I support the University of Chicago in Not Supporting #SafeSpaces

The Chicago Tribune released a report yesterday. In it they showed a letter that the University of Chicago class of 2020 received announcing that the university would not be providing 'trigger warnings' or 'intellectual safe spaces' for their students.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-university-of-chicago-safe-spaces-letter-met-20160825-story.html

The letter said, in part, that the university does not support "so called 'trigger warning'", [does] not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual 'safe spaces' where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own."

I completely support this decision and applaud them for their stance.

 Let me explain...

I completely understand PTSD. I understand that people have it and a trigger warring is helpful in their lives. But this is getting ridiculous. Much of the controversy is coming down to definitions of the words 'trigger warnings', 'safe spaces', etc.

A 'trigger' is some word, image, or expression that 'triggers' an unintentional response, feeling, or emotion from a person. This is my understanding of the verb form of the word.

Here is the formal definition of the verb form of 'trigger':

verb

1. 1.

   cause (an event or situation) to happen or exist.

   "an allergy can be triggered by stress or overwork"

The definition of 'trauma trigger' is:  "...an experience that causes someone to recall a previous traumatic memory, although the trigger itself need not be frightening or traumatic and can be indirectly or superficially reminiscent an earlier traumatic incident."

I believe that the 'trauma trigger' is the kind of 'trigger' we are speaking about here. Here's my issue with 'trauma trigger warnings': you never know what will 'trigger' someone. Cars backfiring, the word taco, topics that include assault, talks on same-sex marriage, a cat, someone wearing a green dress, talks about IEDs, etc.

If a professor wants to put a trigger warning on their syllabus, fine. If they have had the experience that something in their class is going to be 'triggering' for someone, understood. But, the university cannot be expected to cater to every tiny thing that may set someone off. University or college is where an individual gets their first lesson in dealing with the real world and the real world doesn't have 'trigger warnings'.

Intellectual safe space? What the hell is that? I looked it up because I thought maybe I just didn't understand what they are talking about. I found an article from The Advocate entitled "Does University of Chicago Know Meaning of Safe Space?"

http://www.advocate.com/youth/2016/8/26/does-university-chicago-know-meaning-safe-spaces

I read it because I really wanted to make sure I knew that the term meant. They spoke with Campus Pride founder Shane Windmeyer who had this to say:  "The intent of safe spaces is to empower colleges to support the needs of LGBTQ students by educating them on creating spaces where students feel comfortable to discuss issues of sexuality and gender identity."

Okay, I get it. Safe spaces were started for those being harassed can go to feel safe and get help. And I support them. I, myself, had a pin on my backpack in college delegating myself as a safe space for LGBTQ AND secular students. But, that was something I took on myself. I saw some of my professors with 'safe space' signs in their office windows. Again, this is easily something an individual can provide. I also joined many student-lead organizations that supported LGBTQ and secular students. That's where I found my safe spaces. I was responsible for seeking out those spaces or creating them if needed.

However, some groups have made it out that they need a space to go to when they have their opinions challenged. This is not something a university must provide for. I understand their main priority is to educate and challenge not hand hold.

And, sorry not sorry, if your university or a student-lead organization has invited a speaker to the campus and you do not agree with that...don't fucking go. OR you can act like a good adult, attend and listen to what the speaker says, ask questions, maybe, I don't know, LEARN SOMETHING. Even if you still don't agree with them at least you will have a better understanding of why you don't agree. Trust me, it makes you the better person when you are able to listen to varying opinions, entertain them, and still reject them. You're allowed to reject ideas. You are not allowed to silence others because you don't agree.

Universities are places where your ideas and beliefs are supposed to be challenged. But, they can not be responsible for students' emotional health, according a report issued by American Association of University Professors. That responsibility lies with counselors and other mental health experts which are sometimes already provided by the universities.

