Trump voters are the real special snowflakes who can’t deal with ideas they don’t like

It’s not just liberal students


Somewhere in between the sound of controversial speakers being cancelled and the fury of bad sushi being cultural appropriation, we arrived at the idea that the only people left to stand up for free speech were the right.

They were the last torchbearers of the First Amendment, so it seemed, after another viral video appeared of a professor booting a reporter out of a protest, or a story spread about a student being sent to gender misconduct for calling himself handsome in class.

The evidence appeared overwhelming, and fair enough – anyone who claims something like improperly-practiced yoga offends them deserves ridicule. More fearful are the reports that colleges are becoming “iceberg campuses,” hostile environments where students are too scared to speak their minds for fear of being branded racist, sexist, or misogynist.

They say “conservatism is the new counterculture,” and their manifesto is based on free speech and an attitude that’s down to debate. But that’s hard to stomach when they can be just as guilty of shutting down conversation and shouting that you’re a special snowflake if you disagree.

And the loudest voice of this far-right faction is Tomi Lahren. Nobody said she should be used as a good example to explain anything, but a lot of Trump fans take their cue from her, so consider what she said about Lady Gaga’s Superbowl performance. “Show up in an egg or a meat dress or whatever just for the love of God don’t make it political,” she declared. One week later, without a hint of irony, she gushed over Joy Villa’s dress – a Trump flag – at the Grammys.

It becomes apparent that if you’re on the right (more specifically if you voted for Trump) you can take offense at anything. A Budweiser commercial upsets you? Boycott. Netflix is airing a series called Dear White People? Boycott. Starbucks is hiring refugees? Boycott.

You could even find yourself despising Kellogg’s, a company whose place in the world is to make lightly toasted rice cereal, for doing something about advertising with Breitbart that I defy you to care about. (Although while we’re at it, how many people who protested against Trump stopped taking Ubers or incinerated their New Balances?)

In the words of Tomi Lahren (sorry): “If a brand bothers you, you’re for damn sure a snowflake.”

The same goes for protests. If you’re a Trump supporter, protests are fine in theory as an expression of free speech. But not when they go against the inauguration. Not when they go against the pro-life crowd. Not when they go against the national anthem.

Confrontation at the inauguration

And that’s where it starts to get hypocritical. It’s the same as wanting to shut down a debate because you don’t like the speaker, claiming their views are harmful. The language might be different on the other side of the political spectrum, but the sentiment is the same – I don’t like what you’re saying and I want you to stop. Swap “triggered” for “unpatriotic”, “microaggression” for “fake news” and “fascist” for “libtard” and you’re there.

The left doesn’t have a monopoly on snowflake reactionaries who will jump at the chance to be offended. The right have them too. They’re just as likely to lose their cool, report your post, and demand you to delete your account. The only real difference is they might call you a cuck at the same time.