Triggered: An Account of Living in the 21st Century
[Redacted as Not to Trigger] It all began on a rainy day. I was in my house, sifting through the usual onslaught of emails, direct messages, and twitter posts. I switch tabs over to my youtube channel, to check how people were responding to my instructional video on how to make Star Wars themed crochet doilies, when suddenly I saw it. I gasped aloud as my eyes met the black text in the comments section that read “ur fat”. I recoiled in my chair upon rereading it. I felt like I couldn’t move. Who was this person, whom I have never met, yet seems to want to destroy my self esteem with every fiber of his being? After minutes went by, the shock wore off and I realized what I had become. I am a …show more content…
These people have been abused and emotionally scarred. How can one be expected to carry on after such a traumatic attack? Sometimes I hear a noise or other form of stimuli that trigger flashbacks to that day. I can 't seem to get those boldface, 10 point font characters out of my head, as if they are burned by a branding iron onto my corneas, inflicted by that hateful combination of those seemingly harmless letters. Even though there is a very big difference between people who have been repeatedly cyber bullied and those struck by a single-time offense, one experience is enough to cause very serious emotional trauma (Techdirt). I hope that with my support group I can help other victims of such heinous crimes, who experience low-self esteem, depression, and feelings of powerlessness (Morgan Meier …show more content…
One of the evils I am to combat is the insensitivity of inconsiderate people everywhere. The increase in “microaggressions” (statements with a façade of innocuity, but imply harmful or bigoted statements) has led to the eating away of violence and abuse victims’ sanity (Lukianoff & Heidt). This combined with the blatant disregard of people 's’ triggers has created a harmful environment in many learning environments across the country. Universities are places that are supposed to be safe spaces, but are now places where traumatized students are forced to learn about traumatizing events like the Holocaust, slavery, and abuse that would trigger those who have not even experienced them firsthand. Students should not be involuntarily forced into learning about topics that may emotionally scar them. What we do not know will not hurt us. In fact, what we might learn could have drastically harmful effects on our psyche. According to a psychological organization, “the power to impose reality upon marginalized groups represents the ultimate form of oppression”(Granger). These professionals are saying that we live in the most oppressive country on earth, and it has only gotten worse with the help of the
[Redacted as Not to Trigger] It all began on a rainy day. I was in my house, sifting through the usual onslaught of emails, direct messages, and twitter posts. I switch tabs over to my youtube channel, to check how people were responding to my instructional video on how to make Star Wars themed crochet doilies, when suddenly I saw it. I gasped aloud as my eyes met the black text in the comments section that read “ur fat”. I recoiled in my chair upon rereading it. I felt like I couldn’t move. Who was this person, whom I have never met, yet seems to want to destroy my self esteem with every fiber of his being? After minutes went by, the shock wore off and I realized what I had become. I am a …show more content…
These people have been abused and emotionally scarred. How can one be expected to carry on after such a traumatic attack? Sometimes I hear a noise or other form of stimuli that trigger flashbacks to that day. I can 't seem to get those boldface, 10 point font characters out of my head, as if they are burned by a branding iron onto my corneas, inflicted by that hateful combination of those seemingly harmless letters. Even though there is a very big difference between people who have been repeatedly cyber bullied and those struck by a single-time offense, one experience is enough to cause very serious emotional trauma (Techdirt). I hope that with my support group I can help other victims of such heinous crimes, who experience low-self esteem, depression, and feelings of powerlessness (Morgan Meier …show more content…
One of the evils I am to combat is the insensitivity of inconsiderate people everywhere. The increase in “microaggressions” (statements with a façade of innocuity, but imply harmful or bigoted statements) has led to the eating away of violence and abuse victims’ sanity (Lukianoff & Heidt). This combined with the blatant disregard of people 's’ triggers has created a harmful environment in many learning environments across the country. Universities are places that are supposed to be safe spaces, but are now places where traumatized students are forced to learn about traumatizing events like the Holocaust, slavery, and abuse that would trigger those who have not even experienced them firsthand. Students should not be involuntarily forced into learning about topics that may emotionally scar them. What we do not know will not hurt us. In fact, what we might learn could have drastically harmful effects on our psyche. According to a psychological organization, “the power to impose reality upon marginalized groups represents the ultimate form of oppression”(Granger). These professionals are saying that we live in the most oppressive country on earth, and it has only gotten worse with the help of the