When puritanism was lost it was replaced with more Puritanism.

The word "microaggression" triggers me. It signals that the person I'm with is on high alert to find offense. Once accused of a microaggression, one has no defense. An apology ("Oh, excuse me, I did not mean to offend.") is an admission of guilt that escalates the finger pointing. A denial is taken as evidence of one's privilege (another word that seems to have lost any definite meaning).

When someone says "microaggression" in any way other than jest, RUN.

In a post-affirmative action society

Wut? where is this society? I'm not seeing it, can you point me in the right direction?

Ppen is right: the first iteration of the Progressive movement brought us Prohibition. They're the 'tsk-tsk' brigrade: someone somewhere is having fun of a sort I do not agree with. These people must be found and...re-educated.

The word "microaggression" triggers me as well. Generally makes me all stabby and stuff. Not a good place to go, as it brings out real aggression.

The prefix 'cis' triggers me.

I cant abide dealing with morons who need a prefix to modify a word that describes the norm so it more accurately labels it as the norm

"Moron" is entirely correct. This idiot thinks an automobile is operated in palatial calm.

I have news for you: bicyclists SHOULD shoulder some responsibility. I have ridden a bicycle in heavy traffic. It is a hell of a lot easier for me to see cars than cars to see me and to figure out what to do. They have to stay in their lane. Bicyclists do not.

It is just a matter of degree, but placing the blame on a car driver is often like blaming the train engineer for hitting a pedestrian crossing the track.

geez, we'se gonna start sounding like The Old Curmudgeon Brigade™
"git offa my LAWN!?!

you want microagression? you're breathing my air, and in the process are slaughtering trillions of microbes, you genocidal maniac!

The only problem I have with this type of people is that, like meth-addicts, they have too much time and energy to devote to a specific thing. That specific thing is trying to alter every issue to a nicety within their own version of reality. Once the alteration is complete, they plan to rule with an iron fist that would make Stalin envious.

Meanwhile the rest of us proles are just trying to make a living, so we don't have time for that falderawl...

so we end up losing.

OTOH, that will probably lead us to some macro -aggression, and if that doesn't change anything, at least we will FEEL better.

First, what the hell is "microaggression"?

Secondly, THIS is her biggest problem in life?

Third. Is she really trying to make a comparison between riding your bike in a busy city and being hit by an oncoming car to say... rape? That's just... no... Rape: An act of deliberate sexual violence toward a person. Not. even. close.

Reality: Sometimes you get hurt because you did something stupid. So yes, you should take some responsibility for it. Riding in the middle of the busy road in rush-hour traffic and cut off a car? Well, then you should expect that there is a high possibility that the car isn't going to see you on time to brake and even if they do, the laws of mechanics and physics aren't going to work in your favor. Choosing not to wear a helmet, well, that's your choice. I have to make the same choice about wearing my seatbelt. If I'm able, I'll make the effort to slow a little and make room for you while passing you, but don't expect me to slow down any slower than I'm already going because you might fall down and hurt your pwecious wittle skull. You made that choice. You get to deal with the consequences of that choice.

you want environmental micro-aggression?
raindrops.
keep.
falling.
on.
my.
head.

ugh, gaia must HATE me or something. I mean, EACH raindrop. splattering it's gut's on my face. I mean, they're hurting me and killing themselves.
I am not going to take responsibility for those raindrops. I may have to see a therapist... the knowledge that they targeted me with that kind of guilt. I can't even...

/sarcasm.

First, what the hell is "microaggression"?
--
Me telling the moderatrix that her outfit is unattractive.

Is it less than "miniaggression?

You go, girl! I loves me a good slap-down!

I'm not some oversensitive ninny parsing gender bullshit.

Well, Amy, we often don't see ourselves as others do.

AD why did you bring this up? OMG you HAD to know that wasn't right to say the first time and instead of apologizing you get ticked off for someone else getting offended. Geez, grow some tits, will ya?

Amy, I thought you looked great, by the way, and should by ALL means come down to Mardi Gras with that hat and you will have more fabulous beads than any other (well, except bra-less) person, I promise!!!

>>Why not take a break from telling me how unattractive I am

Funny, this is not what I thought when I read his comment. I figured it meant he has a different fashion sense than you, not that you, personally, are unattractive.

I'm certain I'll regret doing this, but personal disclosure time. I'm a veteran with a diagnosis of PTSD and MDD. (No, I don't want anyone's sympathy. Let me respectfully ask that those on this board who despise me to please continue despising me. I assure you that I will reciprocate.)

As such, as I'm sure you realize, I have triggers. Guess what? My triggers are my problem, not yours! They're mine, mine, mine, and you can't have them. So there! That's why I see the shrinks and I take the meds. You do not have to see licensed professionals so that you can better learn to avoid "triggering" me. It is my job to cope with triggers.

