I understand your frustration.
Trigger warnings are inconvenient. As a journalist, there is no fluid way to present a warning about a story, before you even begin. And these people are always triggered by something. What is the point of even adding a trigger warning when you'll likely need five more for the same story? Why are you deemed offensive if you miss even one? I mean, truly, nothing is safe now. Every story is offensive and every story will trigger someone. How is one expected to express themselves AND worry about triggers? It's one or the other and you've clearly made your choice. Who cares about triggers? Who knows if they're even real? Talking about middle school haircuts is a sore subject for you yet you can still bring yourself to read about it. So why can't these people, who are somehow constantly plagued by endless triggers, just get over it?
I understand your frustration. I'm frustrated, too.
I'm frustrated each time one of my friends is hurt by a boy who goes unpunished. I'm frustrated by a system that harbors rape, then pretends it isn't valid. A system that leaves bullied kids to fend for themselves, because the abuse will give them thick skin. A system that forces trans students to use the "right bathroom" despite the torment that awaits them there. I'm frustrated with trigger warnings on every story but I'm more frustrated with the culture that made everything a trigger. Because whether we'd like to admit it or not, we live within a culture that turns a blind eye to abuse, torment, rape, and countless other injustices. The victims of this culture don't go around demanding trigger warnings, they don't even ask for them. They beg for the opportunity to go online without having to relive their abuse without warning. They plead for a chance to read the paper without a risk of panic attacks or flashbacks. But this culture that creates triggers also condemns trigger warnings. It says that the inconvenience of adding one line to an article, post, or news segment outweighs the possible trauma of a victim. It says "Suck it up, the world is full of uncomfortable subjects." It doesn't know that these subjects are not just uncomfortable but distressing, painful, and frightening. In this culture, we don't always know how our words affect others. We don't know what is offensive and what is not. This is why we need to ask. We need to try to understand the struggles of others and empathize with them. Trigger warnings are just a small step in achieving a respect towards one another that we can only hope for. Because trigger warnings don't say, "Suck it up." They don't say, "It wasn't that bad." They say that we care enough to look out for each other.
With empathy,
A Trigger-aware Journalist
