While I am a firm believer in the greatness and genuine dream of the millennials, there is a growing ideal for radical political correctness in speech and media. The unspoken racial and cultural propaganda has been called out, but the line has stretched to an extreme proportion: Trying to mute free speech. There is only so much one can do towards censoring others free speech to meet their standards of what is and isn’t offensive, and therefore sometimes it is best to simply turn the other cheek. However, extreme “social justice warriors” have been known to add fuel to a fire instead of letting it die.
A woman going viral by the name of “Trigglypuff” unfortunately did not turn the other cheek. According to the video uploaded to Youtube, the University of Massachusetts student named Cora Segal behaved irrationally during the event being held. The event at University of Massachusetts featured Milo Yiannopoulos, former philosophy professor Christina Hoff Sommers, and comedian Steven Crowder.
The event consisted of the group joking about ideas on feminism, “triggering,” and “safe spaces." In fact, the event itself was called “The Triggering,” playing on the trend of young individuals being “triggered” by certain actions and claims. Milo also talked about Muslim’s in the UK, describing the “statistics” of “Muslim men who feel like LGBT persons shouldn’t have rights." Segal, a known “social justice warrior” was deeply enraged by these comments made by the speakers, and began cursing and throwing a tantrum in her seat.
Needless to say, countless videos have been uploaded and shared of “The Triggering." A friend of Segal’s that also attended the event wrote a email to the Dean with a list of demands due to the videos sensation over the internet. Jennie Chenkin, “on behalf of Cora Segal," stated that even though Segal was yelling and disrupting the panelists, extreme “disciplinary action” should be taken against the original poster, Kassy Dillon.
“[Dillon] a reporter for Campus Reform asked [Chenkin and Segal] if she could interview [them] about [their] protest. [They] denied her request for an interview and did not consent to be filmed, to be quoted, or to have images of us published and shared on the internet”. Chenkin demands that Dillon be banned from writing for Campus Reform or in any organization with her college, Mount Holyoke, for deliberately avoiding her “journalistic integrity."
However, Chenkin must know that there were several other videos posted of Segal’s tantrum. It was in a public space filled with cellphones, afterall. The allegations made toward Kassy Dillon are not only absurd, but are a clear sign that the “Trigglypuff” generation has reached a new feat. College has been known as a place of radical beliefs from all angles for years, free speech is what people fought and died for in the same civil rights protests these “triggered” youths admire. Are grown adults expecting the massive public to tune their speech to accommodate their opinions and “feelings?"
While I may not have agreed with everything the speakers said during “The Triggering,” I know that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. American culture is a boiling pot of radical beliefs and good handful of moderates. Flashing is often seen and both sides instigate- the “Trigglypuffs’” against anyone who can withstand an “offensive” idea. I’m unsure if there can be a peace between groups separated by one's need for massive acceptance despite their own radical beliefs. These “Trigglypuff” youths quickly deem anyone who doesn’t agree with their notions, “bad” people, as Chenkin quickly did to Dillon.
“These people wanted to come out here and have a good time, here a few jokes and some thoughtful discussion. But your head pops off the pillow in the morning with, ‘Oh, how can I be a professional victim today?’” Ranted “The Triggering” featured comedian, Steven Crowder. For me it doesn’t boil down to the worth of the opinion of one person, but the acceptance of other’s opinions. Obviously the speakers did not care for any of the protestors opinions, and yet young ladies like Segal lose control over their emotions for those with clashing beliefs: A lion never loses sleep over the thoughts of sheep.
The problem with the “Trigglypuff” generation is an aggressive need for the public to retain their speech so long as it is mindful of anything and everyone. That denying an idea and rebuking it is “hate speech” and therefore making any issue a civil rights case. There are people like this in every subculture: religious, LGBT, republican, democrat. Those who claim to idol the ones who wanted to bring together clashing ideas years ago only wish to separate us farther by silencing voices they “don’t like. Can the millennials overcome this emotional rampage of censorship, or will people like Cora Segal and the “Trigglypuffs’” become the staple of millennial culture?
