What is this filth? — my immediate instinctive reaction to seeing the Charlatan cover story which detailed the recent kiss-in event at the Atrium. I was very much taken aback by the sheer lack of understanding by the staff in regards to sensitivity experienced by some students. Have you got no shame?
I come full-force intentionally overbearing. The last few thoughts you just read were my own gross exaggerating of how those who were offended felt, and I hope it caught you off-guard; like bluffing with a bad hand in a game of Texas Hold ‘Em (I lost $50.00 that way, twice) I digress. The reality of the situation is that I can’t find sympathy or empathy in dealing with the hyper-sensitive. When my friend told me the recent issue of the Charlatan featured two women kissing on the cover, I’ll admit, my interest peaked. I did a double take of the cover just to see what it was all about. Flash forward a few days later and some readers are up-in-arms with the two girls kissing on the front page, sensitivity infractions being filed with lightning quick speed, people being reprimanded left and right – of course not. It is the notion that one can draw offense from public displays of affection, and complain about it, that draws most of my disdain. From my point of view, the politically correct shock troops are always in the wrong simply because if it’s not one thing, it’s something else.
In examining the Charlatan’s cover photo, any element could be construed to draw offence to any group even if it were altered which create combinations of sensitivity offenses that run ad infinitum. There is no actual neutral un-offensive zone which could be played in any social media context, especially one relating to specific social groups, without causing some form of offensive content to be perceived. This is the faulty aspect of politically correct approaches as it’s almost impossible to cater to every different type of person and every different social group. This is why complaining about it and drawing offence is the most useless form of activity that one can engage in. It’s like getting into an argument with TV: it’s fun (not really), but it’s not really conducive. Actually, scratch that, it’s more along the lines of arguing with a wall because that is more boring and less conducive to getting anywhere. If anything it’s one step closer to having a complete mental meltdown, fingers-crossed.
The phrase “don’t sweat the small stuff” really comes into effect when dealing with the overly-sensitive. Mind you, if you’re sweating big stuff, I’d go seek medical attention immediately. It really comes down to not taking messages so seriously. Learn to laugh and not care about certain issues that may offend you, especially if they’re as minute as a kiss-in. Think of how much more offensive it could’ve been and find some solace in how it wasn’t as bad as that. Looking to the article itself, is it really even that offensive? I mean in the 21st century we’ve seen characters running the GLBTQ gamut on TV for the past few years. We’ve seen people actively assert themselves from that community in their surroundings and thrive. It’s certainly more socially acceptable than it was with prior generations. And we’re all, generally, young people. You should be enjoying what they say are the best years instead of worrying about being offended by a photo or story in a newspaper.
We’ve come full circle in this article, and now it’s over. However, I’m not going to let myself get away fully, with outing complainers and politically correct shock troopers. I’m probably the biggest hypocrite in writing an article complaining about complainers. Imagine the nerve of that guy. I’ll end up taking the advice I dished out on having fun and not caring, and hit up the pub, thank you tax returns.