What's Next, Leaving Med Students Unprepared to Administer A Rape Kit Because The Subject Might Be "Triggering"?
Robby Soave writes at reason that professors are holding back from teaching rape law lest the delicate flowers in college these days find the subject "triggering":
Victims of sexual assault deserve competent legal representation; the legal system needs prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges who have vigorously studied the nuances of rape adjudication. Social progress on all these fronts will be rolled back if law professors stop educating students about rape. That would be a travesty of justice.It's time to admit that appeasing students' seemingly unlimited senses of personal victimhood entitlement, unenlightened views about public discourse, and thinly-veiled laziness is not merely wrong, but actively dangerous. Colleges are supposed to prepare young people to succeed in the real world; they do students no favors by infantilizing them. But worse than that, by bending over backwards to satisfy the illiberal mob, colleges are doling out diplomas to people who are prepared for neither real life nor their eventual professions. Should medical colleges abdicate their responsibility to instruct students on how to administer a rape kit to a victim, or ask a victim difficult questions about her trauma, because that discussion is triggering to some of the students?
It would be better for professors to instruct students on how to confront their uncomfortable emotions and grow beyond them, but alas, that seems less and less common.
RELATED: A University of Michigan student who dared mock trigger warnings lost his position at the student newspaper, The Michigan Daily, after another student was offended by a piece he wrote for the conservative paper, The Michigan Review. Soave writes:
Last week, he became the victim of what The College Fix has described as a "hate crime." The doorway of his apartment was vandalized in the middle of the night; the perpetrators pelted the door with eggs and scribbled notes like "shut the fuck up" and "everyone hates you you violent prick." They left copies of the offending column and a print-out picture of Satan....The column that caused such a controversy, "Do the Left Thing," was published in The Review last month. It's a first-person narrative in which Mahmood pretends to be a left-handed person who is offended by the institutional patriarchy of right-handedness.
Best of all, Soave reports that the geniuses who attacked him "wore hoods and baggy clothing to disguise themselves; less brilliantly, they changed in full view of the apartment complex's security camera. They appear to be women of unclear ages."
RELATED: Jeannie Suk in The New Yorker.
The power of concision.
Crid [CridComment at Gmail] at December 17, 2014 1:54 AM
Thanks to Crid, I now know that the word 'no' has become 'extremely dismissive'. Where was the 'violent response' ??
Hey, kids, if you don't like the real world, move back into mommy and daddy's house.
DrCos at December 17, 2014 3:34 AM
Damnit, I had a comment all written, and as I went off to look up a spelling of a word, IE crashed and I lost it. (And no, I don't have another choice of browser on this stupid work laptop.) Let's see what I can remember:
The university system, like most parts of post-modern government, has bought itself a client class. Permanent teenagers, endowed with the rights and privileges of adults, but none of the obligations. They vote for the policies that the university favors, and in turn they are rewarded with money taken from others by government force. As are all welfare and entitlement programs, it is self-perpetrating and won't stop until the whole system collapses.
And as for the law students: it's not like lawyers today pay any attention to law anyhow. The practice of law today is not about actual law; it's about power, what you can get away with, political force and finding the "gotcha".
Cousin Dave at December 17, 2014 4:47 AM
"...They left copies of the offending column and a print-out picture of Satan."
I'm sorry I missed it. I'm dying to know what Satan looks like.
Patrick at December 17, 2014 6:33 AM
I am surprised they can teach classes about capital offenses--aren't those pretty "triggering" also? I am sure children of divorce don't want to hear about divorce law. I am sure environmental law is pretty controversial--cancel that also! If religious conservatives had such a veto they might have to cancel classes on evolution and genetics also. Good luck finding a trained lawyer in a few years. Oh hell, just close the whole thing down.
Craig Loehle at December 17, 2014 10:08 AM
"Best of all, Soave reports that the geniuses who attacked him "wore hoods and baggy clothing to disguise themselves; less brilliantly, they changed in full view of the apartment complex's security camera. They appear to be women of unclear ages."
Behold the power of self-righteous, sanctimonious Social Justice woo to destroy any shred of human decency and moral conscience.
Jim at December 17, 2014 11:10 AM
I'm dying to know what Satan looks like.
http://media4.s-nbcnews.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Video/091022/n_mj_cheney3_091021.grid-6x2.jpg
Steve Daniels at December 17, 2014 11:38 AM
To: Steve Daniels -- way to improve political discourse. What, next some right-winger posts a photo of Obama? I'm not a Cheney fan, but I've read a lot about him and his various roles in the country. I'd wager to say he has done more good for the country than you, even if you undoubtedly argue that he has done harm. Demonizing (in this case literally) folks that serve the country, whether you agree with them or not is a big part of what is wrong with politics in the USA.
Simplistic nonsense.
Wambut at December 17, 2014 1:25 PM
Simplistic nonsense.
Lighten up, Francis.
Steve Daniels at December 17, 2014 4:01 PM
"Lighten up, Francis."
So your counter-argument to Wambut is what, specifically?
(And no, I'm not much of a Cheney fan either.)
Cousin Dave at December 17, 2014 4:45 PM
How about this one CD. From the point of view of the vandals would not Cheney count as Satan?
Ben at December 17, 2014 6:59 PM
IE was getting better for a while, but I think in terms of usability if not stability, the latest versions have regressed.
jerry at December 17, 2014 7:40 PM
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