The Coddling of the American Mind

[THE Bigzoman]

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...n-mind/399356/


So the above is a long articles written by a duo that works for the atlantic. I've seen it linked and discussed a bit in outside circles, so I figured i'd bring it here.

I haven't read the entire article. I'm only about halfway through. From what I can tell, it's essentially a large collection of topics we've discussed frequently over the last year in a half or so:

1. Trigger warnings.
2. Safe Spaces.
3. SJWs.
4. Political Correctness.
5. Fuck Millenials.


It's all here, so I figured i'd bring it here for discussion.

Read it once. Hell, even twice if you have to. The article goes in detph, so if you wanna pick a topic within the duo's topic, do so.


Thoughts?

[Izalla]

"According to the most-basic tenets of psychology, helping people with anxiety disorders avoid the things they fear is misguided."

I've always felt this way... if something is so upsetting to you that you can't handle being exposed to it at all, you clearly have issues that you need to work on. Running from it is NOT helping you in any way, face reality and learn to deal with shit. Just makes things worse.

[Mistame]

Thoughts?

Mind you, this is just my opinion, but I honestly think there's actually something wrong with these people. It's like they have some disorder that locks them into emotional, pubescent stupidity for decades.

[Theodarzna]

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...n-mind/399356/


So the above is a long articles written by a duo that works for the atlantic. I've seen it linked and discussed a bit in outside circles, so I figured i'd bring it here.

I haven't read the entire article. I'm only about halfway through. From what I can tell, it's essentially a large collection of topics we've discussed frequently over the last year in a half or so:

1. Trigger warnings.
2. Safe Spaces.
3. SJWs.
4. Political Correctness.
5. Fuck Millenials.


It's all here, so I figured i'd bring it here for discussion.

Read it once. Hell, even twice if you have to. The article goes in detph, so if you wanna pick a topic within the duo's topic, do so.


Thoughts?

Eh, I try not to blame my generation, I liked to think we are just operating on the morals and lessons taught to us by elders.

Growing up I learned one key thing from every teacher, relative, (never my actual parents for a miraculous reason) but always adults whom were doing something shifty or shady, they would say "Life isn't fair!" when confronted by it. The most egregious example was when my middle school class was voting on a class song for our graduation from Middle School. The song that won was "Eye of the Tiger," yes a silly choice but it won. The teacher did not approve and demanded a revote.... and a revote... and a revote. Over and over, we voted 5 more times. On the 5th round some students protested and they were told their votes were now invalid for talking back to the teacher and the person who nominated the song was given detention and thus that song was by her NEW rule no able to be nominated, plus with 10 kids thrown from the class during voting a song she liked finally won. Now this was our CIVICS teacher mind you, our damn Civics teacher who taught us that Democracy is a shame and people in power just get what they want no matter what. BUT.... the phrase she said was "Life isn't fair."

A second key moral lessons I think EVERYONE goes through is lying. Who among us hasn't lied to a teacher, boss, parent, relative, someone who has power over us and pretended to hold beliefs we don't have and said things we didn't believe were true. Who hasn't had to have an opinion shoved down their throat by someone in power? We have all written essays FULL of garbage none of us believed. We did it for the grade, we did it you keep our job, we did it to keep the peace. We learned once you have power, you can MAKE people fall in line.

When you combine these I think the SJ mentality that its okay to silence critics, and that really fairness is false, well, look who taught us those lessons.

[Fexus]

If there is anywhere I have confidence that in the long run the free expression will be protected, it's the academic community. Obviously there are some alarming "leftist authoritarian" (which IMO is an oxymoron) trends, but I'm fairly confident they will be defeated.

[THE Bigzoman]

Eh, I try not to blame my generation, I liked to think we are just operating on the morals and lessons taught to us by elders.

