Wednesday, February 15, 2017

How the Trigger Warning Debate Exposes Our F*cked U






Now, the other student's pain isn't visible – it's emotional. 

He wasn't physically hurt, but he lost a loved one, and he's traumatized. Certain reminders have resulted in panic attacks, and he'd rather not experience that again – especially not when he's trying to move on with his life and get an education.


How would you feel about this student's request? 

What he's asking for is a content warning, also commonly called a trigger warning. And it's a huge source of debate.


People actually dismiss the needs of people with chronic illnesses and physical and visible disabilities quite often, so I don't want to take away from that.

But it is noticeable that when it comes to an able-bodied person experiencing a temporary injury and needing support to heal, there's usually not much debate about whether or not they should be allowed in class with crutches, a cast, or extra space around their desk.

The sharp contrast between this acceptance and common attitudes towards trigger warnings reveals something disturbing about our society's approach to trauma and mental illness. 

Just like it's normal for the body to need healing after physical violence, it's perfectly normal for someone's mind to need healing after a traumatic event. 

That's why a diagnosis like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) exists – not because something's "wrong" with someone who's struggling after trauma, but because it's natural for trauma to have an impact on one's mental health. 



I don't experience panic attacks from reading about rape or partner abuse, but I do feel the impact when people are disparaging survivors of trauma. And I'm sure as hell not going to criticize other survivors for needing a warning. 

That's because I've also worked with many other survivors, and if there's one thing I've learned about healing, it's that it's different for everyone. There's no one "right" way to feel or respond to trauma. 

But if you're opposed to the use of trigger warnings, clearly you've taken the side that states there is such a thing as a "wrong" way.

So let's not make the mistake of thinking this debate is only about trigger warnings. Let's dig into how people really feel about trauma and mental illness when they decide that trigger warnings are wrong. 

1. We View Mental Illness as a Weakness

On most college campuses, there's a group of people who require protection from injury on a regular basis. 

But we don't call them weaklings – we call them athletes. 

And you can bet that your school administration doesn't complain about having to "coddle" your star football players by giving them helmets and padding before they take a hit. 

But when a survivor wants to protect their mental health by getting a warning before they face a difficult topic, people frequently use the word "coddling" to refer to their needs. 


"I cannot stand the wussification of American society." 


These are common sentiments among those who oppose trigger warnings. They conflate being affected by trauma with being weak, and decide that those who need trigger warnings aren't "good enough" to be among those who are unfazed. 

This, in spite of the fact that so many survivors on college campuses aren't there to avoid sensitive topics. They're there to learn, just like everyone else, and they're determined to do this in spite of their personal obstacles, just like everyone else.

Some people need to work full-time while they're in college in order to attend school. Some need scholarships. Hell, everyone needs to pay for it somehow, so some rely on that parental trust fund that will get them through debt-free.


Facing difficult topics sure doesn't make you weak. Facing them after directly experiencing trauma takes strength – even with the help of a warning.


But I wouldn't call you "weak" if that's the reason you don't need a warning.

2. We Define 'Strength' as Emotional Unavailability



None of them were wrong. Each was on their own unique path of learning to cope with what they'd been through. 

Consider what it means that many of us are so eager to have engagement with disturbing topics in settings like college classrooms, but don't want to actually acknowledge that these topics might disturb us.

I'm one of those who strongly believes that we should be engaging with issues like sexual violence, abuse, and violent oppression. That's why I write about them so much. 

So my support of trigger warnings doesn't mean avoiding them altogether. I believe we should engage with them in a way that acknowledges their real impact. 

If you think we should all approach traumatic topics with as much emotional engagement as we'd have for a math problem, then what you're really asking is for people to disconnect from the emotions that naturally arise around emotional topics. 

There's nothing wrong with acknowledging that something is painful. But society says that people deserve to be punished for being "delicate" if they do.

I've heard people compare survivors needing trigger warnings to military combat veterans, saying that veterans don't "whine" about society not taking care of their feelings. 

But they say this as if veterans aren't also suffering – as if they don't have high rates of PTSD and suicide. Clearly, something needs to change if we believe that people are only strong if they endure painful feelings without support.


The idea that survivors who need trigger warnings "can't handle the real world" is a common accusation. People say that we've all been through hard things, but the rest of the world is unfazed.

