If you've been reading the news lately, then you probably read about vice president-elect Mike Pence being booed at during his visit to see Hamilton. You also probably saw the tweet that president-elect Donald Trump tweeted about the event.
Trump stated that a specific place must always be "safe." He said the theater needs to be a safe space. Aren't Republicans typically anti-safe spacers, though? Yes. You can google countless articles written by Republicans about the "ridiculousness" behind safe spaces. Of course, not all Republicans are anti-safe spacers, and not all anti-safe spacers are Republican. However, no matter how you look at it, the majority of anti-safe spacers are hypocrites. Here's why.
Often times the argument against safe spaces is that people should just learn to ignore being called names and hearing opinions they don't like. But we need to get one thing straight.
The people who advocate for safe spaces are typically oppressed and marginalized people. These people have been called names their entire lives and they have been forced to hear opinions they don't like or agree with their whole lives. They can handle mean names and differing opinions (unlike some people). The people who advocate for safe spaces are not advocating against mean names or differing opinions. They are advocating for the safety that privileged identities already receive.
Take a sidewalk for example. A man can walk down a sidewalk late at night without thinking about where his pepper spray is or if someone is following him. A woman typically cannot do that. A white person can walk down a sidewalk without someone being suspicious of them. A person of color gets the cops called on them because for whatever reason they look like "they're up to no good." A man and a woman can hold hands down the sidewalk in public, but two men or two women are often too afraid to.
Marginalized people can handle name-calling. They've handled it their whole lives. So it's not about name calling. It's not that Millennials are a bunch of crybabies. It's about everyday safety that privileged people in this society get every single day. It's about the simple safety of a classroom, a sidewalk, a bathroom, and so on. It is far more than just people being mean.
On that note, if you google "things college Republicans are tired of hearing," you'll find countless articles of college Republicans stating what they don't like to hear. Often, it's that they don't like to be called a bigot or close minded or privileged. That last one is ironic, because if you get insulted by being called privileged, then maybe that's how you should feel.
Anyway, to me, if the people who think safe spaces are simply about being offended at being called names and hearing differing opinions get offended at being called names such as bigot or privileged, or they don't want to hear differing opinions like "feel the Bern," then that does seem a little hypocritical. People aren't taking away your freedom of speech, but don't get offended if someone responds to your opinions negatively, or if, more likely, someone calls you out on your bigotry. You can call people all the names you want, but don't act like consequences won't ensue. Duh.
If you get offended at being called a bigot, go crawl into your definition of a safe space. In reality, people who don't want to admit that they might be privileged are the ones who want their "safe space," because they don't like admitting that things aren't entirely good in the world. Basically, "when you're accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression." So privileged people who don't recognize their privilege feel oppressed at being called out on their bigotry or they feel attacked when they are told to check their privilege. If you don't understand privilege and oppression that well, check out one of my older articles titled "Intersectionality 101: Understanding Your Privilege and Oppression."
So, now that it's clear that anti-safe spacers are most likely hypocritical in their view of safe spaces and that safe space advocates just want everyday safety, maybe we can do a better job of creating real safety for all.
This is an editorial, meaning it is my opinion. Opinions don't equal facts, so please feel free to share your opinion. Don't be afraid if my opinion differs with yours.
