ASA 2
Sec A03
Week 7: Academic Freedom and Its Threats - Ethnic Cover,
"Diversity", and Politically Correct (PCness)
"How Trigger Warnings are Hurting Mental Health on Campus" by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt claims that the university is increasingly policing the speech and actions of students and professors alike, as to avoid offending or "triggering" anyone. "A movement is arising," the authors assert, "to scrub campuses clean of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause discomfort or give offense" (p. 1). This "vindictive protectiveness" does little to prepare students for professional life, which often does not cushion or sugar coat words just because someone might be sensitive to the vocabulary. Lukianoff and Haidt blame this emerging trend on the surge in crime from the '60s to the early '90s that made Baby Boomer parents more protective of their own children, the growing political polarization, and the prevalence of social media and its effectiveness at engaging millennials in society. The article also condemns what it calls "higher education's embrace of 'emotional reasoning'", stating that subjective feelings now dominate campus debates and discussions. These subjective feelings are not only an expression; they are accusatory, in that contend that the speaker has doing something objectively wrong. This phenomenon, the authors affirm, leads to many extreme cases in which people are unreasonably barred from speaking their mind or even teaching material on the basis that these texts may "trigger" other individuals.
When I read this article, I was shocked at the examples of the most extreme cases that painted seemingly minor offenses as inhumane and evil crimes. I do, in some part, agree with the assertions of Lukianoff and Haidt, in that I believe that some people nowadays may be more sensitive and easily offended, and that this characteristic should not block fellow students from learning the material or attending the event that is triggering to another. When the authors lay out these ridiculous incidents, it's not hard to admit that maybe there is a sense of "vindictive protectiveness" spreading around campuses. However, it is necessary that we do not forget that there is still genuinely "triggering" material circulating in university campuses that are built on inclusiveness and acceptance of diversity. Besides the most extreme cases, there are still cases in which it is reasonable that an individual is upset or uncomfortable with the expressions of another.
Question: Where/how do we draw the line between something that's genuinely "triggering" and something that's only mildly offensive and should not be censored?
References:
Lukianoff, G. L., & Haidt, J. (2015, November 20). The Coddling of the American Mind. Retrieved May 14, 2017, from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/
Sommers Event Sparks Dialogue, Protest. (2015, April 21). Retrieved May 14, 2017, from http://www.thehoya.com/sommers-event-sparks-dialogue-protest/
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