Are people abusing the concept of a trigger?

[Saetha]

Okay, seriously? I'm probably getting myself in hot water with making this thread, but I feel a discussion needs to be had on this: Are too many people misusing the idea of an emotional trigger?

To give some context:

http://reason.com/blog/2014/12/16/profs-have-stopped-teaching-rape-law-now

http://reason.com/blog/2014/12/15/social-justice-bandits-vandalize-apartme

(Please ignore the stupid title on that second article. Yes the language's charged, but it's the events that matter)

So I stumbled across these articles today and I have to say - what the hell? For those who don't like following links, let me explain. That second article deals with Omar Mahmood, a University of Michigan student who wrote for both the liberal (The Daily) and conservative (The Review) paper for his University. Upon publishing an inflammatory article mocking PC language in the Review, Mahmood's boss at the Daily said a staffer was "triggered" by it, and demanded he apologize. Mahmood refused, and was fired on an unrelated technicality from the Daily. Fine, whatever, that's the boss's choice. Then his apartment was vandalized by four people. We can't say (Yet) if any of the four were the staffer who got him fired, but it's obviously connected to him writing that article - a copy was left at the scene of the crime.

The first is a bit more broad. It deals with a Harvard Law professor saying that her and other law professors have been asked to avoid the subject of rape law and gendered violence for it being too "triggering" to some students, and that some professors have caved and stopped teaching rape law entirely.

And all I have to say to this is - seriously? Vandalizing a man's home? Avoiding a core pillar of the curriculum? For a job that will require you to deal with this? It's not like a lawyer can ask the judge to drop a case because it's gotten too "triggery" for them. How can they ask a law professor to do so? How can they expect to become a lawyer?

I guess my biggest question is this - are people abusing the concept of a trigger to avoid being made uncomfortable? Saying "I want you to shut up because I disagree" doesn't carry as much weight as "I want you to shut up because you're giving me violent flashbacks to my own personal trauma." It's an easy trap to fall into, but it simply undermines the idea of a trigger, causing people to not only dismiss those who fake it to get out of a situation they dislike, but to dismiss those who actually suffer from this stuff and have to cope with serious psychological consequences.

 

[Queen Michael]

I gotta say, this is completely unreasonable. A course contains what a course contains. Don't like it? Don't take the course.

What are these students gonna tell their future clients? "I haven't actually studied the relevant laws in this case at all, because they were triggering."

Also, this reminds me of a person on Tumblr who had a huge list of her triggers, what terms you had to use when you blacklisted them, the conditions when you didn't need to blacklist them, and so on. I sincerely doubt that all of those things were actual things that could trigger a panic attack from her; most were probably stuff that made her a bit uncomfortable.

 

[Smooth Operator]

That is just plain insanity.
You want to spaz out over the internet... go right ahead, I got filters to deal with you dumb ass shit.
But forcing schools to skip subjects with that nonsense is completely fucking nuts, quite frankly I'd tell those morons to take a hike, if you aren't there to learn shit properly then fuck off.

 

[tippy2k2]

Last Edit; I promise...probably

First, let me restore what I had posted when I first posted here (though I am keeping the Billy Madison video out).

POSTED: 17 December 2014 6:50 pm
I've read a couple of things with people complaining about triggers and I read that first story you had attached...

I still don't know what the fuck a "trigger" is.

Either I'm too stupid to get it or the concept is too stupid for me to get but is it seriously just a word and/or concept that potentially could make someone upset? Like...that's it? Like....if I say the word "rape", that could "trigger" someone into being sad or something?

Someone dumb (or smart?) it up for me please; what the hell are these people talking about?

Posted now; December 19th 10:49pm

So after getting myself in all kinds of trouble, backtracking, getting in verbal fistacuffs, then having a nice chat with Guppy and Cyrstalshadow, and now with time gone by, I think I've finally figured out my thoughts on this topic and I know that everyone is on the edge of their seat to see what I think...