"Some discomfort is inevitable in classrooms if the goal is to expose students to new ideas, have them question beliefs they have taken for granted, grapple with ethical problems they have never considered, and, more generally, expand their horizons so as to become informed and responsible democratic citizens," an AAUP committee wrote in a 2014 report on the issue. "Trigger warnings suggest that classrooms should offer protection and comfort rather than an intellectually challenging education. They reduce students to vulnerable victims rather than full participants in the intellectual process of education."

As someone who is a survivor of an assault, I HATE when people give me a 'trigger warning'. I still jump when I hear a loud noise. Men who resemble my attacker will still make me uncomfortable. But they are my issues and I work through them when they happen.

I understand that not everyone feels the same way I do. But, I would rather handle my own emotions myself. They are, after all, my responsibility. And, after I was assaulted I sought emotional help and I received good (and FREE) care from an organization that was funded by the state. Help is out there.  If you really need more emotional or psychological help, please seek it out!  But, dear sweet fictional baby Jesus, don't force the rest of the world to cater to your emotional needs.

Does this make me sound crass? Sure. I accept that. Because I can't be responsible for how EVERYONE sees me or thinks of me. But, think about it, if you can't get through a classroom setting without a 'trigger warning' or a place to go so you can talk about how the day has affected you then you REALLY need more psychological help than a sentence on a paper about the upcoming conversation about assault/tacos/IEDs/religion/etc.

And, if you need more help, don't hesitate to seek it out. Just don't blame the rest of the world for not tiptoeing around you.

My Home is Flooded and People Only Care About the President?

This past week I have seen many responses to the historic flooding happening in southern Louisiana. Good people coming together. Black, white, Latino, everyone is helping each other. That's what I'm seeing reported by my friends and family in Livingston and Tangipahoa Parish. The Cajun Navy is the funniest thing I've every seen.

I'm also proud as hell to be from there.

My parent's home is right on a canal that leads to Lake Pontchartrain and, luckily, on stilts but, the water still rose to 8.5 feet. The water came up to the bottom of the house. My father's shed is ruined, along with all his belongings that were in it (except the Harley, of course). He used his boat to rescue elderly neighbors down the street who were trapped. The neighbors have lost everything.

They were luckier than most. Of the 137,000 some odd residents of his parish, 103,000 have suffered property damage or have lost everything. It's reported that 12 people have died. Hundreds injured. So, so many are homeless. My parents are lucky and I'm so happy that after Katrina my dad had the good sense to rebuild his house in the air.

My Alma Mater, Southeastern Louisiana University, has been asking for volunteers daily to help neighbors with clean-up. Anyone from freshmen to athletes have been in the community helping with the messy aftermath that is a monstrous flood.

Friends and relatives of mine all over the country have been donating the best they can or just packing up and heading home to help.

It's disasters like this that prove to me, once again, that the human race is a strong, if quirky, creature. We argue about simple things like religion, income, and color. But, when we really need to, we come together like no other species I know of. We are all possessed with the same spirit of helping our neighbor and it makes me proud to see. And, I may be biased here but, I think that southern people embody this feeling just a tad more than the rest of the country.

And I'm so proud of our ability to see past all the bickering and come together to help one another.

Until....The Advocate, Baton Rouge's main newspaper, wrote an open letter to the president expressing their disappointment that he had not yet visited the flooded areas. Read the letter at The Advocate's page here:

http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/our_views/article_f1ce22ee-64b4-11e6-b11a-a393ff25161d.html

The strongly opinionated piece, printed as an editorial, complains about the president's golf game and laments about former president Bush's fly-by following hurricane Katrina.

Baton Rouge, this is not what we need right now. The president, I'm sure, is very abreast of the destruction to the state. As, I'm sure, he is very much aware of the hundreds of thousands of people who are homeless and displaced in California due to the wildfires there.

For President Obama to come to the affected areas would cause a media storm, disrupt the relief efforts, and be a general nuisance to the Cajun Navy trying to do their damn best. What exactly do you want him to do? Roll up his sleeves and toss sandbags in front of the many cameras that follow him around?