So, you guys go right ahead and trigger me. It's my job to learn to cope with it. I can go on and on and say I shouldn't have to learn to cope with triggers. And woe-is-me you all to death about how it's not fair that I have triggers and that I have to go through all this shit.

Guess what? Whining about the rawness of my deal doesn't change the fact that I have to deal with it.

This is why I find this triggering stuff so offensive. Anything in the world can be someone's trigger. I know someone who is triggered by zebras and grape jelly (though they don't have to be present together to trigger her). I am not kidding.

The only way that you could avoid triggering someone is to have no contact with anyone. And even then, you couldn't avoid triggering. The color of your house might be someone's trigger.

To avoid triggering is to avoid living.

Maybe those of us with PTSD should be required to wear sandwich boards whenever we leave our homes, announcing to the world what our triggers are, so everyone around us (who can read) can avoid triggering us.

Honestly, there are few things that I would consider more provoking than "You're triggering me." Far from making me apologize or assume guilt, I think I'd just take it up a notch.

Amy, for what it's worth, I think you're a lovely lady, inside and out. And I enjoy your sense of style. It's quirky, original and cool.

I'm so pleased I'm not the only one who thinks Art Deco is a tiny, petty, ill-mannered little man. And pretentious. Don't forget pretentious.

Perhaps, Art, you don't see yourself as others see you.

On the article -- I admit that I'm still afraid of biking in NYC traffic! But that's probably not a bad thing. I'm aware of what I'm doing and what's going on around me every single second, and I scrupulously obey all the traffic laws. After more than a decade of riding in the city, no accidents yet. I must say that a lot of drivers do seem to resent sharing the rode with cyclists, though, even if you're doing everything right. I love it when they holler "GET ON THE SIDEWALK WHERE YOU BELONG!" (apparently not realizing that it's illegal to ride your bike on the sidewalk).

Lately the cops have issued a lot of $100 tickets for things like not having a bell (as if anyone could hear a bell in NYC -- it's more effective to yell "on your left!") or riding for even a split second on the sidewalk. A lot of my biking friends have been bitching about that -- it does seem like the cops are trying to raise money by looking for little infractions. But my solution to that is to get a damn bell (it's 10 lousy dollars) and dismounting my bike while still in the street. I got a headlight too, just in case I'm still out when it starts getting dark. So far, no tickets. It's not really so hard to obey the rules.

You, Art Deco, are a pissant. I usually save that term for my little friend with PDS. You are far more deserving. A gentleman, or gentlewoman, you are not.

We all realize each of us have our own likes and dislikes. Most of us have enough class not to make ourselves look like fools sharing them inappropriately. You not so much.

I challenge you to a duel.

What if someone were triggered by triggers?

For those of us in the competitive shooting community, triggers themselves are rarely the problem.

The problem, as we say, is almost always 'the nut behind the trigger'

Patrick, I pray your triggers become fewer and their effects are lessened, and that you find peace where there once was none.

If someone were triggered by triggers I hope it's not like my shotgun which goes off when someone looks at it funny. Goofy trigger on that thing.

And Dave, what kinda duel we talkin bout? I have suggestions, but I wanna see if they're in the same ballpark you're in

Why, thank you, gooseegg. You're very kind.

Patrick: ". . . be required to wear sandwich boards whenever we leave our homes, announcing to the world what our triggers are . . . "

That won't work; someone somewhere is going to be triggered by sandwich boards.

Dave B: You, Art Deco, are a pissant. I usually save that term for my little friend with PDS. You are far more deserving. A gentleman, or gentlewoman, you are not.

Goodness, I've been outdone. I realize you didn't pay me a compliment, but I feel I should thank you, nonetheless.

Charles: That won't work; someone somewhere is going to be triggered by sandwich boards.

You know, I did think of that when I wrote that comment. While what you said was very funny, it's also true. Anything that exists can be someone's trigger. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that someone out there, or even several someone's out there, really are triggered by sandwich boards.

I'm certain I'll regret doing this, but personal disclosure time. I'm a veteran with a diagnosis of PTSD and MDD. (No, I don't want anyone's sympathy. Let me respectfully ask that those on this board who despise me to please continue despising me. I assure you that I will reciprocate.)

Don't know what you went through Patrick. A cousin of mine was EOD in Afghanistan for a year and came home with a pretty good case of it.

However it pales in comparison to what my World War II serving father went through.

Try watching an average of a bomber a day crash and burn on the runway with your friends on board, as Japanese snipers pick off your friends in the ground crew from the jungle surrounding the airfield. Rinse and repeat on twenty different jungle hell holes, as you move the aircrews up behind the Marine advance.