It's obvious that the "Triggers" and the concept of triggers have basically been hijacked by the internet. Go through this thread and you can see that the vast vast vast majority of posters in here believe that "triggered" and "offended" are more or less the same exact thing (some people are a bit more harsh about it and to be completely fair, I was just as guilty when I first posted on the topic since I was told that my definition was correct).

And that's a damn shame.

As a few in this thread have commented on (some nicer than others...), triggers are a very real thing for certain members of society (PTSD seemed to be a keyword showing up). I mocked the concept of triggers because the concept had been so watered-down by the internet that it has become a laughingstock.

So to answer the question (and hopefully avoid getting myself drilled again ), yes, the internet has taken the concept way too far and it's making people who actually have issues with it look like a bunch of clowns to be mocked for our entertainment.

 

[Signa]

Well, I saw this the other week, and I think it speaks for itself.

Spoiler

So yes, people are abusing, and getting abusive over the concept of a trigger.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

You know, whatever happened to actually dealing with negative emotional states? There was a time when people were told that they aren't supposed to bury or ignore their feelings, and that the best way to deal with trauma was to talk about it and accept it rather than trying to forget it and block it out. The entire idea of triggers only makes sense if people suddenly decided that they should ignore their problems and try to forget about them rather than dealing with anything difficult or emotionally stressful.

If something is a "trigger" for you that doesn't mean that everyone should tiptoe around it for your benefit. It's your problem so you're the one that needs to deal with it, not everyone around you.

 

[Urgh76]

Does a cat have an ass?

Spoiler

I apologize for any joke made in this post for readers that may have been triggered for having owned a cat at some point, and acknowledge that my post may have brought back the stressful memory of that one time you were eating the last plate of mom's spaghetti, only for your cat to rub against your leg causing to spill the rest of it on the floor.

I know you were traumatized by the event and you are such a brave soul for carrying on, god bless.

 

[Signa]

I've read a couple of things with people complaining about triggers and I read that first story you had attached...

I still don't know what the fuck a "trigger" is.

Either I'm too stupid to get it or the concept is too stupid for me to get but is it seriously just a word and/or concept that potentially could make someone upset? Like...that's it? Like....if I say the word "rape", that could "trigger" someone into being sad or something?

Someone dumb (or smart?) it up for me please; what the hell are these people talking about?

Yes, that is the gist of it. People are wanting you to make sure they don't encounter things that bother them by labeling things with trigger warnings. See above: it doesn't even have to be offensive, and I've heard of people needing a trigger warning on pineapples for being pineapples.

 

[FirstNameLastName]

It would seem that law is not the place to be for someone with a weak stomach or emotional baggage. What exactly are these people going to do if they have to deal with a case involving these triggering elements? So now they will have to be triggered and have no idea what to do?

 

[gigastar]

I've read a couple of things with people complaining about triggers and I read that first story you had attached...

I still don't know what the fuck a "trigger" is.

Either I'm too stupid to get it or the concept is too stupid for me to get but is it seriously just a word and/or concept that potentially could make someone upset? Like...that's it? Like....if I say the word "rape", that could "trigger" someone into being sad or something?

Someone dumb (or smart?) it up for me please; what the hell are these people talking about?

I think this is the probably going to be the most in-depth thing on the internet on that subject.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BerserkButton

Ok, maybe not as extreme, but its the same concept.

Even then, i think people who end up playing that straight are people who should be avoided, and possibly be referred to a psychiatrist.

 

[visiblenoise]

I would have answered "yes" just from the thread title.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

I still don't know what the fuck a "trigger" is.

Basically it's something that sets off an unwanted event.

The most widely known 'trigger' is certain lights/lighting triggering seizures in people with photosensitive epilespy. Of course, that's a physiological trigger not a psychological one.

People withh physiological triggers generally just get told to harden the fuck up.