Sure, he could do that. I'm almost positive he wants to. There are many, many security people and strategists that stop him from doing things like that all the time, I'm sure.  But, really think about it. Just stop, take a deep breath, and think.

Think about what you could be using your print space for instead. Maybe notifications for those who are missing people? Maybe they are missing pets? Maybe post more stories about the community coming together to help? That's a different story than the pulling apart that has been plaguing the capital city for the past year.

I get it. Feel-good stories don't always sell papers. But, I can promise you that you will lose more subscribers with this political baiting than you will when you show how our community is one of unity.

President Obama doesn't need more press. Trust me. The Cajun Navy needs more press. Off-duty cops making neighborhood checks for safety need more recognition. People who save strangers and their dogs from sinking cars need to be highlighted.

Like Mr. Rogers said, "In times of trouble, look for the helpers."

I Don't Support Aborting Disabled Fetuses

....but I'd support your decision to NOT have a disabled child. Any day of the week.

We all know my stance on abortion for myself. I had a slight pregnancy scare last month. I was prepared to go down to Planned Parenthood if needed. I had a friend ready to go with me for support.

I'm having an IUD placed this week. I don't want another scare and, with the new ACA rules, my insurance must cover one so, why not?

A group of friends and I were talking about abortions, birth control, periods, and men. (Super original) Someone brought up how Mike Pence (Trump's running mate) put in place a law banning abortions of fetuses with a disability. We all agreed that this was a terrible idea.

Let me be clear: I DO NOT think it is a great idea for a woman to abort a baby just because they have a disability. I completely understand that disabled people can have rewarding and fulfilling lives for themselves and their families. I understand this and I understand that people with disabilities have every right to live as anyone else.

I also understand that a woman and family have the right to decide if they are ready for the emotional, financial, and physical expense it takes to not only raise a child, but raise a child with a disability.

I have an interesting job. A job where I see people with disabilities and how it affects their lives and their families lives. I've seen people with a disability that hardly affects their daily life and I've seen some who's every activity from breathing, eating, and self-care must be performed by someone else. I've seen kids who were born with a defect that made them emotionally and developmentally unstable to the point where they need to be housed in a facility that can properly care for them.

I understand that there is a difference between someone being born with a disability and someone being injured and developing a disability. I've seen it financially ruin a family. I've seen it destroy emotional bonds between family members.

I've also seen the joy that kids, no matter what, bring to those who love them.

I don't want children. Never did. I understand that some people feel more fulfilled with children. I feel terrible that my body is capable of having children that I have no desire to have. Mostly because I know there are plenty of people who would love to welcome a child into their lives.  But, they can't. And I can't change that.

I will never, and I mean NEVER, judge someone who is aborting, or has aborted, a fetus because of a disability. I see it the same as a women who can't afford a child to start with getting an abortion. If a family wants to have a child but are not financially or emotionally prepared to care for the staggering needs of a child with a disability, then that is a choice they must make for themselves. Forcing medical expenses on a women or family is irresponsible. It creates an unnecessary burden on the family and the community.

We have the medical advancements to be able to tell if a fetus is in trouble in the womb. We have the ability to tell if the fetus will be viable or not. We can see if it will have a disability. What's the point of seeing if we are not able to be prepared for it or decide if it's something we can handle?

This will come across as the most crass thing that I will ever write: knowingly having a disabled child when you know you cannot afford it is a waste of community resources. Having any child, healthy or not, when you can't afford it, is irresponsible and a drain on our resources. Perhaps that speaks more to our country's healthcare system than to our morality but, there it is.

Taking away that choice from a family is one of the most terrible things I can think of. Trump and Pence are a dangerous duo and I hope beyond hope that America doesn't have the misfortune of seeing them take charge.

I'm not a huge fan of Hilary but I will happily vote for her, or anyone, who keeps those two monsters out of office and away from women's rights. Because they will destroy both.