Board 8 > venting about trigger warnings

(+) Yeah! (+)

i hate them and I think they are furthering the cause of weak babbies who demand the world caters to them but I can also concede ground that there are topics that cause people extreme anxiety and attempt to understand their point of view. If a classroom of people are talking about abortion and a girl has had an abortion she might feel personally attacked by a group of people condemning it without knowing her situation etc etc hypotheticals

but the former part of my point is reinforced over the past few days from my facebook wall

there's a Netflix show that just came out called 13 Reasons Why that attempts to deal with the topic of suicide somehow. From what I've seen, it's actively trying to show how different people are affected by different things and taking a creative look at it. Some people think it's glamorizing suicide, whatever, I will probably never watch it.

There's a girl on my facebook though, who for the past three days has made multiple statuses about how the very mention of the show is triggering to her because she's OMG THE ONLY PERSON IN THE WORLD THAT HAS DEALT WITH SUICIDE, to the point where she is flat out demanding that anyone on her friend's list not even bring the show up. "This whole thing is TRIGGERING and everyone needs to just be quiet" direct quote

How did it get like this. She's got people backing her up on all her statuses, echoing her statements that people shouldn't be allowed to make comments about a NETFLIX SHOW that from what I see tries to delicately deal with a sensitive topic. It's art. Probably not very good art, but art none the less. If people don't even wanna see mention of something like this, which is basically a high-school drama about suicide, how are they going to react to something like The Pillowman or How I Learned to Drive, which are both fantastic pieces of art dealing with MUCH darker subjects.

I dunno man, I understand having anxiety and I also understand having trouble with suicide, one of my best friends killed himself last year. But my opinion is that having a close experience with something like that should make you want to take in art that explores the darkness instead of plugging your ears and pretending it doesn't exist.

What do you guys think
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oh and in before some cool guy asks if she's triggering me, I unfollowed her so I don't have to see another status about it lol
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I see the endemic growth of trigger warnings as one of the main areas where the left as a whole has gone too far, as with the similar area of political correctness.
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You think this is a case of "Give them an inch and they'll take a mile" basically?

Like at the beginning it was pretty reasonable and professors were like "well okay, this is a pretty sensitive, disturbing topic, I want my students to be aware that we're going over some pretty dark material." and now suddenly people are saying they're triggered by the word "dad" because their father left when they were a child.
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You need to accept that humans are flawed in a myriad of ways.
You're focusing on a specific trend that is bringing to light a very old part of humanity (what you call a cry baby). This is making you unhappy because you think it's a new problem but it's really not.

Don't get frustrated when you encounter flawed humans, it's always been there. Ignore them or if you really want to, patiently bring to people's attention what you think is wrong with this behavior.

I'm being vague but that's because this applies to a lot of things.
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Honestly I could give a fuck about trigger warnings. It's a damn TV show. It's not made for one person. It's made for many people.
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pjbasis posted...

patiently bring to people's attention what you think is wrong with this behavior.

This is kind of what I'm trying to do here, honestly.
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I legit never see trigger warnings outside of being used as a joke, so I really wonder if this is just an issue of consorting with weirdos.
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Isn't there someone on this board who blocks people if you trick him into looking at a spider or something? This shit isn't new it's just getting more annoying lately.

also pillowman is fucked up
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skull_bonek23 posted...

also pillowman is f***ed up

no joke
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I wasn't implying you weren't either, but the topic title uses the word "vent." So just try not to feel too emotional when you see it,for your own sake.
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I agree, ExTha. Anxiety is certainly becoming prominent as parents continue to project their own anxiety onto their newborns. "Just deal with it" is now some sort of hate crime and helicopter parents are treated like sane people.

I heard someone say they were being triggered in real life for the first time, non sarcastically, just recently and because of the internet i immediately disliked them.
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Xiahou Shake posted...

I legit never see trigger warnings outside of being used as a joke, so I really wonder if this is just an issue of consorting with weirdos.

Yeah this too. Don't take what you see on social media too seriously. The most extreme loudest voices are the ones that get the most attention. It's like watching the news.
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Content warnings are important; it's nice to have a reference of what you're getting into, and if it is particularly effecting to someone, it's good to give them the option to not engage with that particular work.

It doesn't really work outside the context of art and entertainment, and it's too often used as a form of censorship online. If merely hearing the title of a work about suicide is triggering, your trigger is too common to be properly protected against. The problem is, triggers are an actual thing some people have, but a bunch of assholes who don't have triggers have started using the phrase to shut down discussion of things that make them uncomfortable (which is different than a trigger).

