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University of Chicago: ‘We Do Not Support So-Called Trigger Warnings’

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Re: University of Chicago: ‘We Do Not Support So-Called Trigger Warnings’

#151

Post by dri_ft »

warkdarrior wrote: post #138
coddingtonbear wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That might be true, but there are a variety of cases where we've decided to stop using a word in general in order to avoid causing undue distress; "slave" (i/r/t "master" and "slave") in a computing context is now generally always phrased in another way, for example.

> "slave" (i/r/t "master" and "slave") in a computing context is now generally always phrased in another way, for example I need to educate myself. What do people use instead of "slave device" in computing?

"Servant". I prefer "slave".

Re: University of Chicago: ‘We Do Not Support So-Called Trigger Warnings’

#152

Post by jpfed »

sverige wrote: post #137
jpfed wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're making this way more complicated than it needs to be. The point of extending the courtesy of trigger warnings isn't that you will, with 100% certainty, prevent anyone from entering a state of psychological distress. That's obviously not attainable. But let's not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. There's really obvious stuff that instructors could warn about, but aren't. After I posted a similar…

First, the very act of learning can cause psychological distress. It may involve being forced to consider that some of your long-cherished ideas are wrong. This creates a crisis since either you abandon the wrong idea you've held or you ignore the new information you've acquired. One of the most effective ways of learning is to hear and consider ideas opposed to the ones you currently hold. But these kinds of things…

In my grandparent post, I advocate treating trigger warnings and safe spaces separately. I have no intention of defending safe spaces in a university context.

Trigger warnings do not prevent the consideration of any particular idea. They help students choose the best time to engage with the material in question. If you've been warned that a particular piece of content is potentially disturbing, you can schedule your reading (or viewing) for when you're ready- so afterwards you can actually think about it instead of attending to your screaming autonomic nervous system.

Re: University of Chicago: ‘We Do Not Support So-Called Trigger Warnings’

#153

Post by ralusek »

jordigh wrote: post #73
basseq wrote: post #22

This is tough . With the aspirations of "civility and mutual respect" along with "rigorous debate, discussion, and even disagreement", I would hope any truly egregious edge cases disappear. In the middle, I think people have the right to remove themselves from discussions—civil or otherwise—that they don't want to listen to or engage. But that right doesn't limit others' ability to have those selfsame discussions in…

> "A trigger warning is advance notice about subject material that may be difficult for certain students to read, hear or see." But that's not what trigger warnings are for... it's not just about mild discomfort. They're to prevent panic attacks . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauma_trigger Whether trigger warnings are effective or not is a different matter, but of course if you portray them as being about being off…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flooding_(psychology)

I had a fear of heights that bordered on panic attacks. I worked out of the 29th floor of a building for the first time in my life and felt like half of the day was spent thinking about how high I was.

I was looking for housing and every highrise I had to look out the window and feel a wave of intense panic. So I chose a highrise, and made myself look out the window all the time. Took some time, but I definitely don't have the same reaction I used to. I'm actually totally fine.

Re: University of Chicago: ‘We Do Not Support So-Called Trigger Warnings’

#154

Post by bbctol »

cmdrfred wrote: post #90
sp332 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When my grandfather got back from WWII, he went to work at a printing press. One day a neon sign fell and shattered just across the room from him. When he became aware of himself again, he had ripped up all of his fingernails trying to dig a foxhole in the concrete floor with his bare hands. Recovery is always the goal, not keeping someone continually vulnerable. And over time, in more controlled circumstances, expos…

Why didn't he and his fellows advocate for "trigger warnings" then? Perhaps a greater sense of personal responsibility? I'm honestly curious.

Because they'd get sent to an asylum. Because you had to keep all mental issues to yourself, lest you be seen as weak and shut out of normal society. Because it really, really, really sucked to be a victim of trauma for most of history.

It's not like people were so much stronger back then that no women complained about the normalization of sexual assault, it's that those that did were forcibly silenced. It's not that mental health issues didn't exist, they were just quickly swept under the rug.

