I'm (Not) Triggered!
What follows is obviously going to be a very general discussion of psychological triggers. I'm not going to bother listing them as I'm not even sure my words are specific enough to warrant it, but any readers with triggers might do well to prepare for them or click away just in case. I don't pretend to be an expert on the subject. I'm just really tired of indulging people who know even less.
Today, an acquaintance of mine whose shit I'm getting tired of decided to share a really delightful meme with me on Facebook today. I don't know if I've made it clear enough that I'm a feminist (in theory) so he could be forgiven for assuming I'd find a joke that dunks on feminists funny. Whatever. That's not what I'm annoyed about right now. The meme did remind me that I have had a canned rant about the use of the term "triggered" for quite some time. It's not really something that's important to me, but I did threaten the guy with a wall of text the next time he tried to show me a meme that misused the word and it helps to have one prepared ahead of time.
You really don't have to look far on the internet to find loads of people who are guilty of this. Seriously, if you just google the word "triggered" you will find tons of people making fun of someone else for being triggered. Although, if they were using the word properly, they might feel a lot less heroic about it. Somewhere along the line, presumably when conservatives took hold of the word, triggered came to mean "expressing some over-the-top emotional reaction." Then people on the left launched a blunt campaign to turn the word against them. Now, anyone who is angry enough to shout about anything has to be triggered. Say something I disagree with? I'm triggered! Misgender me? Triggered! Acting like a blatantly sexist ass and expecting me to be amused? Triggered! Triggered! TRIGGERED!
No I'm not. Neither is Trump. And neither are the people expressing their disdain for him. We could all rage until we're purple and that wouldn't change anything if the world were a dichotomy between people who are "triggered" and "not triggered." Most of us can't even BE triggered. That's because a trigger is a specific stimulus that triggers feelings of trauma. When someone experiences post-traumatic stress, many things can psychologically throw that person back into their trauma, causing them to experience intense sadness, anxiety, panic and even flashbacks. These can include sounds of explosions for soldiers or mentions of rape for sexual assault survivors, but it can also include specific details related to the trauma like a date or location. It is impossible to know every possible trigger, but it is often a good idea to warn people you don't know about any common triggers that are bound to be discussed and steer clear of them if it's not absolutely necessary. Obviously, some people are going to mess this up from time to time, but it takes almost no effort to avoid triggering most people.
Cue the parade of internet dipshits who think showing emotional sensitivity to people with possible psychological trauma means showing emotional sensitivity to everyone. Suddenly the simple demand to try to avoid opening up old wounds becomes an unreasonable demand to avoid upsetting anyone. This is where I can find common ground with the people I'm ranting against. The world is an unfair place and sometimes people are going to say things you don't like. But when those people claim you're triggered just because you express how upset you are, they're not just "owning" you. They are contributing to a cultural mentality that doesn't take PTSD seriously enough. So, to be clear, if you joke about someone being triggered (I will admit that I'm guilty of doing this at least once back when I was less informed), you are being an even bigger asshole to people who've experienced something you're unlikely to comprehend than to the actual object of your attention.
And one more thing. It would be ever-so-lovely if we could get the word "triggered" the FUCK out of politics entirely. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, it says nothing good about you OR your beliefs to imply that you stand for something that's inherently traumatic. This can be a little bit of a controversial idea when it comes to social politics because, for many marginalized people, oppression CAN be traumatic. But I really don't understand why we have to use it to describe the president's reaction to a question about being investigated.
Today, an acquaintance of mine whose shit I'm getting tired of decided to share a really delightful meme with me on Facebook today. I don't know if I've made it clear enough that I'm a feminist (in theory) so he could be forgiven for assuming I'd find a joke that dunks on feminists funny. Whatever. That's not what I'm annoyed about right now. The meme did remind me that I have had a canned rant about the use of the term "triggered" for quite some time. It's not really something that's important to me, but I did threaten the guy with a wall of text the next time he tried to show me a meme that misused the word and it helps to have one prepared ahead of time.
You really don't have to look far on the internet to find loads of people who are guilty of this. Seriously, if you just google the word "triggered" you will find tons of people making fun of someone else for being triggered. Although, if they were using the word properly, they might feel a lot less heroic about it. Somewhere along the line, presumably when conservatives took hold of the word, triggered came to mean "expressing some over-the-top emotional reaction." Then people on the left launched a blunt campaign to turn the word against them. Now, anyone who is angry enough to shout about anything has to be triggered. Say something I disagree with? I'm triggered! Misgender me? Triggered! Acting like a blatantly sexist ass and expecting me to be amused? Triggered! Triggered! TRIGGERED!
No I'm not. Neither is Trump. And neither are the people expressing their disdain for him. We could all rage until we're purple and that wouldn't change anything if the world were a dichotomy between people who are "triggered" and "not triggered." Most of us can't even BE triggered. That's because a trigger is a specific stimulus that triggers feelings of trauma. When someone experiences post-traumatic stress, many things can psychologically throw that person back into their trauma, causing them to experience intense sadness, anxiety, panic and even flashbacks. These can include sounds of explosions for soldiers or mentions of rape for sexual assault survivors, but it can also include specific details related to the trauma like a date or location. It is impossible to know every possible trigger, but it is often a good idea to warn people you don't know about any common triggers that are bound to be discussed and steer clear of them if it's not absolutely necessary. Obviously, some people are going to mess this up from time to time, but it takes almost no effort to avoid triggering most people.
Cue the parade of internet dipshits who think showing emotional sensitivity to people with possible psychological trauma means showing emotional sensitivity to everyone. Suddenly the simple demand to try to avoid opening up old wounds becomes an unreasonable demand to avoid upsetting anyone. This is where I can find common ground with the people I'm ranting against. The world is an unfair place and sometimes people are going to say things you don't like. But when those people claim you're triggered just because you express how upset you are, they're not just "owning" you. They are contributing to a cultural mentality that doesn't take PTSD seriously enough. So, to be clear, if you joke about someone being triggered (I will admit that I'm guilty of doing this at least once back when I was less informed), you are being an even bigger asshole to people who've experienced something you're unlikely to comprehend than to the actual object of your attention.
And one more thing. It would be ever-so-lovely if we could get the word "triggered" the FUCK out of politics entirely. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, it says nothing good about you OR your beliefs to imply that you stand for something that's inherently traumatic. This can be a little bit of a controversial idea when it comes to social politics because, for many marginalized people, oppression CAN be traumatic. But I really don't understand why we have to use it to describe the president's reaction to a question about being investigated.
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