Victim Blaming in the Rhetoric against Trigger Warning
From the University of California, Santa Barbara to several other colleges, the student movement demanding trigger warnings for sensational course materials sparked intense discussions on social recognitions of violence and academic freedom. A trigger warning is a textual sign that precedes before the content that might evoke traumatic memories (Rentschler 2). Two secondary opposition articles, written by a political commentator and a respected blogger, both blame the problem of unexpected sensational course materials triggering trauma to the students by the infantilizing and medicalizing rhetoric. William Ryan’s theoretical framework on the mechanism of blaming victims from Blaming the …show more content…
Drum describes the purpose of trigger warnings as "semi-protecting kids for a few more years" (Drum, What's the Endgame for the Trigger Warnings Movement?). The word "kids" is an indication of students being immature and vulnerable. Kids can be scared easily too, as they are more likely to be haunted with nightmares and terrified of nonexistent monsters. Infantilizing students conveniently explains why they need trigger warnings as extra protection. Thus, Drum identifies the students as a timid group that is less socially human from the …show more content…
He concedes that he objects the trigger warnings because he lacks “imagination” to conceive a promising prospect of the movement in transforming society (Drum). Thus, student activists must be imaginative enough to foresee their movement generating concrete social benefits so they continue to support trigger warnings. Imagination is usually associated with kids, because they embrace otherworldly fantasies. In addition, dreamers are likely to get dissociated from reality. Then, the word “imagination” also expresses the trigger warning movement is only indulging in its own imagined vision like dreaming kids, but, in fact, it is not able to accomplish their goals in reality. Kids are not fully socialized beings. They are usually unable to keep predetermined rules and their behaviors can largely diverge from social norms. Drum marginalizes the student activists as an unrealistic and potentially problematic group that deviates from the normal majority who is less imaginative and does not need trigger