Growing up I learned one key thing from every teacher, relative, (never my actual parents for a miraculous reason) but always adults whom were doing something shifty or shady, they would say "Life isn't fair!" when confronted by it. The most egregious example was when my middle school class was voting on a class song for our graduation from Middle School. The song that won was "Eye of the Tiger," yes a silly choice but it won. The teacher did not approve and demanded a revote.... and a revote... and a revote. Over and over, we voted 5 more times. On the 5th round some students protested and they were told their votes were now invalid for talking back to the teacher and the person who nominated the song was given detention and thus that song was by her NEW rule no able to be nominated, plus with 10 kids thrown from the class during voting a song she liked finally won. Now this was our CIVICS teacher mind you, our damn Civics teacher who taught us that Democracy is a shame and people in power just get what they want no matter what. BUT.... the phrase she said was "Life isn't fair."

A second key moral lessons I think EVERYONE goes through is lying. Who among us hasn't lied to a teacher, boss, parent, relative, someone who has power over us and pretended to hold beliefs we don't have and said things we didn't believe were true. Who hasn't had to have an opinion shoved down their throat by someone in power? We have all written essays FULL of garbage none of us believed. We did it for the grade, we did it you keep our job, we did it to keep the peace. We learned once you have power, you can MAKE people fall in line.

When you combine these I think the SJ mentality that its okay to silence critics, and that really fairness is false, well, look who taught us those lessons.

What you're saying would imply one of two things. That either

A. Parents and adults are the primary influences in our lives. Or...
B. Parents and adults are the only influences in our lives.

Parental and adult supervision vary from one child to another. The rise of social media and child obesity point to a generation that has spent tons of time on the internet. To what degree would you place the blame of social media as a culprit?

[Doctor Amadeus]

Complete utter bullshit and projected nonsense. The only coddling maybe being done is for abusive assholes who believe dipshit stuff like the way to help people with a disease or mental disorder is to subject someone to cruelty to appease the same clueless assholes.

No if you have and actual diagnosed conditions like anxiety disorder applying force to get them to deal with it is much like stabbing a blind person with a sharp stick to cure blindness.

[Crissi]

Complete utter bullshit and projected nonsense. The only coddling maybe being done is for abusive assholes who believe dipshit stuff like the way to help people with a disease or mental disorder is to subject someone to cruelty to appease the same clueless assholes.

No if you have and actual diagnosed conditions like anxiety disorder applying force to get them to deal with it is much like stabbing a blind person with a sharp stick to cure blindness.

Not sure if you've actually talked to psychologists, but the several Ive talked to, to help me with my anxiety, has advised that slow and steady encounters with what makes me anxious is actually the best therapy. Obviously dont throw people in randomly, but avoidence does NOT help, AT ALL.

[THE Bigzoman]

Complete utter bullshit and projected nonsense. The only coddling maybe being done is for abusive assholes who believe dipshit stuff like the way to help people with a disease or mental disorder is to subject someone to cruelty to appease the same clueless assholes.

No if you have and actual diagnosed conditions like anxiety disorder applying force to get them to deal with it is much like stabbing a blind person with a sharp stick to cure blindness.

Making someone confront something discomforting isn't jeopardizing any part of the human body.

[Testaxc]

Complete utter bullshit and projected nonsense. The only coddling maybe being done is for abusive assholes who believe dipshit stuff like the way to help people with a disease or mental disorder is to subject someone to cruelty to appease the same clueless assholes.

No if you have and actual diagnosed conditions like anxiety disorder applying force to get them to deal with it is much like stabbing a blind person with a sharp stick to cure blindness.

Hah. I used to be anxious and still am. Joined the military and that fixed a lot of it very quickly. I'm glad I didn't take the easy road. You can look back at yourself and wonder how you used to be like that, or you can spend all your life sorting out your problems.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Not sure if you've actually talked to psychologists, but the several Ive talked to, to help me with my anxiety, has advised that slow and steady encounters with what makes me anxious is actually the best therapy. Obviously dont throw people in randomly, but avoidence does NOT help, AT ALL.

Sure absolutely therapy can help all kinds of levels of eye sight, just like all kinds of anxiety disorders. Some anxieties can be treated with therapy and medication some can't.

Sometimes it's a little bit more of one than the other and coupled with other mental conditions like being bi polar also.

[Elegiac]

Joined the military and that fixed a lot of it very quickly.

But evidently caused a whole lot of other character defects, such as pretending that 'brute force' solves any form of psychological malady.

