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Trigger warnings
Jun. 1st, 2015 11:58 am
No, not that Trigger.
Lately, everyone seems to be demanding trigger warnings on everything. There is some mockery of college students wanting their teachers to warn them about "passages that may evoke an unpleasant emotion." There is much mockery of those who requested applause be exchanged for jazz hands, because applause and whooping can interrupt the speaker, or distract and intimidate. Be honest, how many places have you been where the applause got to be annoying in its interruption? (I've been using jazz hands for years because of my arthritis)
I've been known to say "If you require a 'trigger warning: violence' for the mere word 'violence' how in the world do you function?"
I understand that people can be triggered, and unexpectedly, by many things.
I sent a friend into a cringing flashback simply by snapping my belt. (I apologized profusely)
I had a drowning flashback during a music video, for no readily apparent reason. (I've watched drowning scenes in movies, but this video sent me gasping for air. Shame as it's one of my favorite songs.)
I've seen my sister be triggered and fly into an absolute rage. (She harnessed that rage and put her rapist behind bars forever)
I've had a friend panic herself into an asthma attack because my messy kitchen mentally sent her right back into a 10 year long abusive relationship and for a while it felt as if she hadn't escaped.
But triggering is not simply "This bit of writing makes me sad or mad or vexed." It isn't even my reaction to Lolita: "This man is making me complicit in the rape of his 12 year old stepdaughter and I want a shower!" It's not mere discomfort or dislike. It's not feeling unpleasant.
Triggering is a much deeper reaction than simple "eww." It's much more than an unpleasant image that lingers long after the book is closed. It's uncontrollable. It requires recovery and reorientation time.
But some of the current requests feel less like "please help me not have a flashback" and more like "don't push my comfort levels", "Don't make me think about unpleasant things" and "warn me for everything."
We're all damaged, true enough. But there comes a point when you have to stand up and face the damage and walk on. Staying in the comfort zone gets you nowhere.
