dagblog - Comments for "Safe Spaces, Trigger Warnings, And Mental Blocks"

The student protests may be

rmrd0000 — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 06:12:52 +0000

In reply to The students are expressing

The student protests may be less about some sense of emotional security and more about limits on attacks of minority groups. Their so-called "sensitivities" lag behind those of many Europeans.

.https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/11/21/why-protesters...

The students are expressing

rmrd0000 — Sun, 17 Jan 2016 02:21:31 +0000

In reply to Your analysis is flawed.

The students are expressing their first amendment rights. In addition, they are going into debt to get their education.

I agree. There's been a lot

ocean-kat — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 21:02:24 +0000

In reply to And I have trouble believing

I agree. There's been a lot of distorted reporting on her and that's likely all most students know. I like Ali and think much can be learned by a fair consideration of her ideas. But that's not the point. Condi Rice and others have had their speeches canceled or they have withdrawn because they didn't wish to be a part of these fights. I disagree with Rice vehemently but she's an intelligent and accomplished SoS and I would like to hear her speak. The force being applied here is not from the administration forcing students to listen to bs. These liberal anti-free speech fascists want to stop liberal people like me and others from hearing her speak.

And I have trouble believing

PeraclesPlease — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 20:29:33 +0000

In reply to Your analysis is flawed.

And I have trouble believing most students have a good idea of Hirsi Ali's positions - I frankly haven't looked at her in probably 10 years - undoubtedly her position comes across different in person vs what's written as well. Certainly mass genital mutilation might be worth discussing as much as ISIS attacks and other horrors that confront us.

Your analysis is flawed.

ocean-kat — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 20:01:46 +0000

In reply to Thank you for responding. I

Your analysis is flawed. Except on some fundamentalist Christian colleges like Liberty University no one is "being forced to consume bs." If some students don't want to waste time they can stay home. What happens far too often is some students want to force all students to not hear what a person has to say by getting a lecture canceled. They may be operating from a position of strength but it's a strength that administrators should not submit to. Perhaps a course on free speech and the First Amendment should be a college requirement for students.

Thank you for responding. I

rmrd0000 — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 18:51:06 +0000

In reply to Thanks for commenting. You

Thank you for responding. I think we are talking about two different phenomena. There were Brave young people protesting in Baltimore. There were Brave protestors in Ferguson and Staten Island. A brave black woman, Bree Newsome, took down the Confederate flag in South Carolina. The strong blood lines persist.

The college speech limitation protests are different. We interpret the speech limitations as being afraid of discussions with people who have different opinions. It may be that the students are tired of being forced to consume BS. We assume that students who protest an appearance by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, for example, are delicate flowers who cannot bear to hear criticism of Muslims. It may be that the students know that the students are fully aware of Ali's analysis of the Muslim world. The students may believe that criticizing Muslims and faulting them for not rejecting Islam is an irrational way to solve the problem of Fundamentalists who commit acts of terror. The students may feel that putting the label of Islam on the terrorists legitimizes them as acting on the faith rather than bastardizing the faith. The students have seen Ali on C-SPAN and other televised outlets. They have read her words online (or, heaven forbid, the library). They were familiar with, or had read her books. The students might view her views as BS.They might feel that there is nothing to be learned from hearing a lecture. There as no going to be an exchange of ideas. The lecture would be a waste of time. The students were operating from a position of strength, not weakness.

The students who have fight taken out of them are a separate problem. It may be that their parents have lost hope and that is the model the children are following.

I can agree with that.

Danny Cardwell — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 04:25:38 +0000

In reply to Whatever political power the

I can agree with that.

Are you really stunting your

Flavius — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 02:58:47 +0000

In reply to Let's suppose that Ann

Are you really stunting your education by protesting Coulter speaking on campus?

Yes. You should protest what she says but not the invitation to her to say it.

Maybe your sign should say

We defend Coulter's right to lie.

Whatever political power the

moat — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 02:08:41 +0000

In reply to Safe Spaces, Trigger Warnings, And Mental Blocks

Whatever political power the Right may have, it is profitable to consider how much of the cultural war they have declared to have already been won by the Left. The groups supporting Trump and other splinter GOP ideologies all speak of this ascendency of control by forces that has not occurred. The reason that the fiction has so much traction with certain groups is that it explains how the development of an open society where all people can make their contribution is not really happening. But it is happening.

The opposition is staying well away from the hard stuff.

Thanks for commenting. You

Danny Cardwell — Fri, 15 Jan 2016 21:50:00 +0000

In reply to I think that we buy into

Thanks for commenting. You are 100% correct when it comes to the vicious nature of the attacks protesters are facing from the Trump crowd. I'm not attacking these kids to hurt them; I want them to be prepared to face the verbal and, God forbid, physical attacks that seem to be a part of protesting a repressive state apparatus. By the time I was a teenager I had been called every racial slur imaginable. I developed a thick skin at an early age. I'm not advocating that kids should be victims to any kind of abuse. I have nieces and nephews who thank God didn't have to endure the racism I did as a child, but I don't confuse ideas that are unpopular with harassment and physical threats. As far as supporting these kids goes, I've been on the streets. When Martese Johnson was beaten up by VA ABC law enforcement I was there marching with Bishop Gordon Fields, Minister Marcus Williams, and the rest of my brothers and sisters from Living Waters Baptist Church and Pilgrim Baptist Church. I was in Baltimore on April 25th and 26th of last year, a very unpopular decision with my wife since the 26th was our anniversary. I'm not just beating keys on an old computer. I've benefited from men and women who made much greater sacrifices than we are asking these kids to make. I had over 100 at risk kids at my Uncle Sammie's church, First Baptist in Rocky Mount, VA a few weeks back. What I see is too many kids having the ability to fight sucked out of them before they ever develop it. I live in the rural south; after South Carolina removed the Confederate flag the kids in their teens and twenties went off. I see the anger and rage that gets reported on the evening news. I'm afraid we are raising a segment of our future base to be soft. We don't need them to pick up arms, but we can't have them ducking conflict either. The far right wants to take "their" country back. This is more than an idle threat. I hope I'm wrong.