Over recent years micro-aggressions and tigger warnings have become much more specific and “extreme.” Americans today are fearful for their children growing up in a world with so much hate and so much violence, mentally and physically. After a multitude of school shootings and other horrific events, such as, “after the 1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado, many schools cracked down on bullying” (Lukianoff and Haidt). With all this school violence parents and everyone else involved with the school system want to makes schools as safe as possible and that includes implementing the trigger warnings and being careful with micro-aggressions. They don’t want kids to be harmed in anyway from any possible offensive material taught in class. Some examples like not being able to ask an Asian person where they’re from are a bit extreme (Lukianoff and Haidt). The article says it implies the Asian person is not American, however, people are asked where they’re from all of the time no matter what race because they could be from different states or towns. People want to get to know each other and it can be difficult if they’re worried they’ll offend people.
“Fortune telling” and “trigger warnings” create a society where they are afraid to face the truth and therefore fix certain issues. Based on psychology, “helping people with anxiety disorders avoid the things they fear is misguided” (Lukianoff and Haidt). Yes, it’s important to inform a person with an anxiety disorder of a possible “trigger warning” that will set them off in order to prevent an anxiety attack. However, if the person with the anxiety disorder never has to encounter the thing or trigger that gives them anxiety, then they will never overcome their anxiety. Not only with anxiety but if something is offensive to someone and they have the option to not have to interact with in in school, then they will not know how to deal with it in the outside world. School and especially the higher levels of education are supposed to prepare and inform their students for the outside world. Students will not know how to succeed, especially in instances where they feel uncomfortable. They were once sheltered from the uncomfortable situations in school, but now, in the outside world they are vulnerable like sitting ducks waiting to be plucked off because their shield of “trigger warnings” and “fortune telling” is gone.
In order for someone to develop mentally in their life they must be faced with challenges along the way. For some people they, “believe they have a right not to be offended” (Lukianoff and Haidt). If those people believe they have a right not to be offended then it’s most likely they will do everything they can so that they are not offended. But, if for some reason or possibility they do run into an offensive situation they will become paralyzed with not knowing what to do. Instead of avoiding offensive situations we need to teach them, “that every time they push out of their comfort zone to learn something new and difficult, the neurons on their brain can form new, stronger connections, and over time, they can get smarter” (Dweck). People like to become smarter and have their mind grow stronger, but, if they don’t push out of their comfort zones then they cannot grow. People need to have a “growth mindset” so they can face challenges and offensive situations that could offend or hurt them.
Haidt, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan. “How Trigger Warnings Are Hurting Mental Health on Campus.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 31 July 2017, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/09/the-coddling-of-the-american-mind/399356/.
Talks, TEDx, director. YouTube. YouTube, YouTube, 12 Sept. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-swZaKN2Ic&feature=youtu.be.
