Have we become "too sensitive?"

[Hellis]

I realized that to late. My apologies dervs

 

[Dervish]

I realized that to late. My apologies dervs

No worries, my friend. I posted my initial post expecting some flak for it, and I ended up learning something new from people who are involved with that kind of social environment. Healthy discussion all around!

 

[govangogh]

Kicking up a fuss is what brings about progressive change.

If women just "settled down" when people said that they were making a big deal out of nothing, we'd never have the right to vote.

Enjoy whatever shows you want, but sometimes it's important to look at media critically and acknowledge that what you are consuming might be flawed. You can still like it, but it's important people make sure that their opinion is heard when it comes to things like representation so that things can continue to improve in the future.

 

[Protagonist]

Too sensitive? To a degree, yes. Really, the social justice warriors are the new moral guardians. They're like the people who wanted to ban Harry Potter from school, or ban all merchandise-based cartoons. In fact, these days it really is a witch-hunt. Anyone who shows even the slightest sign of being racist, sexist, transphobic, homophobic, is going to be isolated from the rest of society. While, sure, racism is one of the greater evils, that doesn't make their reactions good for the same reason that the evils of heresy aren't enough to justify the inquisition.

The thing is, our culture is starting to accept an idea that "progress" and "tolerance" should be accepted uncritically, and supported with almost religious fervor. Disagreeing with any social justice movement, therefore, is a thought crime.

 

[Darog]

It's really a very vocal minority that are way overly sensitive. The kind that no matter what changes can happen, no matter the circumstance, they will just shout and rave like a bunch of shouty mad fuckers, you can't really change that at all, even though society would better off without those kinds of people. They are people who, you know, don't just sit behind the fence and shout "THIS OFFENDS ME SO MUCH ERMAGAERD, CHANGE IT YOU PIECE OF SHIT" and actually DO something about it in a civil, non-pretentious way.

We need to ignore the shouty mad ones, and actually engage with the civil, less moronic kind.

 

[Kestrel]

Gender, sexuality and race provide other themes and perspectives to explore. However if this is not central to a piece, like most of this isn't, it becomes irrelevant to the piece. I guess it's nice for people in a world like this that there are X ethnicity/gender/sexuality characters they can identify with, but personally I feel character > ethnicity/gender/sexuality.

On the other hand, our backgrounds make us the people we are. For variation in characters, getting media that portrays different ethnicity/gender/sexuality and takes the nuances seriously seems an easy way to add a little bit of flavour to our TVtropes cast choices. Spice of life 'n all.

But I hardly feel we should be condemning creators for not doing it. While I do on the other hand feel like condemning creators for adding a certain ethnicity/gender/sexuality just for the sole sake of equal representation. Write something 'cause you're gonna use it in a meaningful way, either by theme, perspective or because it is an honest part of the character.

idk I have mixed feelings.

 

[Space Cowboy]

Kicking up a fuss is what brings about progressive change.

If women just "settled down" when people said that they were making a big deal out of nothing, we'd never have the right to vote.

Enjoy whatever shows you want, but sometimes it's important to look at media critically and acknowledge that what you are consuming might be flawed. You can still like it, but it's important people make sure that their opinion is heard when it comes to things like representation so that things can continue to improve in the future.

For you circle-jerkers, this is why.

 

[Jorick]

Kicking up a fuss is what brings about progressive change.

If women just "settled down" when people said that they were making a big deal out of nothing, we'd never have the right to vote.

Enjoy whatever shows you want, but sometimes it's important to look at media critically and acknowledge that what you are consuming might be flawed. You can still like it, but it's important people make sure that their opinion is heard when it comes to things like representation so that things can continue to improve in the future.

For you circle-jerkers, this is why.

Kicking up a fuss is good, but what I and some others in the thread are saying is that there's such a thing as going too far and causing more harm than the good that is done by whatever awareness is raised by the action. I'm curious as to how far either of you support the hypersensitivity thing as it pertains to practical application of things like trigger warnings and removing unsavory content to appease people who complain that it's triggering. To cherry pick a single example, do you think it's a good or bad thing that some law professors are removing the teaching of sexual assault and rape law from their courses because they don't want to deal with the complaints? Is that a progressive change, or is it something else?

 

[Darog]

For you circle-jerkers, this is why.

