Snowflakes and mockery

In some corners, a recent op-ed in the Columbia University newspaper has excited negative commentary. It is held up as an example of the sort of totalitarian bullying and speech control which appears to have become so prevalent in academia. In Our identities matter in Core classrooms by Kai Johnson, Tanika Lynch, Elizabeth Monroe and Tracey Wang, the authors contend that classic literary works from the Western Canon can be "wrought with histories and narratives of exclusion and oppression, can be difficult to read and discuss as a survivor, a person of color, or a student from a low-income background." Indeed,

During the week spent on Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” the class was instructed to read the myths of Persephone and Daphne, both of which include vivid depictions of rape and sexual assault. As a survivor of sexual assault, the student described being triggered while reading such detailed accounts of rape throughout the work. However, the student said her professor focused on the beauty of the language and the splendor of the imagery when lecturing on the text. As a result, the student completely disengaged from the class discussion as a means of self-preservation. She did not feel safe in the class. When she approached her professor after class, the student said she was essentially dismissed, and her concerns were ignored.

There is a lot of mewling and puking in the opinion piece but it comes down to a desire that each student should determine, through the heckler's veto (or the triggered's veto), what other students are allowed to read and not read.

All very depressing for everyone else's opinion of the snowflake generation. The ray of sunshine is in the comments. Some are quite practical and expose the fact that this is simply an exercise in seizing control. As one commenter points out, the syllabus and books are known in advance. If the student susceptible to triggering has done her work as she is supposed to, she won't be triggered in class and can handle her psychological infirmities off-line with the professor and not impose on all the other students.

But most of them, the overwhelming majority of the comments, are the good old democratic editorials of mockery and satire.

The mockery begins with the very first comment and rolls from there with hundreds of up votes.

Anonymous posted on Apr 30, 11:21am
"She did not feel safe in the class"
"Students need to feel safe in the classroom"
You people sound like 1980s Christian mothers talking about theirs kids being exposed to the evil influence of Madonna. Grow up, open up, care less about your identity and more about your passions, and please be passionate about anything... except your own identity. Such an insufferable breed of self-centered Care Bears.
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Care Bear Cody posted on May 7, 2:06pm
I think you are incredibly insensitive of Care Bear culture. As a representative Care Bear, I was triggered by your statements and deeply hurt. I for one, love Madonna's Like a Prayer. Makes me want to get on my knees.
I'd like to start a petition to have people like you banned from buying and selling Care Bears for entertainment purposes.
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Madonna posted on May 8, 1:15pm
Stop culturally appropriating me.
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Heh. I wonder if mockery and satire are also triggering.