The world is becoming more pleasant to live in. Polio is down, hygiene is up, and someone invented Netflix. And in America, activism is way, way up. Many college students have been speaking out on issues that are important to us. Student activism has always been a big part of the social justice process, because social justice typically starts with young people. Words like “trigger warnings” and “microaggressions” have become bigger and bigger on America’s collective Word Cloud. For those of you who don’t know, a microaggression is a subtle offensive comment directed toward a minority, whether it be people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, people with a disability, etc. A trigger warning is a warning issued before material (a movie, TV episode, book) that could trigger an unpleasant memory or reaction for someone. For example, before a professor hands out a reading about rape, he or she should warn students that the subject of the reading could be upsetting so that the students can prepare themselves or possibly work out an alternate assignment.
Trigger warnings and microaggressions are important to create safe spaces for students. The morality behind this should be obvious: everyone should be able to feel comfortable at school. To run with the trigger warning example, what if a professor assigns a reading that graphically depicts a rape but doesn’t warn students beforehand, and a student in the class has been sexually assaulted before? That student could be sent into painful flashbacks or forced to recall memories that are difficult without being prepared. If the teacher has warned the student, then he/she can prepare him/herself for this, or if needed, he/she could work out something else to read. Our increased awareness, as a society, of mental health leads to the conclusion that such safe spaces are important and necessary for mental health.
While the fight continues to create change at an institutional level, triggers can still happen on the social level in everyday conversation. People make jokes that they think are funny, but aren’t really – in fact, they’re just tasteless and can be harmful.
Rape jokes are prime examples of this, and depending on the joke, it could also send a rape survivor into a difficult mental space. Some of us may like to think that our society is beyond all of this, but racist, homophobic, misogynistic jokes, et cetera, still circulate. And it’s considered normal! Why is it that amidst all of the controversy about trigger warnings and increased awareness about what is and isn’t offensive, microaggressions still exist in the form of offensive jokes? Do you find it amusing to tell a woman to go make you a sandwich? Why do people laugh at the systematic oppression of women since pretty much the beginning of society?
The arguments against this could just be “a joke is a joke,” “it’s supposed to be funny,” “it’s all in good fun,” but these are weak against the basic fact that this joke is hurting people. Unless suddenly the world has flipped, or it’s opposite day, or something, hurting people is bad. We’re seeing it with all the changes happening at universities across the country who are changing policies to make campuses safer mentally for students who are minorities, struggle with mental health, have disabilities, are members of the LGBTQ community, et cetera. Making jokes about these things makes light of real struggles that people have, and it delegitimizes those struggles. The worst thing to hear as a feminist in response to an argument for gender equality is for a man to say, “How about you just get back in the kitchen?” It shows that this issue isn’t taken seriously.
While in the classroom, reading a book about a hot button issue could spark useful discussion, a joke about it wouldn’t. If someone tells a joke that hurts others, those people who get hurt will likely not feel comfortable around that person again. If you can’t think of a tasteful joke to tell, then maybe you’re just not that funny of a person. It isn’t hard to tell a joke without hurting people. The world is full of good, funny material – you just have to know where to look for it.
Millennials are ushering in a new age where people are more cautious about the feelings of others, and this is a good thing. But it doesn’t have to start in the classroom – it can start right here, with you and I.
Next time someone tells a tasteless joke in your presence, look them dead in the eye and say, “I don’t get it. Please explain it to me.” And watch them flop around like a fish out of water. Check mate.
