I’m not sure where this practice started, but it’s just stupid. I’m assuming it started with some intentionally inflammatory “shock jock” or media personality.
I’m tired of “conservatives” saying that liberals are easily offended “pretty snowflakes” etc. It’s a weak ad hominem attack. If you think you’re being clever, you’re not. You’re really just being sad and following along with a line that’s being used by people who are more conniving than you are. The only people who should be using ad hominem attacks in arguments are around the age of 5 yrs old and too uneducated and ignorant to understand how the world around them works. Ad hominem attacks show you’re unwilling to have a real conversation with people around you unless they’re used to discredit a person making a statement. A discussion shouldn’t end with you attacking someone instead of their point of view. It’s just makes you a jerk who doesn’t actually care about learning, growing, or the actual conversation you could be having about something possibly important. You don’t have to learn to change your point of view to match that of someone else, nor do you have to change your point of view. What you do need to do is learn how to be a rational adult and not act like a 5 yr old. Rational debate and discourse are able to occur without personal insult and should. You can have a heated and heartfelt discussion/argument with someone without blowing a gasket and attacking that person for their beliefs. If you engage in the whole, “Pretty snowflake” BS that has been floating around for the last year or so, you’re buying into a game that seeks to discredit someone else’s thoughts by insulting them. Don’t be that person. Try to change someone’s mind or influence the world with rational thought and insight. You’re more likely to think more in-depth about the subject/s that you’re interested in, and maybe you’ll grow. If you’re lucky maybe you’ll be able to get the person that you disagree with to see your point of view. Wouldn’t it be great, if you could actually change someone else’s way of thinking with ideas instead of just making them feel bad?
And… if you’re wondering… when you call someone a “pretty snowflake” or engage in another ad hominem attack, and the person you’re arguing with just shuts down…. Well, they probably think you’re hopeless and walk away. You haven’t won the argument. You’ve just completely lost any hope of respect from that individual. The person you disagreed with isn’t cowering away from you, they feel bad for you. Is that really how you want to be seen? They just figure you’re not intelligent enough to understand how to act like an adult.ƒ