Hopefully, people will someday realize that triggers are an actual element of certain disorders and the result tends to be a whole lot more visceral than discomfort. It's the same thing as gluten allergies; the sudden explosion of misuse harms the few people who actually suffer from the condition. I'm also pretty sure triggers don't work the way people think.
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The point of a trigger warning is to allow someone to know what to expect before a topic is raised, so it doesn't come as a surprise because people are able to have a better psychological reaction to the material with the knowledge of it. It's the same thing as not being scared by a jump scare you know is coming - your brain is able to protect itself with the foreknowledge of what is coming.

It was never meant to be "Hey, we mention sex in this class, don't come if you don't want to hear about it." It was "Hey, we mention sex in this class, please be aware of that before you walk in the door."

The idea of being able to actively remove any mention of a concept that you declare to be triggering is simply censorship.
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I'm a bit ambivalent about it. if someone makes a personal request to me not to discuss a subject, I will usually take their request into consideration. if someone wants to be addressed a certain way, then I'll usually honor their request. but there is really a dark side to this as well and it's where I draw the line.

if people ask me to never discuss a subject because it could potentially upset theoretical listeners, I will not take their request into consideration at all. if people ask me to avoid using certain forms of addressing others because it could potentially upset someone who I may not have known did not want to be addressed in that fashion, I'll not honor that kind of request. it just makes language and communication in general clunky and seems to serve no purpose other than giving power to the people who decide what kind of language is being censored.

basically general rules are garbage and should be ignored. a personal request from someone you know is something you should usually consider honoring, unless it's clearly being made as an attempt to be difficult.

for example if people do not like lasa sharing his political opinions and so they request that he does not discuss politics anymore. this isn't being done to prevent anyone emotional or psychological harm it's only being done to silence him. I don't think he is obligated to honor that kind of request.
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And I will forever believe that 70-90% of people with "anxiety" are people who have anxiety as a symptom to a different issue, rather than anxiety being a brain problem. Inability to communicate properly, skewed perception, etc..If we keep medicating parents who don't know how to raise a child without the same problems, we will see increased rates of anxiety.

there are going to be crazies and ignorant people on every end of the spectrum, and i wouldn't think about it too hard. facebook is a silly place
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you did the right thing by unfriending. i personally have 'un-followed' a few people that go way overboard and just stress me out when i'm really just on there to reply to an event
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Terastodon posted...

The point of a trigger warning is to allow someone to know what to expect before a topic is raised, so it doesn't come as a surprise because people are able to have a better psychological reaction to the material with the knowledge of it. It's the same thing as not being scared by a jump scare you know is coming - your brain is able to protect itself with the foreknowledge of what is coming.

yeah I agree with this line of logic to some extent.

I did use a trigger warning one time in one of my writing projects where the sensitive topic of rape was discussed, though not shown directly. none of the readers even reacted to it so I'm assuming no one actually cared or was even bothered. but still it's probably something I'd do again just in case anyone did not want to read about it. at least they would be given the choice ahead of time.

although I certainly would not have cut that scene from the story even if someone asked me to.
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It's interesting to see that we all sort of draw the line at the same place.
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Right. Trigger warnings are great when used properly; they are for the benefit of the person consuming the content, and if you aren't triggered, it shouldn't offend you that people who are are warned.

The girl in ExTha's example seems to be going way overboard, trying to use it to cater others to her demands. Which is fine, you have every right to make such an extreme demand, but don't be surprised if people are less inclined to associate with you.
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Jakyl25 posted...

Which is fine, you have every right to make such an extreme demand, but don't be surprised if people are less inclined to associate with you.

haha this is brilliantly summed up.
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I'd have blocked her ass the second she started tripping and involving others.
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take solace in knowing 13 reasons why is a badly-written show which has 80% dialog that sounds directly extracted from posts on tumblr with at least 300 reblogs. take it from someone who just binge-watched it a few days ago.

maybe someone should stop having alcohol depicted in media, what if there's recovering alcoholics in the audience? the trigger warning thing can go as far as you can imagine. if the very mention of suicide triggers you, the problem is yours and not the people's, and you clearly need help because (un?)fortunately we live in a world in which suicide is brought up constantly. there's a reason "kms" has an urban dictionary entry.
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Nothing wrong with trigger warnings by themselves.

It's the people taking things too far that's the issue. Taken to an extreme, anything can be a negative.


