Todays society - snowflakes

[Ttaskmaster]

For how long in his 26 years has that poster had access to a final salary pension scheme, rents that are less than 50% of average income or house prices less than 4 times average annual earnings?

Pension - Depends on the industry. We've never had access to one (except senior management) and they're all closing down now anyway.
Rents - I've always been able to find high quality, low price rents. Even more so once I left London.
House prices - Well part of that is selling to foreign investors who let them out or just sit on them, but we can't deny them that without risking OFFENDING them.... But certainly my own parents couldn't afford to buy back then either.

Generally those referring to people as snowflakes are white, older, male and heterosexual.

And hetero, now? Things are escalating...
Hmm, well, I disagree on that hetero part.... Hetero white males possibly use it a touch more seriously, but that's about it. It even sounds better coming from a gay guy!!

But seriously, I've heard the term used by all manner of people from all walks of life, race, gender, sexuality, etc. Benefits of a multi-kulti industry.
Those they call snowflakes, with the exception of posters on Mumsnet, are generally white young men getting offended on behalf of someone else though, or taking someone else's offence as their own. Some might even say Social Justice Warriors, although I feel a bit too old to be talking about them.

They rarely offend you or rarely apologise for doing so?

They rarely apologise.

[Xlucine]

Pension - Depends on the industry. We've never had access to one (except senior management) and they're all closing down now anyway.

ISTR you mentioned that you used to be in the forces, no? Which would mean AFPS 75 or 05, which are final salary pensions

[Xlucine]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43027764

Oh and apparently someone/more than one person have taken offense to Tesco Trolleys, something to do with gender? (Not 100% sure)

I'll leave this here.

Kids are horrible little sods, I don't think anyone should be encouraging them to do that kind of thing given how quickly fatal peanut allergies can be

[Zak33]

Kids are horrible little sods,

all of my children are offended by your harsh and non satirical comment of their similarity to lawn turf and that they might be interested in killing their friends with peanuts.

bring out the de icer, why don't you? Go melt some snowflakes why not?







not

[Ttaskmaster]

ISTR you mentioned that you used to be in the forces, no? Which would mean AFPS 75 or 05, which are final salary pensions

Was it?
Oh. Damn.
Ah well - I've usually transferred my pension over to that of my replacement job... not that the Army one would have been worth much at the time I left, anyway!

But outside of that, I've never knowingly had access to final salary stuff. I never worked for the sort of company that would give you one, until comparatively recently.

[TeePee]

Lowest unemployment rate in 42 years, highest median income and disposable income in history and both on the way up. There's no excuse for claiming a 'lack of opportunity'.

I have relatives who use this excuse to sit at home and play WoW all day.

[spacein_vader]

Lowest unemployment rate in 42 years, highest median income and disposable income in history and both on the way up. There's no excuse for claiming a 'lack of opportunity'.

I have relatives who use this excuse to sit at home and play WoW all day.

I thought disposable income was falling?

[TeePee]

I thought disposable income was falling?

No. Also, income inequality is decreasing.

Based on the Office for National Statistics’s (ONS’s) Living Costs and Food Survey, the UK median disposable household income was £27,300 in the financial year ending (FYE) 2017, up 2.3% on the previous year (after accounting for inflation and household composition).
The latest estimate of UK median disposable household income is very similar to the nowcast estimate of £27,200 for FYE 2017, published in July 2017.
Growth in median disposable income for the richest fifth of households has lagged behind households in the rest of the income distribution in recent years, but has now recovered to the levels seen before the start of the economic downturn, taking into account inflation and changes in household composition.
There has been a small decline in income inequality in the last 10 years, although inequality in FYE 2017 (based on the Living Costs and Food Survey) at 32.2% is broadly unchanged from FYE 2016 (31.6%).
Between FYE 2016 and FYE 2017, both retired and non-retired households have seen increases in their median disposable incomes, though the growth has been larger for non-retired households (3.5%) than for retired households (1.2%).

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulat...yearending2017

[directhex]

When did basic civility become such a controversial concept?

[Phage]

Meh. The term "snowflake" is just a disparaging epithet. As soon as someone uss it, you know you've won the argument.

[directhex]

Meh. The term "snowflake" is just a disparaging epithet. As soon as someone uss it, you know you've won the argument.

The people waving it around are certainly extremely easily offended.

[Butcher]

When people tried to co-opt it to shut down any dissenting views under the banner of "offence."

[Phage]

Its no more than a new way of calling someone a sissy. Childish.

[wazzickle]

Just remember whenever you post in a thread like this that it's extremely unlikely that you or anyone else will move forward as a result or learn anything new or see anything from someone else's point of view or anything like that.

[Biscuit]

Ah yes, the Oppression Olympics. I'm oppressed because xx... well i'm oppressed because yy... well I'm oppressed because xx and yy. Lets all go to the campus safe space and talk about how bloody horrible our lives are because no-one understands the horrific oppression we (apparently) experience.
Frankly these pathetic, lazy, entitled kids deserve the derogatory label of snowflake, but the phrase is perhaps a bit overused in the whole.

It strikes me that in the western world we actually treat people incredibly fairly, and this is coming from someone who works worldwide, has seen and experienced my fair share of blatant discrimination and has had to overcome it to achieve my goals... yes thats right, I have been treated a certain way because of the way I talk and the colour of my skin... but no I'm white and male... so my individual life experiences are irrelevant and there is some other explanation for sure.

Whether you would like to admit it or not, it HAS gone too far. Yes its good that we're tacking racism and sexism and trying to give treat each other with a little more respect, but can we please at the very least agree that there is no topic that should lie outside the bounds of reasonable discussion?
Can we please agree that the modern progressive definitions relating to power and privilege (another word which is vastly misused and overused) that are peddled regarding sexism and racism are ridiculously short sighted and server no purpose but to divide society?
As for being offended, I'm certainly of the opinion that offense is taken and not received, but I'm also of the opinion that you dont have to actually spend any time with people that make you feel like that. Society will literally fix itself just by nice people spending time with equally nice people. Dont try to police the speech of unpleasant people, just ignore them and get on with your life... its really doesn't have to be this big of a deal.

I think as a society, we need to get better at listening to people on both sides of an argument rather than sticking a label on someone to shut them up and brush them under the rug. Not only that, but we need to get used to sticking up for those who's opinions differ from our own when they wrongfully come under attack.
We definitely should all stand up against any compelled speech law.

Aside from the fact that its generally the socialists who are leading the authoritarian charge at the moment... this is still highly relevant IMO:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Martin Niemöller (1892–1984)

[Lanky123]

These campus/university 'safe space' things...has anyone ever actually seen one? I've spent the best part of the last decade at a couple of different universities and I've never so much as heard reference to one.

Is it more of a USA thing? Is it because I tend to avoid the student politics brigade like the plague? Is it just one of those jokes that gets thrown around when a politician needs to do a bit of student bashing?