SNOWFLAKES- NOT JUST FOR WINTER ANYMORE

Urban Dictionary defines a snowflake as:

A very sensitive person. Someone who is easily hurt or offended by the statements or actions of others.

This has nothing to do with politics. Snowflakes can be liberal or conservative. Whether it is a compliment or an insult is a matter of opinion and depends on the context.

ex. Don't criticize Jane for what she did. She's a snowflake and you'll only upset her.

Snowflakes are everywhere. Personally, my favorite snowflake is witnessed on a cold, gray morning while enjoying a hot, steaming cup of black coffee sitting outside your cabin hidden in the Rocky Mountains after a night of vigorous love-making. Nowadays though, snowflakes are found all over the place, and they aren't the ones that you can make a snow man out of.

The University of Alabama is playing the University of Texas on Saturday and Alabama Head Coach, Nick Saban, was asked if he has addressed with his team the potential of a penalty should one of his players be seen giving the "horns down" gesture. Saban, with his usual demeanor and tone stated that he was not aware of the penalty but thanked the reporter for the question and added that they will have a lot to talk about this week in preparation for the Longhorns. In Saban-speak, that meant "I don't care about their feelings if my team makes a sign with their hand, all I care about is winning a football game".

How does a hand gesture equate to a penalty? Does flashing the "horns down" in the presence of a Longhorn cause them great physical pain or distress? How about pounding your chest after a big play? Does that affect people with heart conditions? Should that too, be subject to a 15 yard penalty?

There is an old saying of "sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me" and couldn't the same thing be made for gestures. During my time as an ER physician, I never had a patient brought to me as the victim of a hateful or hurtful gesture. After doing a quick research on the Google machine, the Cambridge dictionary states that the idiom is said to show that people cannot be hurt by unpleasant things that are said to them. I would argue that the same thing can be said for things that are shown to them as well.

But we live in a new world where people are offended or hurt by various things every day. Recently I was at a popular coffee chain type place where a white customer was talking to a black person who was taking his order, obviously the two had something of a relationship with each other due to the nature of their conversation and general merriment while conversing. The customer stated that he wanted a large cup of coffee and the gentleman at the counter asked if he wanted room left for cream. The customer stated, "No, I want it to be pulled over for no reason", indicating that he wanted his coffee black. The black employee and his co-workers that gathered around, apparently this is some sort of a regular exchange, all began laughing and carrying on as if this was the funniest thing they have ever heard in their lives. However, standing next to the customer was a textbook snowflake, or "Karen" as they have been known to be called recently and began to berate the customer telling him that he cannot talk to the employee like that. There were no threats of violence made here, actually I think that most black people will agree with the fact that they are victims of frequent and unjust detainments by police officers in some cities.

How will this era of cultural sensitivity be brought back to reality? Alas readers, I cannot say- even with all of my years traveling the globe and immersing myself in the various backgrounds of people that inhabit our world. One thing I have learned though is that there is always something changing, hopefully this idiotic behavior is at the top of the list.

Readers, I apologize for such a long winded pick o' the week but felt it was an important topic to discuss since your Yellowjackets are vying against the chisholm longhorns and fully expect to see many displays of the "horns down".

That said, my pick is:

HORNS DOWN!

Kingfisher 52- chisholm- 0