[THE Bigzoman]

Not sure if you've actually talked to psychologists, but the several Ive talked to, to help me with my anxiety, has advised that slow and steady encounters with what makes me anxious is actually the best therapy. Obviously dont throw people in randomly, but avoidence does NOT help, AT ALL.

This isn't to be confused with forcing a fear 100 % cold turkey do or die, which is where I think Mall is headed.

It's little by little.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Hah. I used to be anxious and still am. Joined the military and that fixed a lot of it very quickly. I'm glad I didn't take the easy road. You can look back at yourself and wonder how you used to be like that, or you can spend all your life sorting out your problems.

Or you never had an anxiety condition or maybe you still do and whatever hung ho nonsense you might thing got you all better and in manifest later on in your life much worse along with other conditions masking it.

[Crissi]

Sure absolutely therapy can help all kinds of levels of eye sight, just like all kinds of anxiety disorders. Some anxieties can be treated with therapy and medication some can't.

Sometimes it's a little bit more of one than the other and coupled with other mental conditions like being bi polar also.

Sure, but avoiding everything that triggers it only makes the anxiety worse. I mean if you dont want to get better, cant stop you, but then bitching about how everything is a trigger is not really worth anyone's time to listen to you.

[Doctor Amadeus]

This isn't to be confused with forcing a fear 100 % cold turkey do or die, which is where I think Mall is headed.

It's little by little.

Yes but I'm also talking about how the brain works how it develops. Meaning being cured isn't a matter if your will at all like diabetes or cancer. People don't die or get worse from complications from any of these conditions because they don't will against it.

[Theodarzna]

What you're saying would imply one of two things. That either

A. Parents and adults are the primary influences in our lives. Or...
B. Parents and adults are the only influences in our lives.

Parental and adult supervision vary from one child to another. The rise of social media and child obesity point to a generation that has spent tons of time on the internet. To what degree would you place the blame of social media as a culprit?

I think Social Media platforms are a major contributing factor.

Consider the difference between Tumblr, Facebook, and 4chan. Facebook being completely without anonymity, and 4chan being total anonymity. Tumblr is sort of a weird area were you have the lack of anonymity of facebook, BUTTTTTTTT your able to build a unique persona and because you don't have to have those social connections of Facebook, you can be whatever suites your purposes.

Either way Facebook and Tumblr encourage a lot of social signaling and trying to convey whom you are. I.E. your encouraged to present an image of yourself. Obviously an image as a socially conscious revolutionary who cares about big issues isn't an undesirable one to have.

4chan breeds a very different Anonymous culture. Your identity is meaningless.

HERE is perhaps closer to 4chan than tumblr, but also you have that "Building an identity," mentality.

For our generation, building up an image and presenting or marketing ourselves, FOR MANY is very important. Unless they grew up on 4chan.

[Izalla]

Sure, but avoiding everything that triggers it only makes the anxiety worse. I mean if you dont want to get better, cant stop you, but then bitching about how everything is a trigger is not really worth anyone's time to listen to you.

Yeah avoiding something that upsets you actually reinforces the idea in your brain that it SHOULD upset you and it amplifies how much it upsets you and just makes everything shittier.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Sure, but avoiding everything that triggers it only makes the anxiety worse. I mean if you dont want to get better, cant stop you, but then bitching about how everything is a trigger is not really worth anyone's time to listen to you.

No that is a line of ignorant horses hit that spewed by those that don't know what they are talking about. Having a disease or actual disorder is not the same as I feel anxious once in a while. A disorder is something that has to do with how their brain works.

[Theinquisition]

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/...n-mind/399356/


So the above is a long articles written by a duo that works for the atlantic. I've seen it linked and discussed a bit in outside circles, so I figured i'd bring it here.

I haven't read the entire article. I'm only about halfway through. From what I can tell, it's essentially a large collection of topics we've discussed frequently over the last year in a half or so:

1. Trigger warnings.
2. Safe Spaces.
3. SJWs.
4. Political Correctness.
5. Fuck Millenials.


It's all here, so I figured i'd bring it here for discussion.

Read it once. Hell, even twice if you have to. The article goes in detph, so if you wanna pick a topic within the duo's topic, do so.


Thoughts?

LOL I think they only article in this I'd be interested in reading is number 5