Today, we hear over and over again about how something new offends a different group of people. We constantly hear that we have to be politically correct or we will offend someone. Not only as individuals, though, colleges are suspending programs because the students feel offended. Just this week at the University of Ottawa, a yoga class has been suspended because the nature of the course can be offensive. Has this all gone too far? The answer is really easily put as yes, way too far.
Going into detail about the University of Ottawa's case, a representative of the Student Federation and the yoga teacher swapped emails back and forth until the class was suspended. In these emails, the representative said, "Qhile yoga is a really great idea and accessible and great for students... there are cultural issues of implication involved in the practice. Yoga has been under a lot of controversy lately due to how it is being practiced." A little confusing at first but at the end of the email it is followed with which cultures the practice is "being taken from." So now at a public university, individuals are being offended because their practices are being "taken." The easiest solution to this problem in reality would be if you are offended, don't take the class!
So far this sounds like an attack on liberal media, so we will quote Obama for good measure. Obama gave a popular speech about "coddled" college students and said, "I don't agree that you, when you become students at colleges, have to be coddled and protected from different points of view." This has to be one of my favorite quotes when it comes to individuals being offended at college. He later goes to mention that when a different point of view arises to have a debate, contrary to just suppressing and making it so the other side can't talk.
The First Amendment gives us the freedom of speech, and the freedom to assemble, the freedom of religion. The only problem recently seems to be that we divide ourselves by these titles. With that division, apparently it is offensive to step out of the religion you were born in, or to even discuss or learn about other religions or people. In high school we were limited to a boundary, mostly age restriction, where we couldn't talk a certain way and had to be taught a certain way. When we reach college, we have developed our own opinions, and we even get to specialize what classes we take. Unfortunately, individuals who are offended are beginning to take our rights away. If there is a yoga class and you feel offended by it, don't go to it, and certainly don't sign up for it. Don't try and take away a chance for other individuals to learn. It's a funny world, people can practice their rights by desecrating the American flag, but are looked down upon for learning about another culture and trying their practices.