After miraculously surviving that, with three Purple Hearts, a bronze star, dengue fever, and an almost lethal case of malaria, you come home looking for any place the feels safe to you again.

Only to be told if they don't remove the shrapnel in your neck, that it will be likely to piece your jugular and kill you at any time with no warning at all.

In 1945 this didn't even merit a disability rating from the VA.

ArtDeco > Well, Amy, we often don't see ourselves as others do.

Oh the ironic lack of self-awareness here. From my previous discussions with Art Deco though it doesn't surprise me that he's the sort who bullies others online by making 'you're ugly' type comments.

Patrick > I'm a veteran with a diagnosis of PTSD and MDD. (No, I don't want anyone's sympathy. Let me respectfully ask that those on this board who despise me to please continue despising me.

Well I didn't despise you, but on the contrary, this raises my respect for you.

> As such, as I'm sure you realize, I have triggers. Guess what? My triggers are my problem, not yours!

As an abuse victim, I also have "triggers", and I 100% agree with you on this - they're mine, and I'll always have my lifelong struggle to deal with them.

The general claims about "triggers" are actually an implicit claim to fascism:

If person B can make an argument that arbitrary speech from person A can literally pull some sort of 'causal levers' in B's brain that cause B to lose control and thus be a victim in some way, as if they were assaulted, then person B can make a claim to assert the right to use force over A and suppress their speech.

And that's the point. "Triggers" are just fascism in sheep's clothing.

I fear for what America may become if a whole generation is raised and educated by colleges that indulge this "triggers" concept, as we'll have voters and lawmakers and judges and police who believe that speech from others alone can make someone else a 'victim'. ('You triggered me' = 'you pulled levers in my brain that I had no control over' = 'I should be allowed to have authorities exercise force over you to control your speech and actions, to protect myself'.) And the perpetual victims like this idea because .. well, people lust for power.

> even then, you couldn't avoid triggering. The color of your house might be someone's trigger

That's part of their amoral beauty - if the concept became part of policy, it's a blank slate to control anyone for any reason those in power desire. It can mean anything authorities want it to mean.

A lot of us have differing degrees of PTSD and trigger issues and, although I believe that you will learn to cope with them, they are a part of the you that you are today and tomorrow. Good luck in your journey. I do believe that today's environment give you hope of success beyond that offered to our grandparents and fathers.

Unfortunately today's youth, suburban moms, and I presume deep blue States have been allowed to make everything about them. They have the votes. "Triggers" are just their newest method of feeling good about themselves (see how special they are).

I think this is why our disagreements have become more forceful. The issue is not the subject being discussed. It's the control over "my" life that they assume they have/can have/will have.

There can be no discussion with those that do not recognize my right to be the individual I am. I can appreciate others' points-of-view and certainly can learn from them. But I am not required to live by them just because.

This is a small example of the type of fascist censor-and-control mentality that could become commonplace if these ideas take foothold - censoring an artist's statue on the basis that it is 'triggering':

theswellesleyreport.com/2014/02/nearly-naked-sleepwalking-zombie-sculpture-triggers-debate-at-wellesley-college/
"The ... petition, launched by student Zoe Magid, is addressed to Wellesley College President, ... titled: Remove the uncomfortable and potentially triggering statue put up without student consent"

Isab, your father has my deepest sympathy. What he endured is horrifying, and the fact that his government turned his collective back on him in his time of need goes beyond shameful. It's despicable and repugnant.

My father was also a WWII vet. I don't know what he endured in WWII (I didn't know him well, and whatever secrets he had went with him to the grave), but I do know he was very into self-medication (the kind that comes in a bottle) after the war, which prompted my mother to divorce him.

I also know that that he was sent into test sites after dropping nuclear bombs. It is interesting to note that we knew so little about radiation and its effects back then, that we had no problem with dropping a bomb on a test site, then sending live troops like my father into them immediately afterwards.

Unsurprisingly, my father died of tumors on the brain.

Patrick. My father was a hero. I am very proud of him. However he was born in 1913. For him to still be around today would be a miracle.

He never drank, and didn't smoke but he also didn't get on an airplane again until 1976.

I miss him every day.

Bravo, Patrick, on accepting responsibility for dealing with your personal issues. Some years ago, when my wife of 20 years decided that she no longer wished to be married, she forced me from the family home. For some months I lived in a crappy apartment with a card table-and-chair set, a $69 microwave, and a used tv set (sitting on the floor). At Christmastime, it seemed that every fourth commercial had a family-holiday theme - and they ate me up. But it never occurred to me that I should complain to the television networks to protect me from these triggers. I got over it eventually, largely by exposing myself to the triggering events (psychologists call it "exposure therapy").