 

[Blacklight28]

I'm sorry but the discussion of triggers is triggering to me. Plz delete thread and ban yourself or I'll call the internet police.

I've read a couple of things with people complaining about triggers and I read that first story you had attached...

I still don't know what the fuck a "trigger" is.

Either I'm too stupid to get it or the concept is too stupid for me to get but is it seriously just a word and/or concept that potentially could make someone upset? Like...that's it? Like....if I say the word "rape", that could "trigger" someone into being sad or something?

Someone dumb (or smart?) it up for me please; what the hell are these people talking about?

A trigger is anything that sets someone off. Be it something that makes people angry, or as you said, something that can cause them to recall trauma. A trigger can be pretty much anything.

I'm all for proper labels and warnings for things that many people find upsetting, but ultimately if you have a trigger, it's your problem. The world shouldn't have to censor itself for your benefit, and people should never be limited because someone is 'triggered' (like in the case of them trying to get the law professor to avoid rape law).

 

[cleric of the order]

yes, this is not some mystical profound thing, this is tumblr, where a dangerous congregation of unaware stupidly anti social people with no understanding of soft science self diagnosis themselves to alleviate boredom and give them a sense of specialness to defeat their relative mundanity.
In truth the stark raging fools using and perpetuating the dangerous misuse of the term.
Trigger should first and for most refer PTSD triggers, the set of emotional responses in tern triggered by mental association, like hearing something that sounds like a gun shot and ending up in name.
This is an emotionally taxing thing and the victims of actual PTSD have to undergo a process to reduce the emotional response, thanks based neuroplasticity.
I really shouldn't be so hard on the tumblrtots that get wrapped into it, i would but most of the time they are judgemental, rude, and without human empathy. and regardless of the cause a lot of them exhibit some hi-bred of NT and autistic traits. Having Autistic socialization traits without the intelligence often afforded to autistics or more important the capacity for not giving a shit on mass about person appearance (very useful btw).
They are the new neck beard.
Further more I can grantee you the only people using triggers are highly invested in the sjw community, these people are already a bit soft in the head.

-snip-

But those sorts of stories don't surprise me, my English prof talked to me about this sort of stick, I heard that a bunch of female Uni, or college students ended up attacking a prof for saying mistresses of your own fate.
they took it as an invitation to be his mistress rather then the logical assumption it as a way of saying masters of your own fate directed to recognize women, this was graduating class mind you.
These people have little in the way of introspection, and certainly no shame.
I guess I will sit by the moralists, huxely and davvaies sort of watch the my peers in this generation and the ones preceding it. I wonder what I will see.
Will they give me the spittle and back bone, will they simply cave like runts, and scurry like rats, wallowing their guilt and misfortune.
catcha free hat, time to get on tf2 oh boy

 

[cleric of the order]

Bugger me this is annoying, I can't believe it posted twice. we'll since I'm still here, let's get something straight.
These people seem to abuse the emotional states of others. With depression, often rigged up as a false excuse, triggers, anger, what not. they are emotionally manipulative in the worst possible way.
And while I can understand the dry to this, to manipulate the inner workings of your mind, the mind hates cognitive dissonance to quote rizzile drizzile. the leads to them believing wuite a number of things.
I know I've been down that root, I had head mates before it was cool but unlike them, I was imagination, and instantly recognizable as a childish fantasy. same with the other kin. this however is an extension of those beliefs into another realm. they seem to lake a psychological barrier that stops the internal world from becoming the external world, ideas, concept that e like spill forth from their mind and attach to people more willingly then people normally do this and frighting regularity and consistency.
Worse yet within their extended emoness they're mental projections are often negative, and in this sense they are fighting their own daemons endlessly, in a mental play the external world is unable to perceive. with their endless fixation on the negative they have turned the world negative and in that sense they were brought into the theory of the egotic hell, a mental land of self imposed suffering but as it's a internal to external drama it's causing harm to others inevitably creating more daemons by creating more and more negative mental frameworks.
these people are simply fucked up, and are fucking up others.

