What is a "trigger-warning?" Dictionary.com defines "trigger-warning" as "a stated warning that the content of a text, video, etc., may upset or offend some people, especially those who have previously experienced a related trauma." So what is the purpose of this trigger-warning movement? The entire movement seeks to edit language and vocabulary to minimize offensiveness and potential psychological damage. This movement has gained momentum in recent years, particularly on college and university campuses nation wide. At first glance this idea seems righteous in its own right, however its idealistic goal is ultimately futile and unobtainable.
First of all, who cares if you are offended by a single word or phrase? Because a college professor says the word "rape" and a student finds it offensive or off-putting doesn't mean disciplinary action should be taken against the professor. It is not the fault of the school or the professor because a single student, or small amount of students, becomes emotionally offended by simple vocabulary. Secondly, what they are trying to accomplish is impossible. They seek to filter speech mediums and vocabulary, and by doing so they hope to either change reality or hide from it. But in the end, reality only is. Reality cannot be changed, altered, or edited, it can only be accepted. True reality consists of rape, murder, robbery, war, violence and much more on a daily basis. Just because you are afraid or psychologically/emotionally distraught about reality, does not in it of itself change reality. Reality is unchangeable, it can only be accepted for what it is.
Lastly, this is a symptom of a generation that is oversensitive. My generation, unlike any other to this point, is extremely oversensitive. With constant movements to support "safe-spaces," "political correctness," "privilege identification" and "all gender acceptance," it should come to no surprise that this same generation seeks to filter reality through the means of vocabulary and emotional safety. In the real world there is no "safe space," but there is everything that the trigger-warning movement seeks to filter. My generation is one that will go down in history as the start of a philosophical era of emotional thinking and emotional logic. A somewhat postmodern idea, this philosophy of "emotional thinking" is an idea that is inherently dangerous. Emotions should not dictate ideas, philosophy, thinking and social movements. On the contrary, reason and logic should oversee the realms of philosophy and social movements. We shouldn't throw away hundreds of years of philosophy and reason just because the modern generation thinks with their emotions instead of their minds. This is why the "trigger-warning" movement is one of the largest problems with modern America.