If your opinion is constructive and thoughtful, then no shit, yeah.

if your opinion consists of "THIS IS BAD BECAUSE XXXX IS NOT FAIRLY TREATED TO WHAT I WANT IT BE SO THEREFORE ITS THE WORST!" then no, we can acknowledge that this opinion exists, and that's it. It's their right to think that way, but it's everyone's right to either engage or ignore. I'd personally just ignore them

 

[govangogh]

Kicking up a fuss is good, but what I and some others in the thread are saying is that there's such a thing as going too far and causing more harm than the good that is done by whatever awareness is raised by the action. I'm curious as to how far either of you support the hypersensitivity thing as it pertains to practical application of things like trigger warnings and removing unsavory content to appease people who complain that it's triggering. To cherry pick a single example, do you think it's a good or bad thing that some law professors are removing the teaching of sexual assault and rape law from their courses because they don't want to deal with the complaints? Is that a progressive change, or is it something else?

I'd like to see what schools this is actually occuring at because sometimes these opinion pieces are a little vague. That's an interesting issue.

Of course I think that it should be mandatory to learn sexual assault law if you're obtaining a law degree, and the concerns expressed in that article are strange in that they have cause to exist. I dunno what to do about that.

BUT things like content warnings (which are what trigger warnings really are) don't really seem nonsensical to me? Like, we have warnings for things like graphic violence or sexual content before tv shows begin. You can go on imdb and check for potentially upsetting content before watching a movie. I think that's a good thing. I get the whole "exposure to overcome trauma" thing, but it's not really necessary sometimes? If someone tells me "oh, there is a needle going into someone's eye in this next scene" I am just gonna avoid watching it because that combines two of my biggest fears and is not something I really need to desensitize myself to. And for situations where I do need to come face to face with things that fuck with my mind, a little warning is always appreciated. Even a "Hey, there is some disturbing content in this book." can do wonders in decreasing emotional distress.

Sometimes it's necessary to confront fucked up shit, but a little heads up before that doesn't hurt.

(And all that being said, I on no level agree with doing away with volatile content. I just think that allowing people to prepare to encounter things that might drudge up previous trauma is a good idea)

EDIT: Also, I should probably mention that my first post waswritten solely adressing the OP. I wasn't arguing anything in the thread, and I haven't read most of it.

 

[unanun]

ITT smashing overripe fruit. Some subtle points:

- Did these problems always exist?
- If they did, are the people who cry out in indignation exercising their newfound voice?
- Will this die down over time?
- What's the established social ideology they are fighting against?
- Will a new one be established?

I am strongly normal and take delight in humour of all kinds - with people I know. Around strangers I am careful - but then again, who isn't? One of the first things you should learn as an adult is to put a filter over your mouth, and this has always been true.

On the other hand, the people who risk lynching for being outspoken should be applauded because they produce the humorous content. But sometimes it helps to see it from other point of view.

 

[Rainjay]

Personally, I feel we get a little too sensitive about these topics. I'm gay, a person of color and I am feminist, but I don't feel the need to have a prominent gay, colored, or female character in every game, show or book. Just cause we don't have it doesn't mean we're not diverse. I feel at times there is too much attention brought to gay, colored, or female lead characters. I also feel that sometimes we unnecessarily victimize ourselves over gays, people of color, or females being "stuck to the side roles in media."

I feel this. I love having representation, but the fact that all of Tumblr (for example, anyway..) seems hell bent on having EVERY character of EVERY show be either 1) female, 2) Something other than straight, and 3) Not anywhere close to being white (no matter how relevant it is to the setting, I.E Frozen) kind of makes me despise getting that representation, because it never comes off as natural. It's all, "Our fans will riot if we don't", or, "We are obligated to".



I feel like, as a race, our sensitivity is part of our flaws. Yes, I wouldn't want to go without it, but in a sense, it's what causes LOTS and LOTS of human conflict. I wonder if these problems would have arisen if we were just slightly less sensitive. Would it have kept anyone from caring about race and sexuality in the first place?

 

[Asmodeus]

The offended must cry out and the offender must explain. Neither should shrink from the task, and neither should be invalidated.

 

[Salsacookies]

The offended must cry out and the offender must explain. Neither should shrink from the task, and neither should be invalidated.

It is only natural. The status quo must not be poked!

 

[Temet Nosce]

I think a lot of this over sensitivity spawns from the Internet, or more specifically, Tumblr. That's one website that needs to be nuked from orbit. While I do have a Tumblr since some posts ARE funny, I've never seen a larger base of people with victimized attitudes. Lord help if you're a straight white male because you are suddenly responsible for 99% of hate crimes across the globe due to association. I've always laughed at the phrase "Check your privilege" because I thought it was a dumb parody.