 

[Something Amyss]

People have been abusing the concept of a trigger for ages. That said....

With that confirmed, the fact that the concept of "triggers" exist was taking it too far. Outside of actual, physical issues (like flashing images causing seizures someone below mentioned), this is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard of.

This is a legitimate element of human psychology and it's rather dickish to say that it's any form of "taking it too far."

Now, if you were just talking about the overuse of the term "trigger" on the internet (and not, as some would have you believe, associated with or limited to Tumblr), I'd totally agree. There are people who use "trigger" to describe "things I don't want to talk about," and as such the concept has been grossly distorted and watered down by the internet. But you're dismissing a whole group of mental illnesses because...Well, because you couldn't be arsed to understand and then listened to a bunch of people on the internet.

By that logic, autism and OCD aren't issues because stupid people online misuse them like 99% of the time.

Just a weird concept, but...maybe actually learn about something before Doctor Philing it up.

 

[tippy2k2]

People have been abusing the concept of a trigger for ages. That said....

With that confirmed, the fact that the concept of "triggers" exist was taking it too far. Outside of actual, physical issues (like flashing images causing seizures someone below mentioned), this is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard of.

This is a legitimate element of human psychology and it's rather dickish to say that it's any form of "taking it too far."

Now, if you were just talking about the overuse of the term "trigger" on the internet (and not, as some would have you believe, associated with or limited to Tumblr), I'd totally agree. There are people who use "trigger" to describe "things I don't want to talk about," and as such the concept has been grossly distorted and watered down by the internet. But you're dismissing a whole group of mental illnesses because...Well, because you couldn't be arsed to understand and then listened to a bunch of people on the internet.

By that logic, autism and OCD aren't issues because stupid people online misuse them like 99% of the time.

Just a weird concept, but...maybe actually learn about something before Doctor Philing it up.

Then give me an example.

Any example where you can get people to agree that it's a legitimate use of the word "trigger". Maybe there's more to it than I know (as I previously stated) but all I see is rampant stupidity whenever that term is used (again, outside of actual, medical issues like Flashing Lights for Seizure patients). Give me some examples and show me that I'm jumping the gun. I'm perfectly fine with saying I'm wrong but I need something to demonstrate that first.

 

[Risingblade]

It's disgusting that people are abusing triggers, it makes a mockery of trauma people are suffering with. Honestly stuff like this is always abused by attention seeking twats. Don't even get me started on people who complain about trigger warnings, seriously this whole subject reminds me of how people can be such compassionate assholes.

 

[Something Amyss]

Then give me an example.

PTSD. While the term itself is not "officially" recognised in scientific literature, it is used within the vernacular of psychology when dealing with emotional responses.

Which you could know by doing your fucking homework before ranting.

Though again, maybe you think PTSD is bullshit. I don't know.

EDIT:

Any example where you can get people to agree that it's a legitimate use of the word "trigger".

Holy no true scotsman criteria, Batman. "people" is a vague term. Does the use of psychologists count? DO I need a consensus of the idiots who whine about trigger warnings? What?

 

[chiggerwood]

Yes, a thousand mother fucking times yes. As someone with Bipolar Disorder, Pure-O, and GAD (generalized anxiety disorder), a survivor of violence, child abuse, and sexual abuse I have triggers and have had an insane amount of triggers in the past. However, never would I have even thought to put the burden on others to avoid all of my triggers. Instead I got, and am still getting therapy. It is obscene to expect the general public, in any way, shape or form, to accommodate your triggers. They are the burden of those who have them, not everybody else! I am sick and tired of this panty waist society that thinks being offended gives them any fucking rights whatsoever. It does not. If something in an article, or a picture, or a profession triggers you, then avoid situations where they will arise, quit demanding the world accommodate you, and get some professional help in the real world, not help from some random johnny on the internet, you are being selfish.