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Generation Snowflake
Generation Snowflake
Claire Fox
4 June 2016
Another week, another spate of barmy campus bans and ‘safe space’
shenanigans by a new breed of hyper–sensitive censorious youth. At
Oxford University, law students are now officially notified when the
content of a lecture might upset them. In Cambridge, there were calls for
an Africa-themed end-of-term dinner to be cancelled just in case it caused
offence to someone somewhere. It all seems beyond parody. ‘What is
https://www.spectator.com.au/2016/06/generation-snowflake-how-we-train-our-kids-to-
be-censorious-cry-babies/
wrong with these thin-skinned little emperors?’ we cry. But while we can
harrumph and sneer at Generation Snowflake’s antics, we miss a crucial
point: we created them.
First, it is important to note that young people who cry offence are not
feigning hurt — generational fragility is a real phenomenon. Speaking at
numerous school and university events in recent years, I’ve noticed an
increasingly aggrieved response from my young audience to any argument
I put forward that they don’t like. They are genuinely distressed by ideas
that run contrary to their worldview. Even making a general case for free
speech can lead to gasps of disbelief. But why do they take everything so
personally? The short answer is: because we socialised them that way.
https://www.spectator.com.au/2016/06/generation-snowflake-how-we-train-our-kids-to-
be-censorious-cry-babies/
because ‘some research indicates that it can increase heart and breathing
rates’. In March, there were moves to ban tackling in school rugby
matches due to the perils of this ‘high-impact collision sport’.
The anti-bullying industry, too, has grown exponentially over the past 20
years. If the word ‘bullying’ makes you think of children having their
heads kicked in and their dinner money nicked, or being subjected to
systematic cruelty, then think again. Self-styled anti-bullying experts have
expanded definitions of bullying to include ‘teasing and name–calling’,
‘having your stuff messed about with’, ‘spreading rumours’, ‘verbal sexual
commentary’, ‘homophobic taunting’, ‘graffiti’, ‘insensitive jokes’,
‘bullying gestures’ and ‘exclusion from friendship groups’ (i.e. falling out
with your mates or being ignored by other kids).
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Anti-bullying campaigns assure the young that speech is interchangeable
with physical violence and can cause long-term psychological damage. We
should be teaching children how to surmount and survive everyday
obstacles. Yet Sarah Brennan, chief executive of a charity called
YoungMinds, declares that if such ‘devastating and life-changing’ bullying
isn’t dealt with, it ‘can lead to years of pain and suffering that go on long
into adulthood’.
So when today’s undergraduates get insulted, are they going to think, ‘No
big deal; it’s only words’? No. They are going to think, ‘Oh, no, I’m being
insulted! Words can kill me!’
The government may have axed Ms Devon for going too far in her
arguments against competitive testing, but they should have known what
they were getting when they hired the co-founder of a mental-health
charity called ‘Self-Esteem Team’. Self-esteem’s schmaltzy tropes
encourage a narcissistic, self-orientated ‘me, me, me’ generation (‘Love
the skin you’re in’, ‘Ego-boosting tips on reaffirming your self-worth’,
‘Write down ten amazing things about yourself every morning’, ‘Become
your own best friend’). And self-esteem culture encourages adults to tiptoe
around children’s sensitivities and accede to their opinions, lest we
damage their wellbeing.
https://www.spectator.com.au/2016/06/generation-snowflake-how-we-train-our-kids-to-
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The US-based National Association of School Psychologists published a
much-cited paper on how parents and schools can boost self-esteem in
children: ‘Adults must listen carefully to the child without interrupting,
and should not tell the child how to feel.’ Meanwhile, the charity Family
Lives tells parents ‘not to label, criticise or blame your child, as this would
give them negative messages which… can have a detrimental impact on
their emotional wellbeing later on in life’.
https://www.spectator.com.au/2016/06/generation-snowflake-how-we-train-our-kids-to-
be-censorious-cry-babies/