A haunted house in California was recently shut down mere days after its opening. Knott’s Berry House is known for original, inventive, and most certainly terrifying exhibitions every year. So why was it shut down? The answer is quite simple. As usual, people got offended by absolutely nothing.
This year’s attraction at Knott’s took place in a haunted hospital, in which a possessed patient wreaks havoc and mayhem on the guests. Nothing too out of the ordinary; after all, “The Haunting in Connecticut” took place in a hospital and it’s a classic horror flick. However, in this modern day and age of paper-thin skins and instant gratification, patrons took to social media in storm, demanding Knott’s be shut down for “insensitive portrayal of a very serious condition.” Well gosh, I had no idea haunted houses needed to be socially and politically correct.
Beyond that single instance, though, I am becoming increasingly annoyed with the amount of backlash everything seems to garner nowadays. No longer can a joke be simply that, a joke. No, instead everyone needs to be careful what they post, and even then some angry citizen with nothing better to do is going to try to make a big deal of it.
Gone are the days when a slightly offensive remark was shrugged off or mockingly smiled at. No, instead feelings are deeply hurt and reputations slandered because people no longer have thick skins. Take this election, for example (although that on its own could take up six more articles).
Personally, I have witnessed very little policy discussion, as is custom in most presidential campaigns. Everything is focused on who the bigger jerk is or how wretched the other candidate is. It’s depressing as both a voter and an American when the next president is focused on the better comeback instead of the future of the country.
Perhaps I am being too sensitive myself. Perhaps a new age of acceptance is being ushered in. For sure, this trend of instant fury has helped to garner rights for the LGBTQ community, people of color, and refugees, among many others. On the flip side, though, members of that same community get very annoyed when a tiny comment is blown horribly out of proportion.
Speaking from experience (no, I am not a total hypocrite), I know that I get more than a little annoyed when the community lashes out against a comment or action that is mildly shocking at best. After all, doesn’t it just make us look bad after some point? Regardless, I’m sure others are a bit tired of that one person just going off time after time again. No more jokes that, while offensive for sure, make it all the more hysterical. No more delightfully horrible conversations that just make you love to hate humanity.
So make of this as you please, I simply believe that everyone is too sensitive today. Have fun, let it roll off of you, and just smile. It’s a good look on you all, I promise. After all, who doesn’t love a deliciously terrible game of Cards Against Humanity, right?
