In defense of the trigger warning

PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a person is exposed to one or more traumatic events, such as sexual assault, traffic collisions, terrorism, etc. PTSD is not limited to military veterans – a common misconception I have come across when discussing the disorder with others.

The problem roots from the inability to recognize panic attacks and “irrational” behavior, triggered by a lack of trigger warning, as biological rather than theatrical/emotional.

A person (and in particular a student) cannot pay attention when taken over by panic. The argument that millennials use trigger warnings as a security blanket, or emotional support crutch due to their inability to face reality, is outdated, ridiculous and privileged.

A certain topic that I encounter in a text or article will likely not mean the same thing to me as it does to the person next to me. There are certain experiences that cannot be shared, and accordingly, certain reactions that will never be the same.

You are not sheltering or ‘babying’ someone by warning them about what they are going to encounter. You are allowing them to prepare their mind and body for its natural response, while also allowing them to engage with these topics with as close to rational judgement as possible.

There is of course no way to enforce trigger warnings. Especially in a university setting it is hard to know where the line is to be drawn.

In an article titled The Fallacy of ‘Safe Space’ on College Campuses by Shaheen Pasha, one of UMass’ own Journalism Professors, she writes, “College is not a safe space. It was never intended to be.

“But a recent trend on college campuses is threatening to shut down that natural maturation process in the quest to create a ‘safe space’ for students.”

Now of course she is referencing more than trigger warnings here (i.e. the recent trend of banning media from certain events) , but that is certainly part of it.

She continues: “As a professor, I am sensitive to the needs of my students, but I cannot coddle them. Once the activism impedes on the rights of others and forces them to share your beliefs, well-intentioned liberalism can take on an ugly shade of authoritarianism.”

This I do not entirely disagree with – I agree that the classroom should be a space for open discussion as a means of discovery and understanding. However, it is important to remember that we are privileged to be here, and with privilege comes power.

Yes, eventually a person might encounter these subjects in “real-life” where there may be no warning at all. However, if you are a professor, writer, journalist, etc., adding a trigger warning will take you one minute longer, and spare someone the anxiety of a genuine response that they have little to no control over.

@carolinephinney