It's pretty sad that we can acknowledge that there's so much suffering in the world, but get angry at people who have the nerve to cope with that suffering in a way that others can see. 

The attitude goes something like this: "The rest of us have unhealed trauma, so why shouldn't you?"

Are you using "edgy" humor to talk about painful issues without acknowledging that they're painful? That's cool, bro.



One guy in the Everyday Feminism comments said that he used to have night terrors after being bullied – but he got over it without needing trigger warnings, so he didn't see why anyone else should need them, either.



Nobody should have to suffer through the impact of trauma without support to heal – and the fact that it's the norm for people to feel like they just have to "suck it up and get over it" does not make it okay.

It's okay to ask for what you need. But if you don't personally take that route, don't shame others for doing so. 

4. We Think Trauma Defines Someone or Something

The way some people talk about opposing trigger warnings, you'd think we were talking about something much more significant than a few words in front of a text.

According to them, it's censorship! It's the end of free speech! It's destroying an entire generation! It's the downfall of society! 

Let's cool down for a second and think about what this means. 

Our society seems to think there's something wrong with identifying as a victim

If you've been through something hard in the past, but you got over it, that's fine – but acknowledge that it still affects you, and you're said to be doing a bad thing by "victimizing" yourself. 

And some people say they oppose trigger warnings not because they're against survivors, but to protect the integrity of the classroom. They say that warning that a text contains disturbing material could influence students to focus only on that disturbing material, making them think that's all the text is about.


We think that being a victim means you're permanently "broken," and that being a perpetrator of violence means you're not human, but a monster.

And thinking of violence this way means we don't have to face the fact that it's an everyday part of our world – instead, it's such an unusual thing that acknowledging its impact means being unable to acknowledge anything else.

But I promise you that's not the case. 


A trigger warning is just a few words out of the entire course of a survivor's day, one line to read over the course of their entire lives. 

It doesn't define them. And we don't have to be so averse to victimhood that we can't even talk about it without it taking over everything. 





It's interesting how our society has such a stigma against going to therapy, but bring up trigger warnings, and suddenly everyone's a tireless advocate for "exposure therapy." 

Exposure therapy involves gradually facing reminders of your trauma in a safe, controlled environment under the supervision of a specialized therapist. It can help retrain your brain to face your triggers without being re-traumatized, but it doesn't force people to face things without their consent – and it uses other coping techniques to avoid re-traumatization.

Having someone with PTSD "toughen up" to just deal with their triggers at any given time is not the same as exposure therapy.

For me, the fact that I'm used to hearing stories of survival is part of the reason I can read reminders of my trauma without being thrown into a panic attack. 

But am I going to tell everyone else that they need to go lead support groups and counseling sessions about the things they've been through in order to heal? Hell no! It's not for everyone, and that's okay. 

The fact is that what works for one person won't work for everyone. And believing that everyone should heal like you do doesn't make you an expert – it kind of just makes you an asshole.



See a pattern here?

Every single person has a different set of needs – so there will always be someone who needs something you don't.

If directly facing difficulties has helped you, that's great. But you'll save yourself and others a lot of trouble if you drop the idea that anyone who doesn't heal like you do deserves to be judged. 

Maybe a trigger warning seems silly to you because you don't need it. Luckily for you, that means the presence or the absence of a trigger warning doesn't have an impact on your life.





And we can learn a lot about our culture by noticing how "controversial" it is to suggest changing the status quo. 

"Welcome to the real world," you'd say to someone who'd like a warning before they face a sensitive topic.



A trigger warning won't stop you from facing painful realities – but it'll definitely help some people face them, and continue healing from the impact of them, too.

Maisha Z. Johnson is the Digital Content Associate and Staff Writer of Everyday Feminism. You can find her writing at the intersections and shamelessly indulging in her obsession with pop culture around the web. Maisha's past work includes Community United Against Violence (CUAV), the nation's oldest LGBTQ anti-violence organization, and Fired Up!, a program of California Coalition for Women Prisoners. Through her own project, Inkblot ArtsMaisha taps into the creative arts and digital media to amplify the voices of those often silenced. Like her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @mzjwords.


No comments:

Post a Comment