a job at Dechert, Blank Rome, or Pepper Hamilton. ...

Then again, my posts on Above the Law tend to discriminate against people suffering from Special Snowflake Head-In-Ass Syndrome (a.k.a. “Cooleyitis”), which makes it difficult for those people to see three years in front of their faces.

I found the above with a google news search for "special snowflake." It was on the first page.

What bothers me is the complete disregard for any handicaps that we have to cope with because of autism. I feel it is a dismissal of my condition. Would people say this to someone with schizophrenia?

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28 Nov 2014, 4:45 am

androbot01 wrote:

It seems that we are supposed to suck it up and not complain. But I don't understand why.

95% of Americans and 99% of the rest of the world haven't the slightest notion of what Asperger's is, or means. The same goes for autistic. I have no idea how old you are, or how you are getting along in your life, yet I wonder what you expected your girlfriends to say, or do, when you told them that you were on the spectrum?

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d20
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28 Nov 2014, 4:50 am

Disclaimer: not justifying the term, but gonna explain how I see it used.

I've never seen it used in relation to Aspergers, but I have when it comes to "am I the only one who...?" questions.

Eg: "Am I the only one who cuts my apple before eating it?"
"Yes you are, you special slowflake, you!"

SameStars
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28 Nov 2014, 4:52 am

I'm familiar with the term, but have mostly seen it back in comments (youtube for example) to people who whine or display a great sense of entitlement, or those who wonder if they're different/unique in some way.

geometrictunneling
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28 Nov 2014, 5:29 am

Most people don't know what the symptoms of ASD are and it looks invisible half the time. It is completely understandable they would use that term. Usually you need to talk at length about how autism effects you before they will understand.

Your Autistic? Great! Here's an award!

Sweetleaf
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28 Nov 2014, 5:32 am

geometrictunneling wrote:

Why people think one is after an award if they have autism just because I will never know.

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