Are all people (as individuals) special?
Is there something good or something of value that every person can offer? …think about that for a minute…reflect upon someone that you don’t like and apply these questions to that person.
I’m told that Mister Rogers used to tell everyone that they are special…was he right?..or off base?..maybe only SOME people are special.
Debate?
It’s always been a personal pet theory of mine that “I’m special!” is the root of all of our societal woes.
When people think that they are “special”, they disregard the other people around them in favor of their own wants/needs, giving them higher priority. They are the kind of people that head to the Ten Items or Less line with a full cart because they’re in a hurry. Because they believe that they are special they also believe that certian rules do not apply to them because their circumstances are special, as well. They feel that they should be treated differently than the rest of us, and have a million reasons why this rule, or that restriction should not apply to them. Why? Because they, and their circumstances are “special.”
“I’m special!” has been part of the demise of our culture, because it implicitly encourages selfishness, and the notion that you are seperate from the rest of humanity and that your wants and needs and circumstances are more important than that of others.
Unique? Yes.
Special? No.
Stoidela is correct. All individuals are unique, but very few individuals are special. What is the difference? Well, 3.5 inch floppy disks are not unique. They are mass produced in the zillions by factories worldwide and are made to conform exactly, or very nearly so, to specifications. Any physical differences, like color, are purely cosmetic and do not reflect any deeper change.
But some floppies are special. By virtue of the data stored on them, those floppies are not replaceable. However, you can copy them and make them no longer special. This is called backing up information and is highly recommended practice.
So floppies can be special without being unique. The opposite is true with humans.
Humans exist in a very wide range of variations. Some of us have dark hair, others light, and some no hair at all. The list of variations borders on infinite, especially when you consider variations at the genetic level. Every human yet born is unique.
But not all humans are special. Most of us are well within the normal range of variation, possessing no special abilities nor suffering from any special limitations. Michael Jordan is special. He has abilities very few humans possess. He can play basketball, with all the physical and mental skills that entails, extremely well.
So humans can be unique without being special.
I’ve always liked to view it that I am not particularly special. I’m a pretty normal human being and threfore deserve as much respect and courtesy as any other human being. But I don’t tend to view myself as special.
I do tend to view almost every other individual I’ve met as special in some way. Some in disagreeable ways, but most in pleasent ways.
And of course being a hetro male human being, I tend to consider female human beings as more special just on the basis of their being female 
-Doug
I don’t see why people feel the need to be “special”. I’m sure it can bring some validation for one’s existence, but most of the time I just want to be “mediocre at best”, usually when someone’s “Ooh”-ing and “Ah”-ing at a picture I’ve just drawn.
“Special” in my mind, can range from “Unraveling the mysteries of the Universe” to “Slaughtering five million people”. It’s not a good thing or a bad thing… it’s just a “thing”.
It’s also subjective. As a theatre-type-person, I’m around a lot of people who can act pretty damn well. So when I see someone on TV or in a movie who can act well, that doesn’t strike me as “special”, since it’s rather commonplace to me… although I DO acknowledge that many people probably find such talent to be “special”.
Each individual is special…to someone. It is perspectival.
When I rode the short bus, I felt extra special!