Safe spaces are wrong. That may anger some, but it is true. Safe spaces have created a society even more intolerant to opposing views. While the goal of safe spaces is to protect people from hate speech, all they have done is shielded people from the reality of opposing views. Safe spaces need to go away.

First of all, something needs to be made clear: opposing safe spaces is not the same thing as supporting hate speech. In no way am I arguing that it is okay to be racist, sexist, or intolerant in any other way. Hate speech is a problem that needs to be addressed. Too often people define safe spaces as protecting people from hate speech. That is not the case. Safe spaces shelter people from any views that oppose their own. An example would be abortion. People go to safe spaces to avoid hearing people say they oppose abortion. While it is perfectly okay to be pro-choice, it is not practical or helpful to avoid hearing the views of people who are pro-life. People who are pro-life are not being intolerant. They hold a different belief on an issue fundamental to religion, politics, and so on.

Safe spaces have created a society that values only hearing what you want to hear. Safe spaces shelter people so much that even just hearing a viewpoint different from one's own sets people off. I cannot make this more clear: we need to listen to opposing viewpoints more than we need to listen to our own. Living in a society that promotes avoidance does no good. While safe spaces are supposed to protect people, all they do is create a political and social divide even greater than before. When people are so stuck in their own values that they feel the need to hide from anybody who disagrees with them, it is impossible to have meaningful conversations on any topic. Everybody needs to learn to listen to every viewpoint in every situation. It is perfectly okay to disagree. It is not okay to run away and accuse the opposition of being intolerant. In fact, running away to safe spaces is hypocritical. These people are being intolerant of the opposing view by running away and hiding from it.

It is okay to disagree. It is okay to feel mad when you hear a viewpoint different from your own. But it is not okay to run away into safe spaces. We should be able to talk about issues without fear that the opponent is going to accuse us of intolerance and run away into a safe space. It is time we learn to listen, and even debate, without feeling attacked. People have different views, and that is okay. Learn to understand the opposition. Do not run and hide in a safe space. Gather all the possible ideas you can. Listen to people.