That was until someone told me to check mine in all seriousness. Also, seriously, trigger warnings? I have to apologize beforehand for possibly offending someone?

Overall, the world has gotten more sensitive. That's not a bad thing though. It's actually a good thing. It's just like anything else however. A few rotten eggs spoil the bunch. The few vocal idiots will always make news before the sane majority.

 

[govangogh]

I think a lot of this over sensitivity spawns from the Internet, or more specifically, Tumblr. That's one website that needs to be nuked from orbit. While I do have a Tumblr since some posts ARE funny, I've never seen a larger base of people with victimized attitudes. Lord help if you're a straight white male because you are suddenly responsible for 99% of hate crimes across the globe due to association. I've always laughed at the phrase "Check your privilege" because I thought it was a dumb parody.

That was until someone told me to check mine in all seriousness. Also, seriously, trigger warnings? I have to apologize beforehand for possibly offending someone?

Overall, the world has gotten more sensitive. That's not a bad thing though. It's actually a good thing. It's just like anything else however. A few rotten eggs spoil the bunch. The few vocal idiots will always make news before the sane majority.

Trigger warnings aren't an apology, dingus. They act as a prior warning so that people can avoid content that they don't want to see. It actually prevents the need for apologies.

 

[Temet Nosce]

Trigger warnings aren't an apology, dingus. They act as a prior warning so that people can avoid content that they don't want to see. It actually prevents the need for apologies.

I think they are ridiculous regardless. Real life doesn't come with 'trigger warnings'. I also think it's a contributing factor to today's problem of 'over sensitivity'. The fact that people think others have to warn them so they don't get their precious feelings hurt is arrogant in my opinion.

 

[Dervish]

I think they are ridiculous regardless. Real life doesn't come with 'trigger warnings'. I also think it's a contributing factor to today's problem of 'over sensitivity'. The fact that people think others have to warn them so they don't get their precious feelings hurt is arrogant in my opinion.

While I find the whole term "trigger warning" silly instead of just going with the old fashioned disclaimers, they aren't really put there because people have thin skin. It's more for people who suffered from a traumatic event and basically have PTSD flashbacks if they come across something that makes them think of it. Kind of like how war veterans have all sorts of horrible and varied reactions to PDST, be it overreacting to loud noises, finding war movies unwatchable because they bring back bad memories, and so on so forth, some rape and sexual assault victims have very similar responses to their trauma, and even just reading about sexual assault might bring them back to when it happened to them.

It's really not hard to just skim past it. Just remember, it's not for you. It's a courtesy thing for other people.

Now, granted, there's a lot of people who act victimized over literally anything and act like total bags of shit for no reason, making a "Boy of Cried Wolf" situation for actual survivors of horrific situations, much in the same way where it's gotten to the point where when most people think of the word feminist, radical man haters come to mind instead of people who just want equality and fair treatment between sexes.

 

[Kaddoc]

I think they are ridiculous regardless. Real life doesn't come with 'trigger warnings'. I also think it's a contributing factor to today's problem of 'over sensitivity'. The fact that people think others have to warn them so they don't get their precious feelings hurt is arrogant in my opinion.

Not only is it arrogant but very pretentious to the levels of insufferable narcissism and evokes a dangerous trend in society of communications breaking down. So we just need to keep quiet because we might offend someone unintentionally? Fuck that noise. Like anything else in this life there is a risk and I'm going to roll the dice if I damn well please whether you like it or not. No sane person can "filter" themselves for everyone, especially for these professional whiners who walk among us.

This so-called progress some of you are touting has mutated into something extremely ugly, destructive and exceedingly hypocritical if not flat out hateful.

Fuck progress if I have to apologize for being white, male, straight and traditional in many other facets that the liberal academics hate or whatever else causes a buzz in this over politicized society we walled ourselves into. If you are so insecure in your own skin that you have to bash people over the head to tolerate you while most of us as a whole are doing something much more, like coexisting, then you're the problem and not those you like to persecute. This is no longer progress. This is a witch hunt.

Yeah I'll "check my privilege" alright. My privilege to put my foot up your ass if you cross the line.

 

[govangogh]

I think they are ridiculous regardless. Real life doesn't come with 'trigger warnings'. I also think it's a contributing factor to today's problem of 'over sensitivity'. The fact that people think others have to warn them so they don't get their precious feelings hurt is arrogant in my opinion.

Real life... does... come with trigger warnings...

Have you ever bought a movie and before it begins it's like "Rated R for graphic violence, frontal nudity, scenes of a sexual nature, disturbing imagery etc".

Those are literally content warnings.