Re: University of Chicago: ‘We Do Not Support So-Called Trigger Warnings’

#155

Post by barsonme »

warkdarrior wrote: post #138
coddingtonbear wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That might be true, but there are a variety of cases where we've decided to stop using a word in general in order to avoid causing undue distress; "slave" (i/r/t "master" and "slave") in a computing context is now generally always phrased in another way, for example.

> "slave" (i/r/t "master" and "slave") in a computing context is now generally always phrased in another way, for example I need to educate myself. What do people use instead of "slave device" in computing?

The projects I've seen have gone with "leader/follower" https://github.com/django/django/commit/8a95b4fca793eeb8adce...

Re: University of Chicago: ‘We Do Not Support So-Called Trigger Warnings’

#156

Post by zamalek »

stephenitis wrote: post #131

Safe spaces and banned trigger words creates the tendency for people to silo themselves in a echo chamber of their own ideas. This manifests itself later on in our population in the form of filtering friends and news who dissent against their opinion. The rise of these recent techniques of protest are more a failure of our high schools and universities to provide sufficient visibility and importance to debate and dis…

> silo themselves in a echo chamber of their own ideas

An immutable mind is a weak mind. If you have to silence your opponent in order to win, you really haven't done research. Both of these are at odds with the concept of an institute of learning.

Re: University of Chicago: ‘We Do Not Support So-Called Trigger Warnings’

#157

Post by wyager »

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #81

I'm not clear why people on both sides of the debate seem to be interpreting "trigger warnings" as "no triggers allowed." It's meant to be exactly what it sounds like, a advance warning of upcoming content, so that vulnerable people can take appropriate action. That doesn't mean that such content should be forbidden, or that sexual assault victims should get credit for a course that they didn't attend; just that they…

The emotionally healthy approach is to try and deal with stress disorders, not to shield everyone from every possible stressor.

Re: University of Chicago: ‘We Do Not Support So-Called Trigger Warnings’

#158

Post by nkrisc »

seibelj wrote: post #104

Some 18 year olds fight in wars and die. Other 18 year olds cry and throw tantrums when someone says a word that they don't like hearing. The world we live in!

Trust me, that isn't limited by any means to 18 year olds.

Re: University of Chicago: ‘We Do Not Support So-Called Trigger Warnings’

#159

Post by panglott »

secabeen wrote: post #19
norea-armozel wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So student associations shouldn't be allowed to not allow certain people into their meetings if they're found to be abusive? Because that's the point of a safe space if you didn't know. It's not unlike support groups who can and will eject people who are known to be abusive or otherwise disclose information outside the support group without permission of all members. So, to say that safe spaces shouldn't be allowed i…

No, because the statement expressly says "freedom of expression does not mean the freedom to harass or threaten others."

Support groups also deserve freedom of association. Requiring them to prove that the people who constantly derail their groups' activities are harassers puts the burden on them, rather than on the people who are crashing and disrupting their meetings.

Re: University of Chicago: ‘We Do Not Support So-Called Trigger Warnings’

#160

Post by tangent128 »

Jeema101 wrote: post #113
jordigh wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "A trigger warning is advance notice about subject material that may be difficult for certain students to read, hear or see." But that's not what trigger warnings are for... it's not just about mild discomfort. They're to prevent panic attacks . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauma_trigger Whether trigger warnings are effective or not is a different matter, but of course if you portray them as being about being off…

Avoidance in the form of 'trigger warnings' may actually worsen the underlying problem for people with PTSD because avoidance can strengthen the underlying fear. Successful treatment often actually involves confronting the fear, little by little, until it no longer causes discomfort: "Exposure therapy is a type of cognitive behavioral therapy[118] that involves assisting trauma survivors to re-experience distressing…

Exposure therapy can be effective, but under controlled circumstances as supervised by a professional and prepared for by the patient.

Uncontrolled exposure is more likely to worsen the anxiety than extinguish it.

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