(Also lolfacebook holy shit is that place awful these days)
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ExThaNemesis posted...

oh and in before some cool guy asks if she's triggering me, I unfollowed her so I don't have to see another status about it lol

Damn came in here to be this cool guy
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^ No worse than any other Social media shitshow platform
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i think if someone who has contemplated or attempted suicide wants to avoid all discussion of suicide, that might be a sensible move for her. but on a public forum, the onus is on her to avoid reading posts that might contain upsetting material if the only other option is for others to stop discussing it

that said, if a friend of mine wanted me to i wouldn't particularly mind putting a content note in the header before writing about certain content (not a friend and i probably wouldn't care enough to do it)

i know tumblr's tag system makes it easy to filter out content - perhaps you could suggest it to this girl as a platform that may better suit her needs
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I just want to say I find it oddly funny that Extha made this topic about trigger warnings but apparently he still has his profanity filter on.
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i still have mine on too way too much work to turn it off

this story doesn't really inform anything about trigger warnings, it's one person being an asshole on the internet
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If you are triggered by something that blocks you from listening to facts than there is a problem.
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in her case it sounds like she needs more exposure to material related to suicide, not less, and to understand that a trigger isn't the same as being uncomfortable. that seems to be a major problem with the tumblr gen like this girl.
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I don't really know how to approach it exactly because I don't really have to deal with shit like that. I only go onto Facebook for Pokemon go groups or message people that are difficult to get ahold of otherwise, and I don't do any other social media at all. I don't really experience anything like what this girl is doing. if something I say does trigger someone I typically just go over the top and act more triggered be them being triggered because I don't give a fuck and I find it interesting... but that's rare and I don't even know if counts as what triggering is meant to mean, and ive been doing that since before trigger was defined the way it is in this case. back then, it was just me saying whatever and someone being a little sensitive bitch about it and getting pissed off and overreacting, to which I display that I'm more pissed off and over-overreact. there weren't terms back then. *shrugs*

edit: on the other hand, sometimes in a conversation, someone will say something like "this is getting too uncomfortable. I don't wanna talk about this anymore let's change the subject" and I'm all "ok fair enough" and I've done that too.
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It's art. Probably not very good art, but art none the less.

What gets me is that the 'trigger warning' people tend to fancy themselves the creative/artistic type, but they have this notion that art shouldn't be provocative or upsetting.

A ton of people of all types have that opinion about art when it's art they don't like
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My opinion is that trigger warnings are fair. But a lot of people have decided that any and all discussion of not only serious subject matters but simple controversial subject matters should be banned for fear of upsetting someone. Because that's essentially what it's become: this upsets someone, so you shouldn't talk about it.

In particular, I get people having issues with suicide if you've been through that. But if you are having issues with suicide that a mere discussion of a fake story about it is something that you are incapable of seeing, then I'm sorry, but you need to get more help. I haven't watched this series, but I probably will soon. But it's not glorifying suicide. It doesn't make it something trendy or cool. It makes it real. And if you have issues with suicide, then you should appreciate that there's something out there that's willing to make a serious commentary on it and get people more educated. But if your first response is "I can't see anything even talking about this" then you need to seek help. And I don't mean that to sound insensitive, because I do sympathize with people who have difficulty with serious and personal subjects like these, but if that's honest to goodness how you feel, then you clearly have some issues with it still that are holding you back as a person, and you should seek help to get better.
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skull_bonek23 posted...

Isn't there someone on this board who blocks people if you trick him into looking at a spider or something? This shit isn't new it's just getting more annoying lately.

This is 150% fair and isn't the same thing as people overusing being "triggered"

If you purposely try to fuck with somebody's phobia, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that person blocking you, since you took an intentional act to be a dick to them. That's quite different than "Mentioning this Netflix show triggers me"
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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Damn came in here to be this cool guy

rekt

mnkboy907 posted...

I just want to say I find it oddly funny that Extha made this topic about trigger warnings but apparently he still has his profanity filter on.

I keep hearing about this but I have absolutely no idea how to shut it off.

SeabassDebeste posted...

this story doesn't really inform anything about trigger warnings, it's one person being an a****** on the internet

You're probably right but I made the leap because this person also days before going on her 13 reasons why tirade was talking about why trigger warnings are so important and how if you make fun of them you're an asshole etc etc
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Click your username with the gear at the top > hover over settings, click advanced settings > profanity filter is at the bottom of the top section > scroll down and save settings

Takes like 15 seconds.
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It's really cool. You can say fuck
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there I shut my shit off
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you still can't say ******* though, which is the best profanity
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If a classroom of people are talking about abortion and a girl has had an abortion she might feel personally attacked by a group of people condemning it without knowing her situation etc etc hypotheticals

Honestly, even this is giving too much ground.

If people are obviously debating the general issue of abortion, and you decide to take it as "OH GOD THEY ARE ATTACKING ME PERSONALLY" that is you being stupid and over-sensitive and it is not society's obligation to indulge your delusional fantasies in the name of appeasing your emotional ego.

The correct response in that situation is for YOU to either sack up and deal with it, or leave the room if you have to.
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Yeah, gotta agree with Smuffin there. If somebody takes general discussion as a personal attack, it's their problem and you shouldn't have to shelf all discussion because of it
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